My friends, we are not the sum of our possessions. They are not the measure of our lives. In our hearts we know what matters. We cannot hope only to leave our children a bigger car, a bigger bank account. We must hope to give them a sense of what it means to be a loyal friend; a loving parent; a citizen who leaves his home, his neighborhood, and town better than he found it – George H.W. Bush
I’ve been thinking about Runnin’ Not Walken’s efforts since 2015 a lot lately. Part of it has been that I’ve been dealing with a bit of an injury and my personal goal of running a half marathon, may have to take a backseat right now. Part of it is that I also get a bit nostalgic from time to time.
Then I heard the about quote from George H.W. Bush attributed to him in a video from his funeral by his son George W. Bush and it struck a nerve. This is not about to get political. The featured image features a JFK quote too but I’m not getting political, I promise, but again, it struck a nerve.
It really has hit at the core of what we’re ultimately trying to do: make a difference and somehow to affect the world around us and as Mr. Bush said, leave it better than we found it.
While what we have done is largely without “doing” something active within the community, it has very much supported those that are actively making a difference in the world, in Fort Wayne and it’s surrounding communities, and ultimately the people around us who are our neighbors.
NeighborLink Fort Wayne is a great fit for us and ties to this concept so well. We have every intention in being involved in their efforts but our goal is to support them and help them do what they do so well.
They have a very “Golden Rule” feel about them that drew me to them in the first place. They are treating and serving others as they’d want to be served and treated. Unfortunately, that sentiment is refreshing in today’s day with so much negativity in the world. I also think that’s why they’re so successful. People respond to goodness more than ever too, because it’s heartfelt and intentional and that type of caring genuineness reaches people deep down. It also leaves not only the neighborhoods they’re serving better than when they found it, but the people too.
And that’s what motivates us to run 200 miles. Genuine people doing good for others. Genuine people caring. That’s something we can get behind and be motivated to do right by them and our hope is that our fundraising will be impactful for their mission so through those efforts, they can continue to do more of what they do so well.
Runners Doing Good 