<p>When I first came to Springboard for Children in August 2009, I had no idea what to expect. I knew I was going to be teaching literacy in a one-to-one setting in schools around London, but little did I know the impact the children would have on my heart.<br />After deciding to stay at Springboard for a third year, I needed to decide how I was going to raise support. I&rsquo;ve been (trying) to run regularly since last school year, so I&rsquo;ve signed up for another (I MUST be crazy!!) 10K. Knowing running is something I&rsquo;m still not very good at (and trust me, the people I run past can also tell you that I&rsquo;m not very good at it because they can hear me coming from at least two streets away!), but I knew I needed to understand what it&rsquo;s like for the children I teach &ndash; to understand something that&rsquo;s hard and time consuming on a regular basis. <br />Reading and spelling doesn&rsquo;t come easy for any child that attends Springboard lessons (which is why they attend the lessons) &ndash; so for the kids I&rsquo;ve come to know and love dearly through the Springboard tutoring sessions, I&rsquo;ve come to realize reading and spelling is ridiculously hard, time consuming, and the need to practice (what seems, sometimes, like a never ending struggle) on a regular basis to improve their skills. <br />When I explained this to a few of the kids I teach, they instantly became interested in my &ldquo;training&rdquo; and how far I was running every day. One girl in particular asks every time she enters the Springboard Center, &ldquo;<span style="color: #800080;"><strong><em>Dana, where&rsquo;s your running bag? I need to make sure you&rsquo;re running home!</em></strong></span>&rdquo; This has in turn has given me a chance to explain to the children how difficult running is for me and how important it is to keep trying, even in areas that are difficult (like reading and spelling). <span style="color: #0000ff;"><strong>The children I teach see my running struggle as an opportunity to encourage themselves to continue to keep trying with their struggle in reading and writing, which in turn has encouraged me to keep running.</strong></span><br /><br />Please help me to reach my goal of &pound;500 which helps cover the costs of my flights to the UK in September and back to the US in August 2012. This will help me to continue to teach the children that have made a lasting impression on my heart for the years to come.</p> <p><br />Also, if you&rsquo;re in London on 10th July, feel free to come cheer me on during the run. The link below shows the race route so you can set up camp somewhere along there and shout like <span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>MAD</strong></span> when I run by.<br />http://www.thebritish10klondon.co.uk/Frameset/British10K2011.htm <br /><br /></p> <p>Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>LOTS OF LOVE,</p> <p>Dana</p>