Dear Friends and Family,
Please forgive the slight tardiness of this follow-up email about my experience and completion of the inaugural Immediate Impact Breast Cancer Walk. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the incredible experience that we had this weekend, and I've been having a hard time putting it all into words.
The Immediate Impact Breast Cancer Walk was like no other event that I've ever participated in. Never have I been so proud and humbled to be part of an event, or felt the sense of accomplishment that I am feeling now. The Immediate Impact Breast Cancer Walk was a true grass roots effort. It was organized by two exceptional and dedicated women, Linda and Marcia, in under 7 months. Our entire event consisted of 24 walkers and 7 crew members. We had a very small budget, a short amount of time, but a tremendous amount of heart.
We walked 55 miles together, starting Friday morning in the dark, cold, wet fog, and ended Sunday on a clear, sunny afternoon in the 80s. We covered so many neighborhoods, and hit all of the microclimates in San Francisco! We traversed over many steep hills, staircases, sand, and even a very muddy trail which almost ate my shoes. We did it all with a sense of adventure, lots of humor and open hearts.
At the time of closing ceremonies on Sunday afternoon, the event had raised over $93,000! At the moment that I am writing this, we are two dollars shy of raising $97,000! Each day, the total rises, bringing us closer and closer to meeting (and eventually exceeding!) our $100,000 goal. Our fundraising will continue to be open until the end of October. It's so exciting to see how much money we will be able to raise. More than 80% of the funds raised by this year's event will be granted to three local Bay Area non-profits who provide services to people living with breast cancer. Our walk will immediately impact the lives of many women and men through three nonprofits - The Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, and the Friend to Friend Shop at UCSF Mt. Zion. Some of the services provided by these organizations include: paying PG&E bills, rent, and gas, and providing wigs, prosthesis, and alternative care that supports the path of chemo and radiation.
With the generous donations and support at my fundraisers, you have all helped me raise an astronomical total of $13,510 so far! To my amazement, that amount continues to climb higher and higher each day. I'll keep you posted and will send out an email at the end of the month with our final total raised.
I am so very thankful for the support that each of you have given me for this walk. I feel so much more strongly about this walk than any event I've done before. I know that what we accomplished this weekend will truly have an immediate impact on many local women and men in need. We really are making a difference.
Tired as I was, each night when I came home from walking, I wrote a blog post recapping the day's events before going to bed. I knew that if I didn't do it immediately, that it would be more difficult to recall the details and the emotions later. (Although, I admit that it took me a couple of days to write the blog post for the last day. Or, as I like to call it, "The Mother of All Blog Posts")
You can read my blog entries (complete with plenty of photos) here:
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Thank you all again for your incredible support, encouragement and generosity. Together, you helped us all make an Immediate Impact!
With Love and Gratitude,
-Trina
Yes, we did!
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