In September 2004, I began tutoring William, a seven-year-old boy with Down syndrome. I came to realize very quickly, how much creativity and effort is needed to design a meaningful and appropriate curriculum to help children, such as William, learn to read.

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Reading Clinic, via one-on-one tutoring, provides such a curriculum. The cost to participate, however, is not within reach for many families. In light of that, I have been raising money to create scholarships for children with Down syndrome at The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Reading Clinic. With the support of family, friends, and a Fundraising Team we have raised just under $100,000, enabling us to create an endowment. At present, the interest accrued from this endowment enables one scholarship recipient to attend the clinic for one full year (3 sessions).

To raise the necessary funds for this cause I have run in the Country Music Marathon the past three years in a row as a member of Team William. This April 26th, 2008, I plan to run again with the same goal in mind: to continue raising monies in order to increase the total amount of the endowment.

The most recent invitation to join the Ultimate Race can be viewed in its entirety here.