Community, Friendship Through Fundraising For Mesothelioma

Throughout February, we posted blogs about how to host your own fundraising event, the importance of event sponsors, and how to sustain your audience. We’re continuing this series of fundraising posts with a blog by Jill Waite, a Fundraise for Meso event planner, on how fundraising has impacted her life:

Jill WaiteFive years ago, I was determined to undertake an endeavor – to host a 5k to honor my Dad’s legacy and to raise money for mesothelioma research. I had no expectation of the amount we could raise, just a fierce determination to somehow help make a difference in the lives of those still fighting mesothelioma. I could not fully understand how healing the race would be for me until I stood at the finish line and watched everyone cross. As we were tearing down, I was already planning how we would improve the next year.

The four years we have held the race, we have raised almost $40,000 for mesothelioma research. As imperative as that is, we have watched something beautiful happen. People are coming from all over to run and walk in memory of, or honor of, someone they love. We have grown from 200 runners to 328, which, for our little town, is amazing. What has transpired is a celebration of lives, in the midst of pain. We have become a community of people, brought together by a commonality we would rather not have, but do. And in that, we have found one another. Friendships have forged, and lives have been touched. People continue to come, in growing numbers, because we are more than a race, we are a place of healing, of celebration, and of love.

And as I begin to plan the 5th annual Bruce A. Waite Miles for Meso 5k, I am energized by those who travel to Ontario, Ohio in September to be a part of something bigger than we can understand. We run, walk, volunteer, and donate to give honor to those we love. And their legacy is the greatest gift we can give others, by doing what we can to eradicate this disease. As long as there is a need, we will do our part to help raise money for mesothelioma research, through the work of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.

The 5th annual Bruce A. Waite Miles for Meso will be held Sunday, September 18, 2016, at 2:00pm in Ontario, Ohio. Registration opens March 25 at www.brucewaite5k.com.