Back on My Feet

While working out at my gym recently and listening and watching the news on an overhead TV, a short segment on CNN caught my attention - maybe because it was a very different story than the usual pieces on politics, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was an interview with a young marathon runner in Philadelphia who is helping the homeless get back on their feet.

I must admit I have never been one pursue the challenges of working with the homeless. However, I do admire those that help anyone who is down on their luck and struggling to put their lives back together. For some reason this story really struck a chord with me.

Anne Mahlum, the Philadelphia marathoner and the founder of Back on My Feet, hands out running shoes, hats, and other running gear to homeless individuals who are clean, sober and live in a shelter. Moving everyone’s life forward, homeless or not, is their goal.

Last year there was a lot of NIMBY angst in the press and elsewhere about Good Shepherd Alliances' Center of Hope homeless facility in Ashburn. Perhaps running in the morning with doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, and the homeless as happens in Philly, might benefit everyone in Loudoun County.