Track and Field Blogs - seelibbyrun

Dear Friends and Family,

You may know that on November 1, 2009, I’ll be running the ING New York City Marathon (26.2 miles), and I am excited! Keep reading to find out why… :)

I am running for an amazing cause – Team for Kids! I hope that this letter will touch your hearts and minds so that you might be excited to join in helping me raise much-needed funds to fight childhood obesity in New York and around the world…to give kids a running start!

Some facts:

· The number of overweight or obese children in the United States has TRIPLED since 1980.

· Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.

· Obesity related illnesses cause 300,000 deaths/year.

· One in three children born in 2000 will develop type II diabetes due to inactivity and obesity; type II diabetes kills and is preventable!

· The CDC suggests that school-aged children participate in at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity (US children currently average 6 minutes/day).

· Inactivity and poor diet is the 2^nd leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

· Health care expenses and losses related to obesity cost Americans > $100 billion annually.

· Currently, the annual hospital tab for juvenile obesity is > $127,000,000.

· More than 43%of NYC children are overweight or obese, putting them at significant risk for many chronic diseases including early onset of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

· Unfortunately, as childhood obesity rates are rising, quality in-school physical education programs are disappearing.

· Obesity is PREVENTABLE – we can help!

There’s more! Regular, organized physical activity in children profoundly impacts self-esteem, body image, socialization, and self efficacy. Starting early allows children to adopt lifelong exercise behaviors that will continue to positively affect their daily lives forever. Positive self esteem and worth equip children with the confidence to lead healthy and happy lives….this is why I run for TFK!

Engaging children in physical activity is not always easy. Parents are busier and budgets are tighter than ever. Consequently, more children are finding themselves in front of the TV or computer for hours. Team for Kids helps the New York Road Runners Foundation (NYRRF) deliver running-based fitness programs to 75,000 at-risk school children each week in New York, around the country, and South Africa. These programs are run by trained volunteers who help kids learn to run, eat well, and set and achieve fitness and health goals.

One day, we will be older and I will not be running marathons….and we will want our kids to have grown into healthy, physically and emotionally fit adults! I hope that you will support me in my endeavor to help New York City fight childhood obesity and get kids running!

Thank you for reading!

Please remember, no donation is considered small, and any amount will help!

My fundraising goal for this race is $2,500. You may make online donations at: https://www.nyrrc.org/cgi-bin/start.cgi/mar-programs/nyrrf/team/2009/donations.htm. My ING NYC Marathon entry number is 424983. All donations are tax-deductible, and that information will be emailed to you upon submitting a donation. If you would like to keep up with my training and running blurbs, please check out my NYRR/TFK profile at: http://www.flotrack.org/members/seelibbyrun.

Thank you so much for your support!!! I hope you are as excited as I am about helping kids stay active, healthy, and achieve new goals! Please feel free to forward this letter along to any of your own friends/family who may want to get involved.

Sincerely,

Libby Rhee

** If you feel uncomfortable making an online donation through the secure site, please let me know, and I will gladly send you a donation card in the regular mail.