Hi Seattle Green Lake Runners.
As you know Eldoret, Kenya is the running capital of the world. Right now we are partnering with Shoe4Africa to try and help build the playground in Eldoret at East & Central Africa’s only public kids hospital. This center opened in 2015 and last year alone treated over 116,000 patients… but we need a place for the kids to play! Play is so important in kids healing.
What if all of us were to donate $1 per member to help build up the Kids playground? All donations are tax deductible (S4A is a 501 C3 US charity) then we can make a meaningful contribution to the site.
Hey, if we do this and later have a team trip to Kenya it would be a great for us to come and see a project we have helped achieve!
Loka, Tasha, and Jayson.
A letter from Tasha:
I was fortunate to spend two weeks of my summer in Iten, Kenya. As the arched sign above the town proudly proclaims, the “Home of World Champions”, and an elite legacy of marathon runners. I was overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of the Kenyan people. We bonded quickly over a shared passion for running. At the same time, it was eye opening for me to witness so many people living with so little. I realize how fortunate I am to be living in Seattle with all the luxuries of daily life that I take for granted. I have been looking for ways to give back to the Kenyan community and reconnected with Toby and his charity Shoe4Africa when I returned.
I am a big believer in sending money where it can provide the most value, so it completely made sense to me when Toby suggested donating to the children’s hospital in Kenya. I was momentarily taken a back when he suggested we fundraise for playground equipment! Children are dying and we should provide a teeter-totter! When I stepped back and though about it, the idea of a children’s playground at the hospital makes so much sense. It is completely in-line with the Kenyan way of life that I observed. They 100% understand that activity, movement and play are fundamental to a happy and healthy lifestyle. They also find so much joy and happiness in the simplest forms. As Toby explained, play is so important for healing! When I think of the healing that I get from running and play, I know that Toby is spot on.
Both Jayson and I have pledged to contribute a dollar for every mile that we run between now and December 31st. I hope that you will also consider donating in whatever amount makes sense for your situation. No donation is too small.
