I have set a goal to raise $10,000 for the Bo Alvarez Children’s Foundation, a charity dedicated to promoting water safety and providing support to children with special needs. I am training to run the Sarasota Marathon on February 15^th, 2009. My training and 26.2 mile run are dedicated to Bo, and I am seeking your financial support for the Foundation.

Let me share with you a few sad facts. Of all children aged 1 to 4 who died in the United States in 2005, almost 30% died from drowning. Drowning remains the second leading cause of injury-related death among children ages 1 to 14. For survivors, the consequences of near-drowning can be devastating. As many as 20 percent of near-drowning survivors suffer severe, permanent neurological disability, the effects of which often result in long-lasting psychological and emotional trauma for the child, his or her family and their community. Near-drownings also take a tremendous financial toll on affected families and society as a whole.

Bo Alvarez was two years old when he nearly drowned in a swimming pool in Sebring, Florida on February 10^th, 2005. At that time I lived in New Orleans with my wife Bernice and our four children Sonja, Meighen, Max and Jenny. We were visiting my “snow-bird” parents in Florida, and were on the beach a short distance from the pool that Bo fell into. When we heard calls for help, I called 911 and Bernice started CPR and AR, and I helped her until the paramedics arrived. We have both had training in these techniques, and we tried our best but we could not bring Bo back, and we did not think he was going to make it. (Highlands Today Article). We learned the next day that Bo had been resuscitated in hospital, but he was very ill due to the extended time without a pulse and respiration.

A short time ago we reconnected with the Alvarez family when we learned about the Foundation, and their efforts to raise funds for Bo’s treatment and drowning prevention. Bo suffered severe brain damage as a result of his near-drowning, and cannot walk, talk, or even eat without assistance. I have pledged my marathon to support his family’s dedication to Bo and his needs, and their hard work to eliminate similar tragic, preventable events. Thank you Michelle Alvarez for your inspirational efforts. We continue to pray for Bo and your family, as we have many times since that day.