Hello, I am reaching out to you today in what is my very first fundraising project, asking for a small (or very big, if you insist!) donation to support a charity in the southeast of Mexico that for more than 20 years has supported children with special needs. This charity "Asociacion Pro Ninos Excepcionales (modest website here: https://www.proninos.org.mx/ofrecemos.html ) is very dear to me because it was founded by my aunt Dafne, who, because of what she has built over the years in a journey of effort, sacrifice, and generosity to help children that otherwise would be neglected, is my absolute hero and I can't think of someone who I admire more.

A bit more about Dafne, because her story is one of those in which a very grim situation led to marvelous things happening:

Dafne gave birth to my cousin Quique 30 years ago; she had a healthy pregnancy and everything was very well until a medical error during labor meant that Quique's brain did not get the oxygen it needed, leaving him disabled for life. I was just a young kid then, but I remember vividly the pain and confusion compounded with the fact that in a country like Mexico, especially in those times, the State did not have much of a safe net to support families like mine and children like Quique.

Dafne and her late husband, Enrique, rolled up their sleeves and started working towards building something beautiful and did so with zero self-interest. Today, the charity helps hundreds of children a month and is a very important institution in the local community, yet they are always struggling to secure funds from the state or donors (the donor culture is not very ingrained yet in Mexicans as it is in the UK or other countries). Also, Dafne became a prominent campaigner for the rights of children with special needs (video here in a session in the local congress, in Spanish only, sorry https://twitter.com/rfqr/status/1050765736929574912?lang=fi). Here also a local broadcaster covering her work and story https://www.facebook.com/cancunchannel/videos/dafne-garc%C3%ADa-herrera-de-la-asociaci%C3%B3n-pro-ni%C3%B1os-excepcionales-en-contrapunto-con/1339074226112075/

I would lie if I say that I'm running a marathon on January 29th because of her or my cousin - the idea to fundraise for them is more recent, but then I figured. that I might well run it with a bigger purpose, therefore my pledge, colleagues, friends, by-passers.

Thank you in advance for your attention and support.