Hello!

I ran in Portland's marathon in 2021 as a way to give myself purpose in a hard year. This time around, I'm doing it for simpler reasons- to be able to run through all five boroughs of a city I love, and raise money for a really great organization at the same time. 

Established in 1984, the Urban Justice Center (UJC)s mission is to provide a platform for dynamic advocates to fuel social change, leading the way for a just, fair, and decent society. UJCs work alleviates poverty, secures income and family stability, ensures access to healthcare, ends violence, promotes safety, and builds stronger communities. UJC serves New York City's most vulnerable low-income and marginalized populations, victims of trauma and abuse, and those facing direct threats to their safety, including survivors of intimate partner and gender-based violence, homeless LGBTQ youth, victims of human trafficking, people with mental health concerns, and people of color who are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. 

You can read more about their work here: https://www.urbanjustice.org/our-projects/. 

The part of UJC's work that I admire the most is their Social Justice Accelerator Program (https://www.urbanjustice.org/get-involved/accelerator-program/). It allows for people to receive funding, guidance and access for social justice efforts that otherwise might not be feasible, bypassing the many barriers affected communities face in building nonprofits that address their stated needs, rather than having to work through the hierarchy and bureaucracy of established non-profits. 

In order to be able to run on November 6th, I need to raise $3000 for the UJC. I'd be deeply grateful for and humbled by any amount you can give.