Hi friends, It's Scott and Holly Erickson. We are working with The Rally Foundation to raise money for childhood cancer research. In addition to raising funds for Rally, we will be training for and competing in an endurance event. We have choose a sprint distance triathlon July 14th in Ocean Shores. We will be swimming 1/2 mile in Duck Lake, followed by a 12 mile bike and finishing with a 5K run.

This is my (Holly) third season with The Rally Foundation. The first year I competed in The Seattle Rock and Roll half marathon. The second year I did The Danskin Triathlon. This year I am so happy to have Scott join me in training for and completing another sprint triathlon. Scott has been working very hard to get in shape for this and I am very proud of him. He is going to rock this thing!

I was first introduced to The Rally Foundation through my friend Tracy. Her neighbor started the Northwest chapter after losing her 14 year old niece to cancer. We are so fortunate to have healthy children and to have not been personally affected by childhood cancer. I did do my college internship the summer of 1994 at Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital. I worked with the social worker as well as the child life specialist. I got to know the oncology patients well. They spent most of their time there. They really made an impact on me and I still remember their names and sadly their diagnoses. Matthew, a five year old boy with Luekemia. I remember how much he suffered from his mouth sores due to chemotherapy. Ashley, a tiny girl who was sent home to pass away with her family after nothing more could be done with her neuroblastoma. Frankie, a sweet boy with downs syndrome and leukemia. He was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant and a donor could not be found. Most of all I will never forget the social worker wrapping a tiny girl in a blanket and carrying her to the morgue. Her bone marrow transplant could not save her. These experiences affected me deeply and I was so happy to find an organiziton for which I could put my exercise addiction to a good cause.

Sadly since I have been involved with the Rally Foundation, we have said goodbye to two of our local Rally kids. Rhema passed away last June after a long battle with a rare stomache cancer. She was only 14. Mia lost her fight with ALL last month after fighting hard most her 5 years. She passed away a year after her twin brother Noah donated his bone marrow. Sadly, she relapsed 3 months after the transplant. I have come to know these families through the Rally Foundation and have seen what cancer does to children and their families. It simply isn't fair.

Of the money raised for cancer research, less than 3% goes to childhood cancer research. That doesn't leave much hope for families with a child with a rare cancer. Children get different cancers than adults do. They also require different treatment. Childhood cancers are not caused by years of poor lifestyle choices either. There is really no rhyme or reason to childhood cancer and who it affects.

Every day two classrooms of students, about 46 children, are diagnosed with cancer and most will spend the next three years in treatment. Pediatric cancer is the number one disease killer of kids’ ages 0-20. Rally Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is dedicated to raising funds to support childhood cancer research which is under-funded up to $30 million a year. Please join me with your donation and be a part of finding a cure and better treatment options for children who have been affected by this awful disease.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our cause.

Holly and Scott Erickson