Running for the Hills!

Friends, I need your help.

For the past two years, I have had the opportunity to run the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon. This year, I decided to run for a cause. My cause is the North Hills Community Outreach and I am determined to raise more than $300 for this organization.

My part of the equation is the hard part.

I will be joining a team of nearly 40 other runners with that same determination and goals. In a little more than a month, I will run 13.1 miles toward that goal as part of the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon. I will run the city of bridges with thousands of other runners but with a small team devoted to raising money for families in crisis, hardship and poverty.

I'm not just raising money. I'm raising hope for families in need.

In 2012-2013, North Hills Community Outreach served 1,386 families through food pantries and gardens. The organization provides 1,357 families with utility assistance. In addition, 388 families received free coats, 728 received Thanksgiving dinners and 1,547 children received Christmas gifts. The list goes on and on...emergency assistance; employment, education and financial assistance; and senior care giving among other services.

These services do not pay for themselves. The organization relies on the generosity of individuals, businesses, families, churches, government agencies, foundations, schools and civic groups.

I will raise a minimum of $300 from my friends and family to run and help North Hills Community Outreach increase these statistics and help more families.

And I only have five weeks left to reach my goal!

Asking my friends and family to donate money to my run is as challenging to me as finding the time to train and run 13.1 miles. But a struggling to feed your family or paying the heat bill is much more difficult, and for that reason I keep asking. 

So I am asking for your help!  If you have not yet made a donation and still want to, it's not too late. Every dollar helps. $20 will purchase a backpack or school supplies for a child to start the school year. $50 will pay the heat bill so children do not have to live in a freezing home. $75 will pay for a month's worth of gas so that a mother or father can get to work and support their family. 

You can make a quick, easy donation on my personal fundraising page at http://www.crowdrise.com/teamnhcopittsburgh2014/fundraiser/carrienurnberger. Click on "Donate to this fundraiser." I am determined to run and make a difference, and I can't do that without your financial support. 

Thank you in advance for donating to my run. Thank you for supporting my quest to help families fight the cycle of poverty and become self reliant.

~ CaRrIe ~