I am following up from my blog a few weeks ago to let you know that my deadline for donations is fast approaching. But it’s not too late to help me reach my fundraising minimum. For those of you that haven’t had the experience of training with Team in Training, each week someone provides a ‘Mission moment,’ which is a thought, story, personal experience, that somehow relates back to the reason people participate in Team in Training. I wanted to share my mission moment with you:

My little brother Justin Larkins had Leukemia when he was just 2 ½ and went through chemo for the next 3 ½ years. I grew up going to the hospital for weekly visits with my parents and helping my parents take care of my brother. We are 6 years apart, and because I felt like I had to take care of him, I’ve always had a more nurturing relationship with him. I remember him at the age of 3 telling the nurses which veins to use for his weekly blood draw, and me being 9 years old and being frightened of needles. Or when we would go to the see his pediatric oncologist and she would tell us of the passing of another child that we could have seen even the week before. Today he is 23-years old and finishing his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University. He doesn’t remember much of his childhood which amazes me because I remember so much. He is probably one of the toughest people I know and you will rarely ever see him complain about anything! I love him very much and am so proud to call him a hero… So many kids out there haven’t been as lucky as him, and kids battling this disease today look up to him because they too have dreams and goals in life like any other child should. I run for team in training because I can. I do it for all the people that can’t run, and who don’t have this amazing opportunity to experience.

This is Justin when he was going through treatment...

Please support me.

Please follow my journey on my team in training website as I blog my journey. Please help and know that no amount is too small.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/tinkerb12/nhankk

This is Justin and my son Bode from last Christmas - both very healthy today!

Thank you for your generous support!

GO TEAM!

As you may already know this, my #1 charity that I work with is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  My brother fought Leukemia at a young age and I remember growing up going to the doctor’s office and battling it as a family.  I’m very fortunate to have him here today but so many others have not had our luck.  So therefore I participate in events like Light the Night and Team in Training to help raise money for research and patient support.  This year I was the corporate team captain for Light the Night at my place of work.  I was in charge of recruiting and motivating people to raise their minimum funds.  For this event the minimums are pretty low ($100.00) but for someone who has never raised money before this can be a challenge.  But the important thing I like to remind people is that the worse thing that can happen if you ask is that they reply with ‘No’.  But also to never give up because while you may ask someone 5 times to donate, on that 5th time they might actually have the money to be able to donate.  These are hard times but we all still need to give back when and where we can…

I wanted to explain what its like to be at a Light the Night event… My mom and I have been going to these over the past few years (last year we missed it due to the birth of my son).  In our local community, people gather at a centrally located park where there are booths with information, items for purchase to help continue the fundraising efforts, a stage with music and entertainment, local vendors, food trucks, and the most memorable part are the balloons.  These are not just any balloons, these balloons have lights in them and they glow in the sky.  It’s a thrilling site to see families, patients, friends, co-workers all walking for the same cause.  The walk itself is only about 2 miles so its great for people of all ages!  I have included some pictures of this years event so you can see just what I tried to describe.

Bode's First Red Balloon

Family Picture at Light the Night

Do you have a particular charity that you like to work with? or maybe a cause that you fight for?  If not, maybe you should think about giving back to others in a way that best fits your personality and life style.  This was my son’s first Light the Night event and I’m proud to include him in these types of charity events.  Maybe one day he’ll encourage me to participate in his favorite charity…

~Namaste~