Will you take 10 seconds for homeless youth?

My day job is as Director of Development and Public Affairs of Urban Peak, a 26-year old non-profit organization in Denver whose mission is to support youth experiencing homelessness on every level.

Urban Peak rocks.

Will you help us? I swear it only takes 10 seconds!

Urban Peak employee (and Americorps volunteer) Alex Vaassen won the Community MVP for the Colorado Rapids! This is an annual award and a huge deal for us at Urban Peak.

The next step is national voting. Each of the 19 MLS teams have a Community MVP. Now everyone can vote to see which MVP wins the national Community MVP.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Imagine what it will look like for Urban Peak, for our mission and for youth experiencing homelessness around the country if Alex wins. A win for Alex would put the conversation of youth experiencing homelessness on a national stage. For the MLS All Star game, where the national winner will receive her or his recognition, over a million people will be watching! This can be a huge opportunity to not only support Urban Peak, but all organizations that serve a mission like ours.

Voting started this morning at 9am. It will go through July 12^th and then a winner will be announced on July 15^th.

Please vote. Please vote often. Please send the below link to everyone you know. Please ask them to do the same. People can vote as many times as they like.

Imagine Alex on mid-field at the All Star game on July 31^st in Kansas City!

We can win this. We have the most amazing staff around. We have committed donors, volunteers, supporters and board. We can spread the word throughout the country to get the most votes.

Here’s where you can vote, right now: http://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsworks/community-mvp/vote

Votes can also be made on the MLS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/MLS/app_398709353508343

THANK YOU so much for your support with this. Please forward this to all of your friends. Voting literally takes 10 seconds!

P.S. You can vote as many times as you wish!

My training continues

I knew signing up to run a half marathon was a crazy idea. Back in high school ( along time ago) a ran  a10K, which is about 6 miles. I think the most I have run since were 1.5 mile runs while in the Navy and maybe a 5K sometime back. I have not run at all in the 12 years or so.

For those of you who, like me just a little while ago, do not know, a half marathon is 13.1 miles.

The half marathon I am running is part of the Colfax Marathon on May 19th.

I know, it's crazy. And the only reason I would ever consider doing something this crazy is to help animals or others without a voice. This time it is for the youth experiencing homelessness we serve at Urban Peak, where I work. I have created a fundraiser out of this crazy idea, hoping to raise $2,000 for the young people we serve.

You might know that crazy people don't like to do thinks alone, so I asked Mike to join me. He is now signed up and training as well.

It is not easy. I have to admit that it is a lot more fun that I thought it would be, but definitely not easy. I have been doing most of my training at Sloan's Lake, a Denver park about a mile from where we live. It's roughly 2.5 miles around the lake and I don't seem to get bored. Lot's of people and lots of dogs. Oh, and geese and ducks. So I am always looking at something.

Last weekend I ran the most I have ever run in my life, 7.22 miles! I couldn't believe! My nephew was with us last weekend. He is an amazing runner. He said that I was within striking distance of the half marathon. That of course made my day.

I have had a couple of short runs since last weekend. Both were tough. Sometimes, like other things in life, it's a struggle. And, like I try to do with everything else in life, I keep my eyes on the prize. The prize is not training or even finishing the half marathon. The prize is being a voice for the voiceless and supporting youth who are in a difficult spot.

After every training run I post a video. They're not pretty. If you'd like to see them my YouTube account is under vegandude.

I have gotten a lot of strength from many of you who are always working to be healthier and more physically fit. I am totally grateful.

More to come. Thank you so much for reading!

Running for a cause

I'm not a runner.

I haven't run any kind of distance distance since 2000 and that was a 5K, I think.

I love riding my bike and swimming, and working out.

Not running.

So when co-workers of mine began to talk about running all or a portion of the Colfax Marathon coming up in Denver on May 19th, I kept thing "well good for you".

The fundraiser in me thought that this would be a good chance to tell all of my friends about my new agency, new job, and the mission I now fundraise for: youth experiencing homelessness.

I signed up to run the half marathon.

I know! It's crazy!

What we do for our causes: for the animals, for human rights, for those who suffer.

So on May 19th at 7am MST I will begin the longest run of my life. I am doing it because no matter how tough it is for me, it doesn't even come close to what young people have to go through just to get to our agency. Not even close.

Here's me after my first training run explaining a little more. Warning, I'm not looking pretty!

http://youtu.be/19MNwhRWagA

This is a chance for me to raise money, to show what a 47 year old vegan can do physically and to work on a goal with my husband. Yep, Mike is doing it too.

I am super excited and a little scared. I am powered by love from friends and family, by the mission of the agency I am fundraising for (Urban Peak) and by a good amount of vegan friends who have become athletes for a cause.

If you'd like to support my fundraising efforts and youth experiencing homelessness, you can donate here: https://www.coloradogives.org/danrunsforurbanpeak

As of the writing of this blog I am at 33% of my running goal and 17% of my fundraising goal.

Imagine what we can all do for our causes!!!

Thank you for reading. I will keep you posted!

Dan

PS...Mike just reminded me that he is part of this blog too and therefore I should publish his fundraising page! Here it is: https://www.coloradogives.org/stringmanmike