Half-Marathon for Amandla Development

On September 18, 2011, I will be running the Yonkers Half-Marathon in support of Amandla Development's efforts to improve the quality and accessibility of education in South Africa. This is my first time running a half-marathon, and I am very happy to combine it with fundraising for Amandla, an organization that I have followed and supported from it's beginning.

Amandla works to empower South African youth with equal access to quality education opportunities. They do this by building capacity in effective grassroots organizations working in education, providing customized services and training ranging from fundraising strategies to infrastructure development. Amandla works according to the principle of collective impact, which is the idea that complex issues like education demand a coordinated response from a wide variety of actors across society. Crucial to this process is an organization that steps in and plays the role of articulating common goals and facilitating communication between partners, so that efforts have the largest impact possible. Amandla Development plays that central role.

I believe strongly in the work that Amandla does in South Africa, and in the desire at the heart of this work to address the disadvantages facing South African youth due to the legacy of Apartheid. It has been exciting to see their impact extend so quickly, and it is my goal for the donations raised through this run to help this impact continue to grow.

Donations will be accepted even after I have run the race. On a personal note, my goal is to run the race in under 1:45, and I hope that this will be a step toward running a full marathon next year. So check back here afterward for an update on how I did!

Update, 9/19: September 18 was a beautiful day for a race- crisp and sunny, with a hint of fall. It was a challenging course, but also very satisfying to run. I ended up finishing 25th overall, with a total time of 1:28:49- much faster than I dreamed I'd be able to do. Many thanks to everyone who has given support and encouragement so far!