Leigh's Page

AIDS Walk + Ride 2010
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Ms. Leigh Anne Owen Goal: $250.00 Achieved: $210.00 Make a gift!

Hello, I am Leigh Anne Owen and I would like to tell you about why I am participating in the AIDSWALK+RIDE.  It may not be such an amazing story, but it does highlight in its own way that life has a path for each person to follow (knowingly or not).
    
     For a long time I have been trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Living near a lake made it easy for me to go out and walk or (try) to run, but I never felt like I was doing anything that was really affecting me or anybody else in a positive way. 
    As a child I loved riding my bike around my neighborhood.  It was an exciting way for me to discover new things and feel rewarded.  I had not had a bicycle since then and longed to have that experience again.  To me, nothing was quite as useful as a good bicycle.
    Well, after a pretty good long while,  my boyfriend bought a bike from a customer of his and gave it to me as an anniversary gift.  I was thrilled and began riding on a daily basis.   At work I would talk about how excited I was to finally have a bicycle and planned to begin using it in place of my car whenever it was practical to do so.
    One day, as I was a talking about my bike, a co-worker of mine told me about the 101.3 mile bike ride that was for the benefit of those suffering from AIDS.  He challenged me to keep training and to partake in this event.
    I must admit that at first the idea of participating in such a long ride was more of a draw to me than the actual cause itself.  But then I began to think more about my life and all the people that I know and have known who have suffered because of this awful affliction. I thought about all of the advances that have been made and how far we still have to go.  I realized that if I was going to do this, then I would have to take it more seriously than what I had initially thought. 
    HIV and AIDS is something that could affect everybody in many different ways.  It is important for  everyone who has the ability to do so, take the responsibility into your own hands and do something about it, just as the organizers of this event have done.
    All my life I have not been known for following through on the things that I have set out to do. But now, I am ready to take charge and to dedicate myself to this and everything that follows.  I want to show you and everybody else that I will follow through and succeed.
    I hope to one day look back on this as a milestone in my life and feel glad that I did it and to know that I might have helped somebody somewhere overcome their own challenges in life.

Making a donation to this cause is a great way to do something helpful to the world.  Your help is what gives me a true cause to work for.  Any donation, small or large will be greatly appreciated and very much needed.

So please, if you can, take the small amount of time to donate and make a difference in the world.

Thank you so much for your willingness to hear me out and consider what I have to say.

Sincerely,

Leigh Anne Owen   

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