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Runner raises funds for Rescue Mission
runner raises money for Rescue Mission while training for Marathon
By Bruce Walton
youngstown
Lynn Wyant, director of development for Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley, said she couldn’t believe the funds Boardman runner Rick Blair, 39, raised for them in only three months.
In January, he reached his goal of $5,000 in less than two weeks, and now he is setting a goal of $26,200, dedicated to the 26.2 miles he’ll complete in the Boston Marathon on April 18, the same day the fundraising campaign will end.
“He’s just an ideal volunteer, somebody who’s excited about the ministry,” Wyant said. “He’s willing to get dirty and do the work. He invests his time and his heart in what we’re doing here, and he believes in it and he involves his friends as well.”
The former Oberlin High School English teacher and current stay-at-home dad said he started running seven years ago merely for his health.
He started running marathons in 2011, with the Boston Marathon as his
future ninth. His training for the marathon started in fall 2015 when a friend who qualified to participate in the Boston Marathon Invitational looked into getting Blair to participate as well through the John Hancock Program.
The program has served as the sponsor of the Boston Marathon for more than 30 years, accepting applicants to compete in the marathon with the condition to raise money for a nonprofit organization of their choosing.
In just a couple of weeks, the program welcomed him as a participant of the Boston Marathon, and Blair chose to run for the mission.
The mission, located at 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., provides faith-based teaching, shelter and food for the homeless, runaway teens and single parents trying to make ends meet.
Blair decided to raise money for the mission since he visited them often as a child. He recently started bringing his wife and children to help volunteer their services.
“They’re not just a homeless shelter; they’re not just a soup kitchen,” Blair said. “They truly want to help people rehabilitate, to get back on their feet, to become independent again.”
In order to raise the money, Blair set up a fundraising account on crowdrise.com. Donors have contributed more than $13,000 as of March 23.
In addition to the donations, Blair announced an event he calls “March Matching Madness,” where a group of generous families have promised that if the campaign gains $2,500 this month, they will match that same amount.
The Rescue Mission doesn’t receive any government funding. It requires an average annual amount of $2 million from an array of donors to fund mission services. Blair will add his money to the organization’s general fund.
Blair hopes the people who donated for his cause will become annual donors to the mission.