On Wednesday, I shared the beautiful story of Brent Cunningham’s giving his Boston Marathon medal to a stranger who hadn’t finished due to the terrorist attack. That story lead me to this and it seems that medals bring out the best in everyone.
Something that Dr. Steven Isenberg realized the day after he finished the 2003 Chicago Marathon, and went to visit a friend who was hospitalized. Unsure of what to say, even as a surgeon, Dr. Isenberg pulled his finishers’ medal from his pocket and placed it around his friend’s neck. “I want you to have this,” he said. “You are running a much more difficult marathon than the one I completed.”
Sadly, his friend didn’t win his race but had told Dr. Isenberg how much he treasured the medal. Those words were the inspiration to start Medals4Mettle. So in 2005, Dr. Isenberg formed the non-profit, to collect runner’s medals which could be donated to those who are battling serious illnesses and who have demonstrated courage and mettle in fighting their battle.
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Today, Medals4Mettle had awarded over 18,000 medals to recipients across the world. Medals have been awarded by Indy 500 race car drivers, Olympic athletes and individuals who want to experience the incredible joy of giving their hard-earned finisher’s medals to courageous human beings.
Currently, Medals4Mettle is humbly accepting donations of Boston Marathon finishers’ medals from this year, or past years, to be sent to their Boston area chapters. They will then place Medals4Mettle ribbons on them and award them to the courageous victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon and the first responders that raced to help them while respecting the privacy of all victims and family members.
I think everyone is a winner in this race.
Charity Matters.
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