On April 15th, I am proud to be running in the 2013 Boston Marathon for Dream Big!, a charity that provides low-income and homeless girls with sports and fitness equipment, uniforms, athletic footwear, program fees, training expenses, sports opportunities and the supplies they need to participate in sports and physical activities that contribute to their overall health, fitness, and well-being.

Unfortunately, poverty can severely limit a young girl’s involvement in sports and physical activities. Imagine trying to run the Boston Marathon without the proper footwear or sports attire. Every day a girl in need steps on the playing field, court or track without the proper footwear, equipment, sports attire or training they deserve. Launched in Massachusetts in 2010, Dream Big! has already had a direct, positive effect on more than 3000 girls through equipment donations, program scholarships, sports clinics and the Dream Big! Leadership Conference for middle & high school girls.

I'm a female athlete, and I grew up in the "Title IX" generation of women who had to scrap alongside the boys. We had to earn our place in sports, and it was worth every minute. I can't imagine having to sit on the sidelines, without all the good that sports can bring to a girl in this day and age, based on poverty. It's not fair to any girl - every girl deserves the right to play!

My personal goal is $7500 and I hope you will join me in support of this important cause by sponsoring my 26.2 mile marathon run with a donation to Dream Big!. The money I raise will help to impact thousands of girls this year. Whether through an equipment grant for a new pair of sneakers or a new volleyball net so a high school can have their first ever home game, or a program scholarship so a girl can take dance lessons or go to a summer sports camp, I'm going to know that when I cross the finish line I not only changed my life but I also impacted many of others.

For that, I am thankful and hope you will join me by making a donation today to Dream Big! in recognition of my run. I am appreciative of any support you can give to this remarkable cause. No donation is too little, no gesture too small.

For more information on Dream Big! go to: www.dream-big.org