Turning 40 is always a cause for celebration, but UVa nursing professor Tim Cunningham found a way of making his birthday special for others by combining his love of running with charitable giving. This year, Cunningham decided to run 100 miles around Charlottesville with the goal of finding 100 people willing to donate $100 each to a non-profit of their choice.
Although Cunningham has run a mile each year on his birthday since turning 32, this year he was inspired to make the run more meaningful by taking advantage of his ability to run 100 miles and the opportunity to raise money at the same time.
“I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d be able to complete the run, which took me 24 hours and 53 minutes from start to finish,” said Cunningham. “I wanted to find ways to give back to organizations that had shaped my life.”
Cunningham gave donors the option of giving directly to the charity of their choice, or to one of his three favorite non-profits, including MedGlobal, Clowns Without Borders-USA, and Partners in Health.
“I’m happy to say at least $10,000 was raised and I hope that even more came in….I just ask that people give to a non-profit that is actively supporting the well-being of humans anywhere on this planet – including Charlottesville,” said Cunningham.
Although his own race has ended, Cunningham still encourages anyone who reads this to consider making a gift to one of his favorite non-profits or another of their choosing, which they can share about by sending him a tweet.
