A 5k for a Great Cause

It’s May which means it’s almost spring here in Michigan. Spring to me means one thing – 5k season. I’ll be honest, I’m not good at running a 5k. It’s not as though I’m the world’s fastest runner anyway, but the 5k distance baffles me. When I started running I was training for a marathon, and I’ve never been able to adjust to running 3.1 miles.

Despite my love/hate relationship with the 5k distance, I love the races. They are short, effective and quite often for good causes. This weekend I am running the 1st Annual Kayla Stanford Memorial 5k. As far as good causes go, this one is second to none.

 Kayla Stanford was just 12 years old in 2006 when she collapsed and died from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Her death was completely unexpected and yet 300 Michigan youths die annually from SCA. 

I didn’t know Kayla, but I work with her mother Kelly. She has worked for the last five years to raise awareness of SCA and to ensure that automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are installed in Michigan’s schools. To date every school in the Ypsilanti Public School District has an AED because of Kelly’s efforts. 

In our workplace we have AEDs and are trained in CPR and in how to use the AED. According to the American Heart Association an average of only 6% of SCA victims survive without CPR or defibrillation. This cause is so important to save lives. All proceeds from the 5k will go to further the goals of the Kayla Foundation.

I can’t even comprehend the heartache SCA must cause a family, and the goals of the Kayla Foundation are so important to help prevent that heartache. If you are in the Ypsilanti area (or close by – it’s worth an hour or so drive) sign up for the race. It’s only 3.1 miles, and it’s really the least we can do.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tell me About Your Third Nipple

Image
Last summer I had a friend describe me to a new acquaintance as such: he referenced a James Bond movie where Bond is impersonating someone who has a third nipple. Everyone who knew this person well knew about the third nipple, so he had to wear a prosthesis and pull it off. He finished the analogy by saying, "Samantha knows everybody's third nipple." It was one of the best compliments I've received in a while. Maybe ever. My entire life I've prided myself on sincere and purposeful interactions and relationships both in my personal and professional life. Have I always gotten it right? Absolutely not. But I put a lot of work into how I interact with humans. It's the reason I have solid groups of friends and acquaintances. It's the reason I've been able to build a successful consulting business. I put a lot of time and intention into people, and it matters. How do I do it...and why? If you know me you know I don't have a third nipple or  a colon. You
Read more

Can we Stop with the Negative Mom Culture?

Image
  A few months ago someone brought beverages to my house called "Mom Water". I'd never heard of it, and after looking it up (because you know I did not and would not drink it) found out it is fruit infused vodka water. It sounds disgusting.  On the Mom Water website they say they're trying to celebrate moms b ut I immediately jumped to the premise that being a mom is so terrible that we have to create a gross new wine cooler in order to cope. It made me realize I'm really over the negative mom culture.  I get it: being a mom is hard work. I've had late nights and early mornings. I haven't slept through the night in years. I've been thrown up on and given every virus known to humankind (except COVID surprisingly). My son was home for 15 months without childcare during the height of the pandemic. There were some very long days, and you bet I lost my patience. Sometimes I still do.  But it feels like we're in this place where it's trendy to compla
Read more

The COVID Destruction of Habits

Image
I love habits. Habits are my jam. With just a little research one can find tons of books and articles about the importance of habits for success. In February of 2020 my habits were down to a science. I woke up early to work out. I dropped my son off at daycare by 7:30 each morning and was at city hall by 7:45. I worked a full day of meetings before picking my son up (most days) by 5:30 pm. On Mondays I had city council meetings nearly every week. My habits were set in stone because my schedule was so busy. If anything shifted out of place my entire day could be shifted. That was not my jam. By mid-March 2020, when the world shut down, all my habits went out the door. In an instant habits no longer existed. There was no child care. There were no office hours. We were all home together for an extended period for the first time as a family. My husband and I had work to do, but it felt like summer camp. I would go for walks with the dog and my son between meetings. We would ride bikes, and
Read more