Running for Refugees

Marisa Rothstein is not a runner. In fact, she lists eating broccoli, doing algebra, and waiting in the security line at Newark airport as activities she’d prefer over jogging. Yet, on October 17, Ms. Rothstein, 29, and her husband, Nolan Robinson, 36, will lace up their sneakers and buckle their one-year-old daughter, Sydney, into her running stroller for the SoNo Half Marathon in South Norwalk, CT.

Ms. Rothstein felt compelled to run the SoNo Half after learning about the violence and uncertainty confronting South Sudanese refugees; she has asked family and friends to sponsor each mile of her race to raise funds for the Thon Met African Peace Foundation, Inc. This Stamford-based non-profit is an underground railroad for victims of the South Sudanese conflict. Through contacts in South Sudan, Thonmet helps families escape dangerous refugee camps to the relative safety of Ethiopia, where the organization provides a hut for a safe home and sets the families up with food, water, medicine and work.

“My friends and family know that running is not my forte,” Ms. Rothstein says, “seeing my dedication to the SoNo Half has inspired them to support the Thonmet cause.” Indeed, since registering for the race one month ago, Ms. Rothstein has raised almost $1,500 for her run. She hopes to raise another $2,500 before Race Day, enough money to build new homes for two refugee families.

“I know Sydney will not remember it, but I hope to one day show my daughter pictures of her running the half-marathon with me. I will explain to her how, at such a young age, she was already able to unite her community behind a critical cause, and to help rescue a family on the other side of the world. Only imagine, I will tell her, what else you can accomplish.”

To sponsor a mile of Marisa’s run or to learn more about ThonMet African Peace, visit RunningforRefugees.com.