You Can't Run From Statistics

Make checks payable to: The Donna Hicken Foundation
Mail to: 425 eighth ave. n. Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250


(I apologize for not adding the foot notes. The information provided is accurate but not meant for reproduction)

I slept in Saturday morning and missed my training run with The Donna Hicken Foundation.
Did you know that almost 74% of Americans do not get enough sleep?
Turning off the alarm clock at 5:00am and going back to sleep was a selfish act.
Did you know that being selfish is not as popular as it used to be?
In 2005, giving to charities rose 2.7 percent from 2004 levels, when adjusted for inflation. After several years of stagnant giving resulting from the economic downturn that started in 2001, this was the second consecutive year with a moderate increase. Total giving to charitable organizations increased to $260.3 billion in 2005. This was an increase of 2.7 percent from 2004 (when adjusted for inflation).
I ran seven miles later in the morning because I wanted to keep my "commitment" to the training.
Did you know that "Increasing participants' commitment is an important task for practitioners, since research has shown that about half of the individuals who start taking part in sports drop out within a short period of time (Dishman, 2001). Similar statistics have been reported in the fitness industry." Konstantinos Alexandris.
You get the point.
We're defined by statistics. Everything in life has a "stat" attached to it - I don't like it but I understand why. Statistics quantify things. Understanding statistical numbers helps us understand where things stand. What value something has. (By the way, I failed statistics so I won't go much deeper with this discussion).
The Donna Hicken Foundation exists because the founder has become a breast cancer statistic. But instead of looking at the statistics Donna looks at the people within the numbers. The foundation she created is about assisting individual lives and therefore changing some difficult statistics.
Here are some stats we all should know:
Every three minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2006, an estimated 212,920 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed, along with 61,980 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer. And 40,970 women are expected to die in 2006 from this disease.*
Breast cancer is the leading cancer among white and African American women. African American women are more likely to die from this disease.*
Breast cancer incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in eight today.*

*breastcancer.org

We are all more than the sum of our "stats". I am involved with this foundation in a manner that has no statistical measure. The positive difference I make (with your support) is still unknown. I missed my run on Saturday but I know it was for a reason. This blog entry would have been entirely different had I gotten out of bed and run. I realize this now.

We can’t run from statistics but we can run to change them.

I want to change statistics. I want to do something with my friends and family that will make a difference.
I've taken on many personal/business related fund raising challenges in my life. This foundation effort is unique and personal on many levels.
I'm halfway to my goal of $5,000. Writing a check and sending it via “snail mail” is work but I want to encourage your support.

Thank you for being involved.