I know that Tuesday was the opening day to register for the 2016 Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend. So, why is this post about the 2016 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend? Well, first off, I’m not going to be running any of the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend races this year. There are several reasons for this. However, this post is not about that.

Instead, I’d like to talk to you about an opportunity to run in the 2016 Disneyland Half Marathon, 2016 Disneyland 10K, or the 2016 Disneyland 5K as a charity runner. At the end of March, I was contacted by Tory Lippman who is the running team coordinator for The Children’s Bureau. They have been chosen to be an official charity of the 2016 Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. Yes, you could still get into the Dumbo Double Dare and the Disneyland Half Marathon right now. However, the Disneyland 10K and Disneyland 5K races are sold out. So, if you wanted to run in either of these two races this year, running for The Children’s Bureau could be your ticket in. Here’s the breakdown of your fundraising goals by race…

5K. September 2nd. $500 Fundraising Goal.
10K. September 3rd. $750 Fundraising Goal.
Half Marathon. September 4th. $750 Fundraising Goal.

These goals are very reasonable. If you remember, I ran the 2015 Bank of America Chicago Marathon as a charity runner…

I ran for Adoption-Link and Holt International with a fundraising goal of $1,500. So, I can tell you that $500 or $750 is totally doable. Plus, you get the added bonus of knowing that you are running the race for more than just yourself. As I looked into The Children’s Bureau, I’m totally stoked to be presenting the option to you, my readers. Here’s some information about this organization…

Mission Statement

The Children’s Bureau mission is to help children succeed and excel at leading happy, healthy, productive lives through a combination of prevention, treatment, research and advocacy. Children’s Bureau is committed to providing vulnerable children — especially in the early years — the foundation necessary to become caring and productive adults by:

• Preventing child abuse and neglect both at home and in the community;
• Protecting, nurturing and treating abused children;
• Enhancing the potential of families and communities to meet the needs of their children by bringing them together to create safe and secure environments;
• Advancing the welfare of children and families through superior programs in foster care, adoptions, child development, parent education, mental health, research and advocacy.

Vision

The Children’s Bureau vision is to significantly change the lives of at-risk children by providing state-of-the-art child abuse prevention and treatment services. While increasing the scope, depth and volume of services, we will engage in continuous discovery through research to determine and implement what works and be a passionate advocate on behalf of children and families. By providing the services we do, spreading information, and being a dedicated advocate, our aim is to give children and their families every opportunity to build and live in a nurturing and safe environment.

Here’s the part that totally gets me excited about their work. Their treatment program is described as “We respond to the immediate needs of a child in danger through our family foster care and adoptions program, matching hundreds of children each year with loving, nurturing families. We also provide mental health therapy and other related services to thousands of children and their families who have experienced abuse or are at risk of abuse.” Foster Care and Adoption is a huge thing for me, as you all know. So, I’m really stoked that they have this as part of their work.

Are you ready to earn some pretty cool medals and raise money for a great charity that helps so many children? Click here for more information about joining The Children’s Bureau team this Labor Day Weekend at the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. Or, feel free to sent Tory an email requesting more information. Tory’s email address is, torylippman@all4kids.org. Want to learn more about The Children’s Bureau? Click here to explore their work. Don’t want to run, but want to still make a difference? Click on either of the links in this paragraph. There is a link on both pages to make a donation.