"Everything we went through last year with Jack." It is a phrase I find myself using in conversation now. It is a summary. A way to get through a conversation without unloading all the emotion that is glossed over by the simple phrase. But sometimes, like yesterday when I was driving home alone in the car, I let myself recall the memories of last year and the emotion of those moments feel so real. Like when Jack was born and we learned learned he had something "wrong." I can remember the fear and anxiety as we spent the first few days of his life in the offices of medical experts instead of cuddling him at home. And every step along the way: his MRI, his two surgeries and later dealing with a staph infection, I asked Will my baby be OK?

It was not an easy time, which is why I distill it. We have turned the page to a new chapter of life: a happy one! Yet "everything we went through" has compelled me to do something. I can't exactly put my finger on why I felt the need to act, but as soon as we learned Jack would be receiving care at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock I knew I had to do something to help other families like us. We never knew we would need the care and services that CHaD provides, but when we did it was there for us. Which is why I wanted to make sure it would be there for other families. Families who have yet to go through that "everything we went through" chapter of life. You never get warning and sometimes you're not prepared for the illness or injury of your child, but to have a Children's Hospital that is fully prepared with every expert your child needs makes a huge difference.

As a non-profit organization the care and services provided by the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock are funded by donor dollars. It doesn't happen magically, it takes feet on the ground moving towards a goal. Last year my feet along with all the other hundreds of feet running the CHaD HERO Half Marathon, 5K and Cam's Course Fun Run raised over $700,000 for the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. The $7,000 I raised was just a small portion of that, but this year I have a chance to make an even bigger impact!

This year I'll be captain of a fundraising team….Team NUUN for CHaD Kids.

And the bigger news! You can be part of Team NUUN too!

I'm incredibly excited to announce the partnership between CHaD HERO and Nuun! When I met all the folks at Nuun in August 2013 while running Hood to Coast, I was amazed at the heart and care everyone displayed--they knew Jack's story. I am proud to be one of their ambassadors and represent such a fabulous company. Which is why the pairing of these two is so exciting!

Nuun has become the official hydration sponsor of this year's CHaD HERO Half Marathon, 5K run/walk and Cam's course fun run! Nuun will be providing hydration along the course and is contributing to some fantastic swag to Team Nuun participants!

I want YOU on my team! Here's how you can join Team Nuun and make an impact on the lives of CHaD children and families:

Mark your calendar for October 26th, 2014 for the CHaD HERO Half Marathon, 5K run/walk or Cam's Course Kids Fun Run. You can run/walk any of these events as part of Team Nuun! If you don't live in New England and still want to participate you can do so virtually through the CHaD HERO Quest. For more information click HERE or contact chadhero@hitchcock.org to set up your HERO Quest.
Join Team Nuun by going to: http://chad.donordrive.com/team/teamnuun and click the "Join our Team" button and register for one of the events.
Set a fundraising goal to help contribute towards the team's $30,000 goal.
Share that you've joined the team. You can do this directly from the team page after signing up.
Go to the Team NUUN for CHaD Kids Facebook page and "like" the page for updates on fundraising tips, training runs and team events. Click HERE.
Start fundraising and training!

Nuun will be providing "swag bags" filled with Nuun products to participants of Team Nuun who hit the fundraising goals of $250 and $500! The more you raise the more swag!

As a member of Team Nuun you'll also have a chance to join us on training runs and fun team events we have in the works! Stay tuned to the Facebook page for more details.

If you can't join Team Nuun you can still support CHaD! Here are some ways you can make a difference:

Make a donation. I've set a personal goal of raising $10,000 this year for CHaD. It's the goal I was too afraid to set last year because it seemed like too much. (Instead I settled for $5000 and ended up raising $7000). You can donate by clicking HERE.
Purchase an "Embrace the Hill" t-shirt. All proceeds go directly to the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

Thank you for your support!

--Sarah

Announcing CHaD+Nuun!

POWERED BY SQUARESPACE