There are a lot of great causes in the fight to raise awareness about skin cancer and combat the spread of the disease. Today I wanted to focus on one of those great causes, Miles for Melanoma.
Miles for Melanoma started in 2002 when Steve Farrell, a marathoner and melanoma survivor, decided to run in the New York City Marathon and raise money to help out the cause. By asking his friends, family members, neighbors, and business associates to make donations in support of his run. He ended up raising over $15,000 for the Melanoma Research Foundation. Steve completed the marathon that day in 3 hours and 38 minutes, and after that success Miles for Melanoma was born.
In the years since then, many people have run marathons all over the country to raise money for the research. The Melanoma Research Foundation encourages anyone participating in a marathon or half marathon, to do it for a great cause while their at it.
Since Steve’s initial run, the effort has grown immensely. In order to make it easier for participants, the foundation has developed an excellent support system around your run. They will take care of everything for the runner. They will set you up with any other runners participating in that event, as well as help you set up your online donation page to get people to contribute money. They will also send you out a Miles for Melanoma singlet to wear in your race. After the race is over, they will send out thank you letters to all who donated money on your behalf.
Its really a great situation for everyone involved.
Melanoma is a major health problem in our world today. Melanoma is the least common form of skin cancer, but also the most deadly. It accounts for only 4% of all skin cancer cases, while its responsible for 79%of the deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 68,720 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the United States during 2009.
The Melanoma Research Foundation needs all the money they can get and this is a great way to help them out. Its a great foundation and when your involved with them you can be sure that all the money donated is going to a great, legitimate cause.
Anyone interested in participating in the Miles for Melanoma program can contact Bill Marsch at wrmarsch@earthlink.net . You can also visit the Melanoma Research Foundation’s web page.
Leave a comment