Congratulations Team 25:40!
On Oct. 25, 2009, our 10-member team completed the Marine Corps Marathon.
We thank our 2009 Team for all the effort they put in both in terms of training their bodies to do a really crazy thing (run 26.2 miles) and in terms of fundraising. Running a marathon is a huge accomplishment. Raising money for children 6,000 miles away is incredibly honorable and selfless. Each dollar they raised will directly benefit the children in South Africa we’ve found who are orphaned or vulnerable to becoming orphaned. 25:40 strives everyday to make sure these children have enough food, access to medical care, a safe place to stay and a good education.
Their efforts have made a huge difference. The team raised $15,650. This will help us tremendously with our current project in Canzibe, on the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where we are serving 1,504 orphaned and vulnerable children. We have hired a coordinator and funded a project to ensure that the children who should be receiving government grants actually get them. The next phase of this project is to teach about 120 of the neediest children and their caretakers how to create their own food gardens, which will provide a consistent supply of food. This project will cost about $20,000. The money they have raised from the marathon will almost cover that.
Team 25:40 member Archie Nesbitt gets the prize for most prompt – he reached (and then surpassed) his fundraising goal before anyone else.
Mark Silverman gets the gold medal for most amount of money raised $4,300! Plus he was the last to join the team – in August!
We congratulate Andrea Kaltenbaugh who finished the marathon in 3:27, the fastest Team 25:40 member, followed by Bill Gelfeld in 3:42 You all had fantastic races.