I love the idea of a Global Giving Day! And I love that it is December 2 as this is a great way to kick of the holiday season. You may have seen my recent post highlighting our
25 Days of Giving Board, and if you follow me on instagram you saw that our first giving assignment was to take flowers to a retirement center. So Sophia and I headed to a local home yesterday after her swim practice with a beautiful poinsettia and a hand written card wishing the anonymous recipient a Merry Christmas. Today it is Dom’s turn, and he will be serving food at a local food kitchen this evening. Yes, we are all in the spirit of giving.
But perhaps our biggest giving of the year is kicking off our fundraising commitment to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Team In Training to raise $15,000! That is right, $15,000. I have been a huge supporter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for over 10 years. I first became involved in this wonderful organization when my former mother-in-law was diagnosed with a Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Since that time I have competed in five endurance events. This triathlon will be my sixth Team In Training event.To say that this has been a journey would be an understatement. I first joined a walk team and signed up to walk my first ever half-marathon. Walking 13.1 miles was a huge challenge for me. I had never done anything like that before! I had such a great time that two years later I joined the run team and signed up to run a half marathon. This time my daughter Alyssa joined in on the fun. This was a wonderful experience to share with my daughter – the training, the fundraising, the being part of something bigger than either of us part!
Then I went trough a divorce, and I figured the best therapy to help me cope would to be to join Team In Training yet again – this time I joined the hike team. Getting to the top of Half Dome did me a world of good! And the money to LLS was a world of good for others- it truly was a win-win situation. Ahh… but I needed more therapy 🙂 so the next year I joined the triathlon team and completed my first ever triathlon. That was so much fun I signed up the following year. This time with my daughter, Nikki; my fiancé, Gavin; and my now step-daughter, Olivia. It was a family event – before we were officially family!
I did not have a clue ten years ago when I joined that walk team that a decade later I would be committing to a sixth event, having involved two daughters, two step-children, and my new husband along the way. I had no idea of the many wonderful people that I would meet that have been so inspiring to me. Yes, this has been an amazing journey!If you are looking for a way to give on this Global Giving Day, please visit
my fundraising page and find out more about why I am such a believer of LLS. I am just getting started, and I have a long way to go!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support!
To learn more about what the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society does with your donations please watch my interview with Louise J. DeGennaro, Ph.D. the president and chief executive officer of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Jessica Melore an LLS Ambassador and an incredibly inspiring young woman.
