$20,000 for refugees in Connecticut

For the second year in a a row, I ran for the Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS) organization in New Haven, Connecticut. This year, my ambition was revved up by Kaitlyn Kelly who has been chanting, "Run for refugees" for over a month. Although I'm back at the gym, I have run very little since I busted my ankle last fall. The first two miles were a great trot, but then phlegm and cramps arrived - I struggled a bit, but still made it through. Nope, not my seven minute mile days of my early twenties. This boy is slow, now.

Still, for the 28,000 refugees relocated to Connecticut with another 400 expected this year, the hundreds of runners who made it to the cold trail made a wonderful impact.f.

We arrived an hour and a half before the race began (out bad) and managed our time well by playing on our phones. The run reminded me of the work I hope to be doing in Connecticut and I need to be smart about writing grants to support the adolescents who use IRIS's services after school and on weekends. It would be awesome to teach a class that prepares teachers to work with relocated youth and to have part of their coursework take place in tutoring sessions in New Haven. I'm inspired to make this happy (and will keep my eyes and ears open). Literacy4Hope.