Not many teens get up on a hot Saturday morning and run 12 miles in preparation for a  race to benefit orphans.  My friend, Signe, has a wonderful daughter who is running a half marathon to raise money for HIV+ children in Ethiopia.  Specifically, she is hoping to provide a refrigerator for Lola orphanage and  fund a grant for the adoption of an older HIV+ child.

You can donate to her cause with a few clicks through Network for Good.  I finally made my donation this morning — with only one week to go until her race, don’t delay if you feel prompted to encourage her and support her cause.  Let’s make sure Madison has great success as she chooses to love others more than herself.

This is what Madie had to say on August 2nd (I stole it from her mom’s blog):

“Hey everyone, it’s Madie. I am half way through my training, which means race day is only a month from now. I have raised $220, and I am very grateful to the people who donated and are supporting me in this run. Thank you!

I am running this race because I want to help kids in Ethiopia who don’t have lots of the things they need to live. I have not been to Ethiopia, but I have two adopted siblings that I love very much, and it makes me sad to know that there are many sweet children just like them who don’t have homes or family to love them.  While doing my 10 mile run the other day I kept telling myself the goal is to finish without stopping. And then I realized that we often set goals for ourselves, and we think about our future. But these kids don’t really worry about what college they are going to or what they want to be when they grow up, they think of how they are going to get through this day.  Someday I hope to go to Ethiopia and actually give some of my time to these kids and help them in their schooling, so that they can set goals for themselves and become doctors or therapists or what ever they choose. My goal for this race is to raise money to help these kids so that they can have a brighter future. ~ Thanks, Madie”

If you would like to donate to Madie’s run you can send a check to From HIV to Home, PO Box 19212, Denver, CO 80219, or give online through the Network for Good page. Let them know it is for Madison’s run.

You can read more about her run on this update and be sure to follow Signe’s blog as race day approaches.

~Lisa