Meghan Runs Miles to Deliver Smiles with Starlight
Team Starlight is running miles to deliver smiles at the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend! We are so grateful to our community of passionate runners joining together to bring happiness to sick kids, like longtime charity runner and Disney fan Meghan.
This is her story.
“In 2013, a friend of mine told me about a race at Disney – full of glitter, sparkle, and princesses. I was sold. I had never done a race before and quickly talked myself from doing the 5K to signing up for my first half marathon. Crazy, right? Fast forward to 2023 and I will be participating in my tenth Princess Weekend.
It is an honor to raise funds and represent the celebratory charity for the 15th Disney Princess Half Marathon. When I became a charity runner, I wanted to run for sick kids. I lost my dad to cancer when he was 51 years old, and as a (grown) child, watching Dad go from healthy, to not, to moving on was simply awful. I can't imagine how it would feel if roles were reversed.
What started as a small effort to mark the fifth anniversary of my dad's passing has now turned into a passion and I have raised over $30,000 since 2015!
I love how Starlight's mission falls right into place with other charities I have worked with during this wild ride. I did what I could to distract my dad during his days in the hospital and know how important that is during a hospital stay. Starlight brings the best kind of distraction to kids! From cute hospital gowns to video games, Starlight has something to offer to make a kid feel normal while going through things that simply aren't normal.
I am so thrilled to be a little over $3,500 away from my goal of $10,000 for Starlight. I picked $10,000 for a few reasons: 1) a new challenge, and 2) to mark my tenth Princess Weekend. With each $1,000 I clear, I post a picture from a different Princess Weekend!"
Meghan has approached her fundraising with creativity — from making bracelets to give to donors to wearing a QR code while running other races, she takes fundraising to the next level. We are so thankful for passionate supporters like Meghan who (literally) go the extra mile for sick kids!
