In May, I'll be running a 26.2 mile race as a cardiac patient. It'll be my first full marathon, and I'm currently in the process of running over 460 miles to train for said race and fundraise a dollar for each of those miles. I'm doing it because there are a lot of children with conditions like mine, and worse, who need help accessing the medical care required to save their lives.

In addition to helping kids with heart conditions, the organization I'm running for also has an amazing Syrian refugee program, an orphan care program, pediatric cancer centers, mental health programs for children who have lived through massive trauma, community health resources, and special missions to connect children with the care they need abroad. I've met their founder and seen their work in person, and they're honestly the most deserving international nonprofit I know of.

I had the honor of becoming a runner on Team Palestine last year, and we raised over $8,000 for the PCRF. This year, I'll be the sole runner representing Team Palestine at the Colfax Marathon (no pressure, right?) My heart condition is still on the gnarly side and I'm still new to the high altitude, but I have the OK from my cardiologist and have been training hard throughout the winter to make this happen.

If you're looking for one kind thing to do for the world today, it would mean a lot to the Syrian refugee child or the little cancer patient in Ramallah who would benefit from your help. If you could donate anything, even just a few dollars, it would also mean the world to me and provide extra motivation as I drag my butt out of bed to chip away at these 460 training miles each morning.

Thank you!

Katya Weiss-Andersson

Team Palestine Runner

The PCRF is a legally-registered non-political, non-profit, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization established in 1991 by concerned people to address the medical and humanitarian needs of Palestinian and Arab youths in the Middle East. We have provided thousands of children life-saving care based on their need, not on religion, gender, nationality or sect.

The main objective of the PCRF is to identify and treat every child in the Middle East in need of specialized surgery not available to them locally. We locate, sponsor and run international, volunteer medical missions to the Middle East, in additional to locating free medical care abroad for children who cannot be adequately treated in the Middle East. The PCRF  is the main organization regularly sending injured and sick Arab children to North and South America, the Middle East and Europe for free care that is not available to them there. Since 1991 over 1,000 children have been abroad for millions of dollars of donated care, and over 10,000 have had complex surgery by our visiting medical missions to the region. The PCRF has been awarded the top 4-star rating by Charity Navigator for fiscal management, while being able to treat more kids than any other charity in the Middle East.