On April 16, 2012 I'm running the Boston Marathon. It takes a lot to run Boston, but it takes a lot more than that for some people to simply stay alive. That's why I launched Run for Help.

The 2012 Boston Marathon is the official kick-off of the Run for Help campaign.  Our first goal is to raise $2,620 ($100 for each mile of the 26.2 mile course) by race day, April 16, to support the work of two Christian ministries building schools, providing medical care, nutrition programs, agriculture projects, and modern communications technologies to people in Africa who need these things now.

These two initiatives, Operation Nehemiah and Africa Connect, are both based in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where I live, but their influence is global.

Operation Nehemiah is critical to the fortunes of South Sudan, the world's newest independent nation, where the ministry is drilling water wells, cultivating entrepreneurial agriculture projects, operating medical clinics, and broadcasting education programs, news, and Gospel messages across this new nation. www.operationsnehemiah.org

Africa Connect operates in Kenya, where they are building schools and feeding children in some of the world's poorest neighborhoods. These schools represent physical security and survival for many Kenyan kids,  providing two daily meals, clothing and shoes, medical attention, food and water, a full education program, and the only chance these students have to qualify for further education opportunities and a productive future in their nation. www.africaconnect.org

Just $220 gets an impoverished child in Kenya a year’s education, plus food, clothes, shoes, and medical attention!

And a few dollars from just a few of us can build agriculture projects, medical clinics, and modern communications in the world’s newest independent nation, South Sudan!

Please join Run for Help  with a donation, so that together, we can help supply clean water, good food, medical care, education, modern communications, and a better chance at life for people who need it now. When we reach the finish line, we will have $2,620 to give to two amazing initiatives that are generating real hope and change in Kenya and South  Sudan.  Thank you for joining the Run for Help team!  God bless every step you take!

PS On Marathon Day, Monday, April 16, you can track me in the race by signing up at http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/event-information/att-athlete-alert.aspx
My bib number is 7377. Thanks again for joining the Run for Help team!

(Your donation to this initiative will be receipted by Operation Nehemiah Missions International.)