I've partnered with ACT for Alexandria (ACT), a 501(c)(3) organization, which pools charitable dollars.  Donations designated for the RunningBrooke Fund are tabulate and distributed by Brooke at the end of each calendar year.

Brooke, and the RunningBrooke Fund, awarded $20,000 in 2009 to Child and Family Network Centers.  This Alexandria-based charity is an invaluable resource providing high-quality, free preschool to at-risk children and related services for their families in their own neighborhoods: literacy, ESL (English as a Second Language) classes, job training and health programs.

Your donation is 100% tax deductible (you'll receive a receipt from ACT for your tax purposes).

2010 RunningBrooke beneficiaries are:

1. Girls on the Run (GOTR).  This innovative organization has the mission of educating and preparing girls (ages 8-13) for a lifetime of healthy living through training for a 5k running event and self-esteem enhancing lessons that encourage positive emotional and physical development.  Programs can be found in many Alexandria Elementary Schools.
2.  Community Lodgings.  Community Lodgings helps lift disadvantaged families from homelessness to self-sufficiency through the Transitional and Affordable Housing Programs, and youth and adult education programs held at the Fifer Family Learning Center.  They operate in the Arlandria area and are neighborhood-based.
3. The Reading Connection.  The Reading Connection opens books and changes lives by creating literacy-rich environments for at-risk children.  Volunteers read aloud to children at shelters and community centers and free (new) books are given.  There are literacy workshops for the adults in the family.
4. ACT for Alexandria.  The ACT Community Fund pools charitable dollars from people throughout the city, and directs funds to support and strengthen existing programs, as well as create new collaborative solutions to the city's pressing needs.  Every dollar from ACT's Community Fund helps people in our own backyard.
5. Child and Family Network Centers (CFNC).  The 2009 RunningBrooke beneficiary -- I granted $20,000 to them in February of 2010 -- is an invaluable center which provides free preschool and free social services for at-risk children and their families.  The centers work in local communities within Alexandria and provide preschool, ESL classes (English as a Second Language), job training and social services, such as hearing and vision screening.

Follow me around the nation and the world and know that you're helping your neighbors!

In short, here's our pact for our community: I do all the training and all the running. I pay all my own entry fees and travel expenses. You reciprocate and show your commitment to the community by making a charitable contribution in the amount of your choosing.

- Cheers and it's a beautiful day for a run!

P.S. Goal met of $20,000 in 2009. Help me reach my new goal of $50,000 in 2010. Remember, your donation is 100% tax deductible and goes to those in need.