Margaret Hoagg is a 12 year old student at East Middle School in Traverse City. She’s been an integral part of the fundraising effort for the Run Across Ethiopia since the beginning of the 2010 school year. This story is in her own words: (Thanks so much Margaret!)
Two months ago I decided I wanted to make a difference. I’ve always wanted to help others and do something in the world. When I heard about The Run Across Ethiopia I knew what I was going to do. So I brainstormed with Hans Voss, and I went with him to meet the team.
I had no idea how many people were behind me and were ready to help. I decided (with the help of my teachers) to do a “Run Out of Class”. Students at East Middle School would pay a dollar for the cause and be able to skip their last hour while they do a symbolic run around the school. Getting this idea started was hard and there were some big bumps in the road. I had no idea how many details there would be to go over. Our first date of the run came up a lot faster then we expected and we still had a lot to do . So we postponed it. Then Chris Treter came in and talked to all 800 kids at my school. Kids were starting to talk about the run and I was also getting donations from family and friends.
By the day of the run I already had $1,000! We had 7 people from the team come to run with my school on the big day. As soon as we were ready, the kids bolted out the door with yelps of delight to complete the two laps around the school. As I ran, I had people congratulating me and cheering for me. Everyone in the yellow t-shirts was talking with the kids and educating them about Ethiopia while they ran. Overall, it was a great success and I know everyone had a lot of fun. When I look back on this, I remember that sometimes I felt that I got in over my head, it was stressful at times. But it worked out great, and I will never forget that day, or the feeling of accomplishment. I would definitely do it again tomorrow!
Click here to go back to RunAcrossEthiopia.Org
