Deanna's Campaign for Racing for Recovery
Call for help! This August I am teaming up with Racing for Recovery to race the inaugural Traverse City, Michigan, Ironman 70.3, and I need your help to reach my fundraising goal.
Racing for Recovery is an incredible comprehensive treatment, support, education, and wellness program dedicated to preventing all forms of substance abuse by promoting a lifestyle of fitness and health for those affected by addiction. Led by its founder Todd Crandell (author of Racing for Recovery: From Addict to Ironman - a must read for ALL), this program has received national attention for its local and remote/online programs available to anyone struggling with addiction and wanting to live sober.
As many of you know, my older brother passed away a year ago after decades of struggling with alcohol addiction and other medical issues. With a rollercoaster of emotions I've been looking for a way to use this anniversary as an opportunity to do something meaningful, larger than me, to help those struggling with a disease I'm all too familiar with. Whether you know my brother's story or have one of your own, addiction impacts every one of us. It could be your spouse, partner, brilliant work colleague, neighbor, highly functional best friend who seems to have it all together, coffee shop employee who makes your coffee each day, family member, kids' coach, or the kid down the hall playing video games right now. Those who are suffering need to be empowered to find their voice to ask for help, a supportive community, the right treatment that works for them, and to know they are not alone. It breaks my heart that my brother could not find his voice to get the treatment he needed.
I was once told that people die so that others may live. I'm so lucky, and so thankful to be alive. I'm determined to fight each day to end the stigma of addiction and change its face through education and awareness. We talk about addiction (alcohol, pot, other drugs, etc.), anxiety, depression, anger, suicide, healthy lifestyles, talking about how you are feeling, self medicating, failing forward and learning from your mistakes, fear, love, happiness, respecting and taking care of our bodies and our minds, and so on, with our kids constantly. These topics are not mutually exclusive. I strongly encourage you to do the same. The stigma of addiction needs to stop.
Partnering with Racing for Recovery is a huge, once in a lifetime opportunity to help many, many people struggling with addiction and to give back to this amazing, life-changing community. But I need your help to make this happen. I've set a fundraising goal and like any goal of mine, I want to blow it out of the water. As a 501(c)(3) organization, all donations are tax deductible. More information on this program is below, and please call if you want to talk. Life is short, live each day like there is no tomorrow. Break the stigma, hold your head high, spread your wings, and find your grit, power, and purpose. Find your voice.
Any donation amount helps. I cannot do this without you. Thank you for your support.
For more information on Racing for Recovery visit https://racingforrecovery.org/
Racing for Recovery has been featured on CNN, ESPN, The Doctors, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Runner’s World & Triathlete Magazines, and many podcasts, radio and television programs around the world. You can watch many of these at https://racingforrecovery.org/news/
And for some inspiration :)
"There were times in my life/When I was goin' insane/Tryin' to walk through the pain/When I lost my grip, and I hit the floor/Yeah, I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door/I was so sick and tired of livin' a lie/I was wishin that I would die/It's amazing/With the blink of an eye you, finally see the light/It's amazing/When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright/It's amazing/And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight"
― "It's Amazing," Aerosmith
“To a drinker the sensation is real and pure and akin to something spiritual: you seek; in the bottle, you find.”
― Caroline Knapp, Drinking: A Love Story
"'Cause sometimes you just feel tired, you feel weak/And when you feel weak you feel like you want to just give up/But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength/And just pull that shXX out of you and get that motivation to not give up/And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you want to just fall flat on your face and collapse"
― "'Till I Collapse," Eminem
"You are where you are, because of who you are. If you are going to get somewhere else, you are going to have to change something."
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+vision+motivational+video+mateusz&view=detail&mid=7B38669720A5C06DD0357B38669720A5C06DD035&FORM=VIRE
Racing for Recovery is an incredible comprehensive treatment, support, education, and wellness program dedicated to preventing all forms of substance abuse by promoting a lifestyle of fitness and health for those affected by addiction. Led by its founder Todd Crandell (author of Racing for Recovery: From Addict to Ironman - a must read for ALL), this program has received national attention for its local and remote/online programs available to anyone struggling with addiction and wanting to live sober.
As many of you know, my older brother passed away a year ago after decades of struggling with alcohol addiction and other medical issues. With a rollercoaster of emotions I've been looking for a way to use this anniversary as an opportunity to do something meaningful, larger than me, to help those struggling with a disease I'm all too familiar with. Whether you know my brother's story or have one of your own, addiction impacts every one of us. It could be your spouse, partner, brilliant work colleague, neighbor, highly functional best friend who seems to have it all together, coffee shop employee who makes your coffee each day, family member, kids' coach, or the kid down the hall playing video games right now. Those who are suffering need to be empowered to find their voice to ask for help, a supportive community, the right treatment that works for them, and to know they are not alone. It breaks my heart that my brother could not find his voice to get the treatment he needed.
I was once told that people die so that others may live. I'm so lucky, and so thankful to be alive. I'm determined to fight each day to end the stigma of addiction and change its face through education and awareness. We talk about addiction (alcohol, pot, other drugs, etc.), anxiety, depression, anger, suicide, healthy lifestyles, talking about how you are feeling, self medicating, failing forward and learning from your mistakes, fear, love, happiness, respecting and taking care of our bodies and our minds, and so on, with our kids constantly. These topics are not mutually exclusive. I strongly encourage you to do the same. The stigma of addiction needs to stop.
Partnering with Racing for Recovery is a huge, once in a lifetime opportunity to help many, many people struggling with addiction and to give back to this amazing, life-changing community. But I need your help to make this happen. I've set a fundraising goal and like any goal of mine, I want to blow it out of the water. As a 501(c)(3) organization, all donations are tax deductible. More information on this program is below, and please call if you want to talk. Life is short, live each day like there is no tomorrow. Break the stigma, hold your head high, spread your wings, and find your grit, power, and purpose. Find your voice.
Any donation amount helps. I cannot do this without you. Thank you for your support.
For more information on Racing for Recovery visit https://racingforrecovery.org/
Racing for Recovery has been featured on CNN, ESPN, The Doctors, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Runner’s World & Triathlete Magazines, and many podcasts, radio and television programs around the world. You can watch many of these at https://racingforrecovery.org/news/
And for some inspiration :)
"There were times in my life/When I was goin' insane/Tryin' to walk through the pain/When I lost my grip, and I hit the floor/Yeah, I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door/I was so sick and tired of livin' a lie/I was wishin that I would die/It's amazing/With the blink of an eye you, finally see the light/It's amazing/When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright/It's amazing/And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight"
― "It's Amazing," Aerosmith
“To a drinker the sensation is real and pure and akin to something spiritual: you seek; in the bottle, you find.”
― Caroline Knapp, Drinking: A Love Story
"'Cause sometimes you just feel tired, you feel weak/And when you feel weak you feel like you want to just give up/But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength/And just pull that shXX out of you and get that motivation to not give up/And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you want to just fall flat on your face and collapse"
― "'Till I Collapse," Eminem
"You are where you are, because of who you are. If you are going to get somewhere else, you are going to have to change something."
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+vision+motivational+video+mateusz&view=detail&mid=7B38669720A5C06DD0357B38669720A5C06DD035&FORM=VIRE
Organizer
Deanna Gregory
Organizer
Snoqualmie, WA
Racing for Recovery
Beneficiary