CFC INSIGHTS: NYC Marathon Note
The day of the New York City Marathon I experience as the greatest widest most joyful annual expression of community that New York City generates. I experience it as this amazing day when every thing GREAT about a melting pot emerges. I think 10-12 people in our family have run across a gazillion years and as such we have plenty of personal experiences of New Yorkers going way out of their way to be kind to runners from all over the world. My FIRST New York City Marathon was exactly 10 days after I met Kelly in 1985. (As you can see from the photo below, years later Kelly was foolish enough to run with me, was smiling at the end and our marriage has thrived EVEN THOUGH on that day she decided to nip me at the wire! Aye ye ye… I did get to wear my Ohio State shirt however.)
I swore I would NEVER do that again! (Here is a picture from 1985 seconds before I passed out and required an IV! WHO would be dumb enough to do THAT again!!??) Well… this year will mark my fifth New York City Marathon and it is special for many reasons one of which is I have struggled with a lot of leg injuries since doing a wicked split on a wet soccer pitch four years ago.
NOW! Why Restore NYC?
Well… about 3 years ago my business partner Brynne Thompson created the Community For Change (www.cvcommunityforchange.org) which is Coburn Ventures’ effort to contribute philanthropically. We are lucky to engender a great deal of trust in the community Coburn Ventures has hoped to nurture and we aim as a community to make a significant difference to the difference makers at a wide set of non-profits.
"But why Restore NYC" you ask again?
Well they have 17 other foolish people running the marathon for starters and they invited me! That made it easy to say yes.
ABOVE AND BEYOND that: Restore NYC is a group dedicated to assist women who are survivors of an unimaginably horrendous dreadful circumstance of having been sex trafficked. Sometimes I consider that “trafficked” is far to simple a word (euphemistic) for the horror that I can’t even pretend to begin to imagine.
Brynne decided in December 2014 to host a lunch in our Seaport space to help Restore with something we tend to focus on. She brought together about 20 friends to join together to brainstorm ideas to serve Restore NYC in attempt to make a difference to the difference makers.
Brynne called it the Community For Change.
BAM!
There was ONE SPECIFIC MOMENT that affected me forever in that session. I recall where I was sitting and who was next to me. I will never forget. It was when Amanda from Restore informed us that 70% of the women “trafficked” were mothers who were lured to leave their children and homeland to take care of them financially through a job in the United States without a promise to ever see their children again… …and then what in itself in leaving children as the best way to take care of them — which I can’t pretend to begin to fathom how hard that alone would be — it all turns into such an unmitigated all out tragedy. When all of THAT hit me in the chest with a thud I thought that as a group it would be good to offer ourselves to Restore and to other difference makers through what things we might do well. I thought that December 2014 lunch was the best thing Coburn Ventures had done all year.
Ok…
That is what I wanted to share.
I would love you to celebrate with me New York,
…the Marathon,
…Restore,
… Or whatever you would like to joyfully celebrate…
…or mothers all around the world who in ways exemplify the greatest love we know as humans and are beacons for all of us at every moment.
The well-known monk Thich Nhat Hahn discusses how persistent love can melt through any of the armor protection our ego has created that separates each of us amazingly/sadly from one another. He reminds of us of the moment you were sick as a child and your mom may have come in to merely placed her hand on your forehead and how her love melted through all the sickness in that moment
…that single expression of care may have felt like the greatest love you will ever know. That moment is always available I think.
IF you would like to join and celebrate I would be so so thrilled. Truly thrilled.
Excelsior!
Pip
