Heartfelt email from Pablo

Pablo sent out this heartfelt email this morning after our epic night at Mr. Smiths:

Querida Familia,

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who helped out with last night, whether it was spreading the word to friends and classmates, or helping sell raffle tickets, getting prizes for raffle tickets, and much more. Last night's fundraiser was a HUGE success. The General Manager said he's never seen a party like that at Mr. Smith's. The DJ agreed and said he's never seen people enjoying themselves and the place so full like last night. He even wanted me to join him tonight at another fundraiser in the city for Haiti to give shout outs and inspire those people. I am overwhelmed with emotions right now as I write this because of the love and support I felt last night and for the success of the campaign so far. Last night, we pulled in $3175 at the door and coupled with the $280 from the raffle, we raised $3455. Not bad for one night. I don't know the exact number, but with the donations we have already received, this might put us around the $5000 mark or very near. This is incredible. Great work everyone!

I'll be honest with you all since you have helped me with this campaign: last night probably saved my attempt. Quite frankly, I was starting to hit a low in my motivation and confidence. A nasty little cold has crept up on me and I was feeling sick and weak last night. On top of that, I was just exhausted from everything. I am in the midst of the most intense/important part of the training, and I am hurting and the sickness started wiping out the rest of my energy. Work has been extremely busy with many little projects. I even forgot for a moment that it was my birthday last week until my family called to wish me a happy birthday (seriously). With the injuries and setbacks with the shoulders, I was even questioning whether I would be able to pull off this feat. I was very nervous for the fundraiser, wondering if anyone would show up, then the rain came, and I thought that would deter many from showing, etc. The stress coupled with the physical toll that the challenge has presented started to really knock me back a bit. Endurance challenges are not new to me, my body can handle this; however, this is the first time that I do this while having a full time job (as opposed to only being a student). The training is seriously like a part time job on top of my already full time job that already feels like time and a half. I was hitting a low point and losing motivation, which was horrible timing because I am five weeks away from March 7th and need to be very highly motivated. But the love and support and seeing Mr. Smith's so crowded and people having a great time truly inspired me. Walking around, people I didn't even know where asking me if I was the "dribbling guy" and friends introduced me to their friends as the "guy who is dribbling the marathon" and people were very kind and had sincere words of encouragement.

This all started as a joke, with me saying I could easily break the record. Then I had a heartbreaking conversation with a highly qualified student (who I was going to write a letter of rec to Stanford for) who told me that she was not going to a four-year school because she could not afford to take the SAT II's and pay for the application fees. After taking out my credit card and paying for her, I emailed Christine looking for help on how we can make something happen and use this challenge as a quirky gimmick to get some attention. Little by little, we brought people along to compose our core team and we developed Upward Bounce. Originally, I thought we could raise a couple hundred or maybe $1000 and help fund the current seniors in SCP and get them to college. I had dreams of raising more, but tried to remain grounded and wanted to just at least help out a few students because I cannot stomach seeing these qualified students being turned down because they cannot afford the college application process. I just thought: "I just need to get them to college, that's it! They'll do the rest." But then with everyone's hard work, we are nearing the $5000 mark. We have had an incredible fundraiser. We have had some shout outs on radio stations. We are also on the verge of getting a sponsorship and an ad campaign in the local newspapers. I am passionate about what I do. I teach because I love it. Helping youth see the power of education and the love for the thirst of knowledge and growth for intellectual maturity is the most rewarding work that I have done. I don't mind putting my body through this challenge and putting in all this work, if it means that we can help even one student reach their dreams of college. Because of that, I am very thankful that you have helped us get to where we are.

I woke up this morning feeling so inspired, I was ready to hit my 16 mile run. I had to hold myself back in order to allow my body to rest a day and do it tomorrow instead. But I feel rejuvenated and inspired to continue to work on raising more money, raising awareness for equal educational opportunities, and to continue to get myself ready for this marathon. There is no doubt in my mind that I can break that record. 3:48:23 is the only thing I am thinking about right now. I will cross that finish line, even if I am crawling on my knees and pushing that ball with my nose. I am committed and focused on getting myself in the best possible position come March 7th. So thank you very much for your support. Let's keep pushing and doing what we are doing.

Much Love,
Pablo

As you can see, we've got tons of support and lots of momentum. Let's keep this up! I'm proud and grateful for everyone that is stepping up to the plate to do important work for our community.

Kev