I am very excited to be running my twelfth marathon and third Boston Marathon in 2018! This year I will be running and fundraising for St. Francis House. St. Francis House is the largest day shelter in Massachusetts and provides a safe, supportive space for individuals experiencing homelessness in the Boston area. After college I spent a year and a half as AmeriCorps member working for an organization serving the homeless population in Southern Colorado. I saw first hand the challenges of providing a broad menu of services to shelter guests - from hot meals and clean clothes, to life skills coaching and affordable housing - and how incredibly important those services were. St. Francis House provides those vital services in the Boston community and I am proud to be part of their 2018 Boston Marathon Team.
More about St. Francis House:
Our five person team has a goal of raising $75,000 for the thousands of men and women who visit St. Francis House every year. Learn about the people you will help, like Andrew, a Moving Ahead Program graduate, who has worked to rebuild his life using skills he learned at St. Francis House. His story is one of hope and perseverance. We believe poverty is an experience, not an identity. Join us in our efforts to raise $75,000 for services such as:
- Welcoming more than 2,200 new guests per year
- Ensuring that more than 6,900 men and women can meet their basic needs for safety, food, hygiene and refuge
- Serving more than 210,000 meals
- Distributing over 10,000 changes of clothes to over 2,100 people
- Providing counseling sessions on mental health issues, substance abuse, housing, employment, legal matters, and other issues
- Partnering with Boston Health Care for the Homeless to provide medical appointments
- Placing 76% of our vocational rehabilitation program (MAP) graduates into jobs paying an average wage of over $14/hour
- Housing 66 formerly homeless individuals, and preventing them from returning to homelessness
