Dear Family and Friends:

While I certainly enjoyed participating in team sports in my teenage years, long-distance running is a brand new endeavor that I started last spring. I am excited about the daunting challenge of running 26.2 miles, especially because I will be running to support The Children’s Room, a non-profit organization for which I have been volunteering since April 2011.

The Children’s Room, located in Arlington, Massachusetts and serving 80 surrounding communities, makes a significant difference in the lives of children, teenagers, and adults who are facing much greater challenges than running a marathon, because each family is dealing with the loss of a family member.

I lost my father when I was just eight years old. Unfortunately, neither my mother nor I had a program like the Children’s Room available to us as we struggled to navigate the waters of grief brought on by my father’s death. When I discovered The Children’s Room, it became clear that the compassion and presence of the facilitators (most of whom have experienced a significant loss themselves), the group support, and the model they use offers participants the gifts of catharsis, strength, and growth. This is why I became a trained facilitator for The Children’s Room last year, working with the adult spousal loss group on Sunday afternoons. The strength and open-heartedness of the women in my group has been amazing.

My goal in running this year’s Boston Marathon is to raise $7,500 for The Children’s Room, an amount that would enable four children to attend a support group for one year. I would be both honored and deeply grateful if you would consider joining my Boston Marathon support team by making a meaningful gift to The Children’s Room. To make the process easy, you can click the donate button at the top right of this page to make a secure online donation. If your donation is in memory or honor of someone, please write their name. I will be running for my father, the families of The Children’s Room, and the loved ones of my donors. We are in this together! If you would like to donate by mail, please be sure to write Marathon/Jill in the subject line of your check so that The Children’s Room knows your donation is in support of my run. A receipt and letter of acknowledgement will be sent as soon as your gift is received.  

Thank you for taking a few moments to learn about my reason for accepting the challenge of the 2012 Boston Marathon. Please wish me good luck and blue skies on April 16th.

With deep appreciation,

Jill Hurley