Team Gift of Life Runs in NYC Half-Marathon
Apr 30, 2012 by Gift of Life
News
On the morning of March 18th, ten runners ran the NYC Half-Marathon in support of Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation. The race gave all participants the opportunity to experience New York City in an exciting way, running through some of the City’s most breathtaking landmarks, including Central Park and Times Square. This year marks the second year Gift of Life has partnered with New York Road Runners for the half-marathon.
Each athlete chose to run the 13.1 miles because they believed in Gift of Life’s mission to save lives. The NYC Half-Marathon was Amanda’s first marathon, and she ran in tribute to her father, who was a bone marrow donor when she was a child. She is extremely proud of him and wanted to show her support. Other runners on the team had family members who donated bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells through Gift of Life, including Julie, whose nephew donated a few years ago, and Melissa, whose husband donated not once, but twice to a young girl in need.
Each runner on Team Gift of Life pledged to raise $1,250, and to date, they have raised over $13,000! Similar to last year, the money raised will be used to clear waitlisted donor test kits. There have already been 2 matches found for patients in need as a result of the 2011 Team’s fundraising efforts. With each test kit costing $54, 240 new donors will be added to the worldwide bone marrow donor registry this year.
Congratulations to the runners on a job well done! We appreciate the runners and their supporters who helped in their efforts to raise awareness for our mission to save lives.
