Donate to Empower With Arms Wide Open

Hi everyone! My name is Nicole Anthony, and I am running the New York City Marathon for an incredible cause, With Arms Wide Open. The mission of this organization is to provide a forum where cops of all ranks, and their families, can attend meetings and discuss issues surrounding being the parents/ guardians/caretakers of a child with special needs. This organization was formed to create a community for cops and their families with special needs children.

I would like to share a little bit about myself and why I so honored and proud to be running the New York City Marathon this year. This marathon will be my 4th marathon, 3rd NYC since I ran my first NYC marathon in 2008. I currently live in Massachusetts with my husband, Chris and two kids, Emilia (8) and Oliver (3). Prior to having kids, running was a big part of my life and ran the following marathons:

• NYC in 2008 for Children with Cancer, a UK based Charity

• Boston in 2011 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

• NYC in 2014 as an individual runner

Running has always been an important part of my life because of both the mental and physical benefits. I moved to NYC after I graduated college in 2007 and the atmosphere on the day of the marathon is nothing I ever experienced, it was electric. It was then I decided to run my first marathon and because I had lived in England from 1994 – 2003 I had a connection to Children with Cancer as I volunteered with the charity during High School. After I ran NYC in 2014 I said I would not run another marathon again, but I am turning 40 on December 29, 2025 and have decided I want to commit to training and running one more, #4before40. The decision to run another marathon has not been taken lightly as I know what it takes to properly train for a marathon. Over the past few years, I have gone through some challenging times and last year, I made a goal for myself to start running again and was fortunate enough to get into the Disney ½ marathon, which I ran on January 11th, 2025 and so excited that I will also be running the Walt Disney World Dopey Challenge, which is a 5K, 10K, ½ Marathon and Full Marathon in January 2026

Every contribution, big or small, makes a real impact. Even just a few dollars can help move this mission forward and reach those who need it most.

Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. It means the world to me.