Seeking Boston Marathon runners

Submitted by USES

United South End Settlements (USES) is recruiting two runners who are passionate about our mission to run the 2018 Boston Marathon and fundraise in support of our mission. We encourage our South End neighbors to apply.

USES has been an official non-profit partner with John Hancock providing bibs to runners for the past two years, with runners on Team USES raising $15,513 the first year and $37,742 last year. The fundraising minimum requirement for Team USES in 2018 is $10,000 per runner.

USES will support runners with their training and fundraising, including coaching through Heartbreak Hill Running Company, online fundraising support, email communication design, fundraising and post-marathon celebration space, connections to local restaurants and business for fundraising support, tickets to The Neighborhood Gala in May 2018, and a tour and orientation to help runners become familiar with USES's programs and participants.

Through their fundraising work, runners will support USES's mission to harness the power of our diverse community to disrupt the cycle of poverty for children and their families. There is great need in our community: 36% of children in the South End live below the poverty line and we know that a child raised in a household in the poorest fifth of the income distribution has a 39% chance of being stuck at the bottom as an adult and just a 7% chance of making it to the top.

Nonetheless, there is also great opportunity: a $3,000 difference in parents' income when their child is young is associated with a 17% increase in the child's future earnings. At USES, we believe that families have the best chance to reach their potential when we support the whole family together - children, parents, caregivers, and other family members: we work with parents and caregivers to develop their own capacity to reach their goals through coaching, increase their income and assets through job training and placement, and expand their social networks through community connections.

For children, we provide quality education & enrichment opportunities through early childhood education, after school, and a summer sleepaway camp that promote their own development, expand their horizons, and ready them for school and beyond.

If you are interested in applying to run or have any questions, please contact Heather Kaufmann, Development Manager, at hkaufman@uses.org or (617) 375-8125 or visit our website at www.uses.org/team-uses-2018/.