Dear friends & anyone reading,

On Sunday, March 19th, I’m ecstatic to be running the United Airlines New York City Half
Marathon to raise funds on behalf of the Shoe4Africa Foundation. I discovered this organization after browsing through the NYRR list of 400+ charities for the race, and this foundation stood out to me quickly. My curiosity led me to calling the founder named Toby, who graciously over a 30 minute phone call, described his passion for running, his family, and the work he does for the Kenyan community. I could palpably sense very strong vision and dedication from Toby, and hearing about the effort to fundraise towards building the first pediatric cancer hospital in Kenya invigorated me.

Although I haven’t visited Kenya *yet*, over the past couple years as I’ve started my running
journey, I’ve begun to learn bits and pieces about its culture and people through stories of its
famous runners like Eliud Kipchoge. Hailing from small towns in the mountains, these humble, hard-working, and talented world class runners are active sources of inspiration to me. When I found out that famous Kenyan runners like Eliud actively visit the hospitals and support the foundation, I was energized even more!

These reasons and many more are why I am asking for YOUR support in any capacity to assist
in the vision of the foundation, which is “no child should be denied basic healthcare
service.” The statistics right now are grim as 9 out of 10 kids are dying in sub-Saharan Africa
when diagnosed with cancers. Meanwhile in America, only 1 out of 10 kids die and 90% of
those kids are healed in kids cancer centers, whereas Kenya does not yet have one. The
funds you donate will go directly to building that hospital for kids, and donations are 100%
tax deductible and employer matches are welcomed.

Thank you for your support in my running journey and, more importantly, this incredible
foundation!

Sincerely,
Eric Lindholm
Babson College ‘23