Today I have a guest post from Operation Jack supporter Jake Rome. Actually, I should call him super-supporter Jake Rome. He’s been very supportive of everything I’ve done from the get-go and he’s actually the person who came up with the idea of the Operation Jack Marathon with its current location. It’s been huge having him in my corner. He asked me about running a guest post here and I didn’t hesitate to say yes for two reasons.
1. How can I say no to Jake?
2. It’s a lot easier to run a guest post than to write one of my own!**
** If you ever want o run a guest post here, let me know! I won’t say no!
OK, that all being said, here’s what he gave me:
Jake here with a guest blog today about a personal project that will benefit people with Autism through, what else, fundraising. I’m a rambly writer, so this will be too long. But could it be any other way? So we’ll get started, in the famous words of James Stockdale, “Who am I? Why am I here?” If you know the answer to those questions, you can jump straight here.
I actually knew Sam when he was much closer to 261 than 26.2, as I was a regular on the Runner’s World “Los Angeles Marathon” forum (before I led the effort to rename it Southern California, and later just California Running & Racing). I can’t seem to find the earliest, but suffice it to say that I was giving awful advice to Sam since he was running 2:30 half marathons. Our paths first crossed IRL at the 2009 Diamond Valley Lake Marathon, where I snapped the shot seen here & a few others after I finished the half and waited for the marathoner runners to end their races. Sam really liked this photo, as he was looking back at a friend that was closing fast– you can check out some details. It was even his Facebook pic for a long time.
So, that’s how I know Sam. Later than year, Sam announced his plans for Operation Jack, including his audacious goal of running 60 marathons in 2010. To be honest, I didn’t pay too much attention to the project, but I happened to read his blog late in 2009 when Sam started to doubt the project. Call it luck, coincidence, fate or anything else. But that ignited a little flame in me & I offered my support and did something I had never done before… fundraising! Over the next 12 months, my friends & I donated over $2500 to support Operation Jack leading up to Sam’s last race of the year, and I crossed paths with Sam at Carlsbad, Catalina & SD RnR Marathons.
And what would that race be? For those with a fuzzy memory, Sam planned to enter existing marathons for all but 3 or 4 of his races, which would be organized locally by Train 4 Autism. So I peeked at his schedule. And I noted he had an open entry for December 26. Way, way back in April or May or maybe even January of 2010, I suggested that Sam hold the race along my regular running route along the beach from Manhattan Beach north to Marina del Rey. No roads to close, good weather guaranteed, and within walking distance for me! Well, we had some false starts but around October Sam decided that would be the race, and we’d organize ourselves. Gulp! I never wanted to organize a marathon! Well, here goes. I think everyone knows what a giant success the first 2 Operation Jack Marathons have been, so I’ll just hit the highlights– almost $60,000 raised in the two events, satellite runners or events in dozens of states and most importantly, an awesome experience for every runner and walker that participates.
Like I said, rambly. And now I’ll take the opportunity to seamlessly segue into the real reason for the post. I poured a lot of energy into Operation Jack & especially the marathon– it was practically a job for those last 2 months of 2010. But why? I had never been very active in charitable fundraising. No one in my family was affected by Autism. I had met Sam a grand total of 3 times for about 1 hour. Now I’m going to tell you why.
My Mom was first diagnosed with cancer when I was in high school, and I just knew she would be fine. And again while I was in college. I was too stupid to be scared. Born tough, Mom had the same attitude, doing everything within her control to become healthy. About 6 years ago, the cancer metastasized and now I was no longer too stupid to be scared. Mom beat back the cancer that time too. Then in 2009 it was back again. One episode after another, hope around every corner, but also despair. Well, late into 2010 the prognosis was very bleak. And I made a deal that day– I would pour my heart into the Operation Jack Marathon and have faith that that act would somehow heal my Mom. I kept my end of the bargain, but it wasn’t meant to be. Just 2 months after the race, Mom passed away.
Mom was an artist, painting, drawing & sketching well over 600 artworks over 4 decades or more. Such a legacy, such a gift, but I was perplexed as to what to do with it all. Storing them indefinitely in the basement wasn’t a great option. Nor would Mom have given away her paintings… they were her gift to my brother & I. So I could work on selling them, but realistically the buyers would mostly be friends and family and I would not want to take money from any of them. Then in a flash it hit me… we would sell the paintings and donate the proceeds to charity, something to do with the arts. Well, we found a great charity.
“The Northeast Arc is dedicated to providing lifelong individualized supports to people with or at risk of developing disabilities, and their families, ensuring opportunities to choose and realize their goals of where and how they learn, live, work, socialize and play. With your help, our neighbors with disabilities are supported in living full and happy lives.” As part of that, Northeast Arc provides a range of services to families affected by Autism spectrum disorders. Specifically, the money we raise will be used to support the ArcWorks program, which provides art classes & other programs for affected families. All the money we raise will go to ArcWorks.
OK, now we get to the meat of it! Sam & Operation Jack lit a fire under me, and I’ve been involved in a few more charitable endeavors since then. So I knew what to do. First of all, we’re having a show! You’re all invited, it’s June 9 in Beverly, MA. There, we’ll be selling original art & prints. Of course, we need a memento of the event. A ha! I’ll produce a book. A little background on art books. In order to make outstanding books, it needs awesome artwork (check!), a committed editor (check! that was my job), and archival quality photos (SUPER CHECK!). A friend flew up to Beverly last year and in one day we photographed 300 paintings & drawings, part of the grand plan. I can assure you, the book is STUNNING, either as a large hardcover for $135 or as a small softcover for $35. Cheaper if you use a coupon.
Right, but we live in the age of the iPad. Surely there must be an eBook for that. Of course! You can order it direct from Blurb. Or just PayPal $5 to jake@rachelromehoupesart.com and I’ll send you the download link. It’s designed for the iPad and by all accounts it works perfectly there. It’s hit or miss on other eReaders, but hey, five bucks! Finally, with those awesome photos of the artwork, we’d be crazy not to sell prints. And we’re not crazy! So please visit the official website, where you can order prints of any painting in the show, including 8×10 prints for only $20.
And that’s about that. I’ll just end by asking for your support and by sharing a few paintings from the show.
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