Dear friends,

It is so exciting (and nerve wracking) that I am running my first half marathon in Miami in January! Most importantly, I am running alongside one of my best friends and sister, Elana. As the pandemic took hold, running was one of the few "allowed" activities and Sundays at home became "Sunday Run-day"s for us. This is the ultimate Sunday Funday!

We are running together for a much bigger cause. Elana is a giver in every sense of the word. After a friend passed away from cancer many years ago, Elana has devoted countless hours of her life to supporting children who are living with illness. She has been a camp counselor in Chai Lifeline's summer camp for children with cancer, slept in hospitals many times to allow parents to have a night off, and raised countless dollars. Unfortunately, over this time she has seen multiple friends pass away and each time rises up to put more of herself into the cause. 

Most recently, Elana's camper Michelle Begelfer A"H passed away just 3 weeks after their week at camp together. In her honor, "Team Michelle" was born and Elana immediately committed to running and raising money for Chai Lifeline, an international children’s health support network that provides critical year-round programs and services to nearly 6,000 families confronting pediatric illness. (Unlike me, Elana has not taken a liking to running in the last 2 years so this is a big deal). Inspired by Elana, I want to join her on the run and help raise money for this organization that is near and dear to her heart. 

May you all be lucky enough to be surrounded and inspired by someone like Elana who believes in the unadulterated beauty of life and personally works to ensure that each person she encounters has the chance to live their own life to the fullest potential. By raising money for Chai Lifeline we are directly contributing to Elana's mission in Michelle's honor. 

I greatly appreciate any contribution you can make to this endeavor: material or emotional!

With love,
Rebecca Sichel