as many of you know, i am now an aunt. i cannot express to you how much love and joy that this beautiful little boy has brought to my family. he is everything that is right and good. his biological parents both have arrests for domestic violence. had my sister not adopted him, he would at the very least been witness to violence in the home (his home) and at the worst, been victim of it. most of you reading this have kids. the thought of someone hurting them is UNTHINKABLE. even allowing that thought to creep in brings immediate physiological changes to our bodies. keenan was one of the lucky ones. i'm running in this event for all of the beautiful boys and girls who are not lucky.

when victims are able to get away, we have to have a place for them to go. safe passage is doing all the right things. they offer shelter, counseling, advocacy, support groups and believe that empowering the victim is the start to helping her get her life back. they understand that domestic violence is typically male on female, but not always, and offer their services to anyone in need, regardless of gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.

so much of the bad stuff in our relationships with one another is cyclical in nature. we have to start breaking these cycles and give our kids a chance.

ok, the money part. i'm proud to be on my sister's team, Raising Change, LLC in this event, which is the major fundraiser for Safe Passage. in 2012 i fell just short of raising $1000, so my goal is to surpass 4 digits here. can you help? $5?, $50?, $500? or anything in between?? (in 2012, i did have someone anonymously donate $500, which was so freaking cool - if you're reading this, i still think of that from time to time and always smile - you helped a lot of people!)

thank you.

love to you all. x