Hello my wonderful friends and family,

I am very excited to be participating in my third Bank of America Chicago Marathon, raising money for Team One Step! For those of you who don't know, Team One Step supports Camp One Step by Children's Oncology Services, an organization that operates camps and other recreational and educational experiences for children who have been diagnosed with cancer. 

This past summer I had the amazing privilege of volunteering for a week at Camp One Step. I was a counselor for Standard, which had kids from ages 7-10. To say the week was unforgettable would be an understatement. Each day felt like a world in its own, filled with songs, laughter, waterfront time, ice cream, greasy food, and the most amazing campers I could ask for. I left camp both wanting more, and understanding the importance of a place like Camp One Step. I got to watch as over the course of a week this wonderful kids leave the world they know at home, filled with hospital visits, painful medicine, and feeling different from the other kids their age, and enter into a place in which they were among friends who understood them and what they have experienced. 

Beyond my campers, I also got to engage with the community that surrounds Camp One Step, filled with lifelong campers, counselors, and of course the marvelous med staff (headed by my Mom). I got to see that Camp One Step doesn't end when the week is done, nor does it end when you age out of being a camper. Once you are a part of Camp, you never leave. It is a community, one that I am so grateful to be a part of and proud to support.

Needless to say, this years Marathon feels different for me because I am no longer running for something, but someone (or some-ones, you get it). It would mean the world to me if you helped support my journey and this incredible, life-changing, and necessary organization.

Every donation—big or small—helps me reach my fundraising goal and directly impacts this important cause.

Here's how you can help:

• Donate: Contribute whatever you can. No amount is too small!
• Spread the Word: Share my fundraising page with your friends, family, and social networks. Let’s spread awareness so we can raise more!

Thank you so much,

Max