Thank you for visiting my fundraising page! This is my 5th consecutive year as a marathon fundraiser for Esperanza Health Centers, so my goal is "$5k for 5 years!" Last year, there was no official race, but you helped me raise over $5,000 as I ran my own unofficial 26.2 miles in October 2020. This year, the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon is scheduled to resume on Sunday, October 10, 2021, and I am so excited to be back on the streets of my hometown! 

I begin my fourth year as Board Member for Esperanza in 2021, and I am truly blessed to have watched this organization grow and thrive in the midst of challenges brought on by COVID-19. The communities that Esperanza's four clinics reach are near and dear to my heart, as I am a native of Chicago's southwest side. Esperanza, a Federally-Qualified Health Center (FQHC), ensures that the Chicago communities that its clinics serve -- more than half of whom live below the poverty line -- receive high-quality health care, regardless of income, insurance, or immigration status. Esperanza's clinics are also pillars in their communities, with additional programs that target mental health, social work, drug addiction treatment and prevention, and benefits counseling. Esperanza's providers are bilingual and multicultural, which makes connecting and communicating with their patients easy and comfortable.

Esperanza is Spanish for "hope." Please help us raise funds for Esperanza and spread hope to our southwest side Chicago communities. No amount is too small! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey!

Best,

Mike