Fifty Mile Run to Benefit Adopt a Doctor
Biddeford, ME -
On April 27, 2008 Dante Leven and Gary Simmons will be running a 50 mile loop in the area of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM), in Biddeford, Maine, to raise money for Adopt a Doctor. With the effort of these individuals, Adopt a Doctor hopes to sponsor several more doctors in some of the poorest areas of the world and ensure that healthcare services are maintained there.
Adopt a Doctor, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization based in Providence, RI, has identified and selected four of the world’s poorest nations, Sierra Leone, Mali, Malawi, and Liberia, from which doctors are leaving due to poor compensation and a lack of resources. We offer financial aid and other critical support for physicians in these countries, so they can stay and save thousands of lives.
As this is the second year of this successful fundraising effort, Dante and Gary have chosen to go further in an effort to raise even more money for these impoverished communities. The 50 miles being run by our fundraisers reflects the incredible distances people around the world travel just to obtain basic medical care.
“After running the New York City Marathon in 2006 I remember finishing the race thinking that I wanted to keep going farther. The next day, still in a foggy daze, I heard Ray Rickman speak about global health at UNECOM. During the speech I felt this odd mixture of being exhausted, dazed, but energized. In Ray’s speech, he mentioned the distance that people travel just to obtain healthcare in certain parts of Africa - 44 miles - and a little light bulb appeared above my head. I saw it with my own eyes. I ran home that night, told my wife, and you know the rest…”
- Dante Leven, MSII, UNECOM student and co-organizer of the 50 mile run to benefit Adopt a Doctor
Contributions of any level are greatly appreciated to support their effort, and can be made safely and securely through FirstGiving, a website that has been created especially for this purpose. The link to the page is http://www.firstgiving.com/44
