Children from the Lwala community
RMF Partner in Lwala, Kenya the “Lwala Community Alliance” writes about the wonderful fundraiser/race they held in Kenya simultaneously with our LA Marathon fundraiser this past weekend.
by Sandra Jersby, Athletes for Real Medicine Project Coordinator
To all our Fantastic Athletes for Real Medicine Runners….Fantastic race this weekend! You did it! After months of hard training and dedication you completed the 2012 LA Honda Marathon and 5K. Your efforts and hard work also contributed to a very successful fundraiser and we are very grateful for your support in helping us reach our fundraising goal. We are still counting donations but it looks like we might have over $20,000 from Athletes for Real Medicine donors/sponsors!
I’ve had a great time and it has been a pleasure and honor working with you, and I can’t wait to do it all over again!
by Fred Ascher
The weekly training sessions led by Olympic runner Malachi Davis at UCLA’s Drake Track continue for Athletes for Real Medicine Foundation. As these photos (taken by writer/photographer Joe Roos) show, we Athletes for RMF are a motley crew of various ages, shapes and sizes, but this is no matter to Malachi and his talented team! From core training to stretching and building strength leaping tall bleachers in a succession of single bounds, Malachi is getting each participant in the shape he or she needs to be in for a successful race day!
There is one more training with Malachi before the Marathon – be sure not to miss next week’s session at 9 am on UCLA’s Drake Field! Contact Sandra Jersby for more information at Sandra.jersby@realmedicinefoundation.org
All photos were taken by Joe Roos
Click on link to visit our website where Annual Report can be viewed and downloaded as a PDF document
http://www.realmedicinefoundation.org/initiative/update/annual-report-20102011
Published on the Armenian Reporter
Los Angeles, CA – On Sunday March 20th, more than 30 Athletes for Real Medicine braved torrential rains and unseasonably cold temperatures to participate in the L.A. Marathon and raise $22,000 for Real Medicine Foundation, a non-profit organization providing humanitarian aid in disaster and poverty-stricken areas. Four of the marathon runners came from the Armenian community to raise funds specifically for Real Medicine Foundation’s programs in Armenia. Another seven Armenian runners joined “Team Armenia”, participating in Saturday’s Big 5K.
For the rest of this article follow the link to the rest of the article on the Armenian Reporter Website:
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2011-03-30-marathoners-brave-weather-to-benefit-armenia-japan
Los Angeles, CA – March 18, 2011 – Real Medicine Foundation is proud to announce that for the second year, it will be an official charity of the LA Marathon this Sunday March 20th. Runners from across California have joined Athletes for Real Medicine raising $18,000 so far for the non-profit which provides humanitarian support to people living in disaster and poverty stricken areas.
Some of the funds raised will go directly to Real Medicine Foundation’s relief efforts in Japan. The organization has partnered with JEN (Japanese Emergency Non-profit) to provide food and supplies to emergency shelters. JEN’s motto of “psycho-social care and assistance for self-reliance” is very similar to Real Medicine Foundation’s focus on the person as a whole, providing medical, physical, emotional, economic and social support.
Forty LA Marathon runners have opted to run and fundraise on behalf of Real Medicine Foundation, which operates in 15 countries throughout the world, including at home in Los Angeles, serving more than 6 million people a year. Donations of any size are accepted, and donors may earmark funds to be dedicated to specific projects, including relief efforts in Japan.
By Charles Case
The Real Medicine Foundation’s (RMF) motto of “Friends Helping Friends” is given a new twist by Ossig Tertarian as she prepares to compete in the L.A. Marathon. For her, it’s a case of sons helping mothers in order to help friends in need.
Ossig
A dance instructor of Armenian heritage, Ossig is just days away from the biggest run of her life, the 26.2 miles of the Los Angeles Marathon as part of RMF’s Athletes for Real Medicine–Team Armenia. Supporting RMF’s outreach in Armenia is “something dear to my heart,” says Ossig. “If we could save more people, get medical aid to people in Armenia, help even one person, what a difference that would make.” And to make that difference an even more powerful one, Ossig decided that her fourteen-year old son, Vahan, should run the Marathon too, and be side-by-side with her when she reaches the finish line. So just this morning she went onto the RMF website and signed Vahan up to run for Team Armenia. “We can make a difference together,” she says.
Joining Vahan and Ossig in the Marathon, and in the Big 5K held the day before, will be a score of other runners fielded by RMF, all demonstrating their dedication to the Foundation’s work in Armenia and around the globe.
A touching story from Lisa Suen, member of our Athletes for Real Medicine team, who is in the final stages of fundraising for RMF for the LA Marathon being held on March 20th.
by Lisa Suen
The holiday spirit was in full swing at Real Medicine’s Kids Holiday party at Florence Western Outreach clinic. Despite heavy rain, approximately 50 kids came ready to enjoy the holiday festivities of story-telling, dancing, cookie decorating and wreath making. The party offered a fun-filled morning for the underserved and at-risk children of south Los Angeles.
This is where I met a sweet girl by the name of Charity. She had this beautiful charm and energy about her when she introduced herself to me and volunteered to help me throughout the morning. Imagine that! This child, who the clinic runs its programs for, did not just want to enjoy the festivities, but wanted to help us! So we got busy, decorating her wreath and cookies while also helping to pass out decorations to the other kids. She was an amazing artist, as she decorated her paper wreath with a spectrum of colors. She then carefully decorated her sugar cookies and kindly offered them to me as a gift. I felt touched that this child was so giving and loving despite the environment she is growing up in.
Lisa and Charity at the Holiday Party
