I am running the 2026 Philadelphia Marathon to raise funds for Asha for Education, whose myriad projects help underprivileged children across India. As an educator, this event is symbolic and inspiring: running where our Republic began on the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, for some of the neediest kids of the world’s largest democracy, today. I’ve picked up running again for many reasons, and this campaign gives me a perfect target. I run to honor my stepmother Joyce, battling terminal cancer, and in remembrance of my track coach at Archbishop Stepinac High School, William A. “Bill” Krebs, who passed away in June. His memory pushes me now, “Jog boys!”
With around 50 chapters worldwide, Asha for Education has worked with a vision to catalyze socio-economic change through education, since 1991. Asha for Education’s core values and output prove what NGOs are capable of – connecting the world through volunteers to make progress where it is needed most, without religion or politics manipulating them. Collective and decentralized, this is what democracy looks like.
Please chip in today. Many employers offer donation matching, too. It takes less than a minute to verify on the confirmation page after you donate, and it makes a big difference in the total support Asha for Education can provide. For more on where your money goes, you can check out the NYC/NJ chapter projects at https://nycnj.ashanet.org/. My local chapter is here: https://danbury.ashanet.org/
Thank you!