Kania's TNT Fundraising Page

Racing to Save Lives

I'm training to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All

of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. I am completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and we need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

You may be thinking, �"why on earth would someone do that?" or something like � "that Kania, always getting into something!" but I am not crazy, nor is this something I'm taking on for the fun of it. Let me share with you what really got me into this.

I lost my mother 14 years ago to Multiple Sclerosis, but it seems more like 20. She started getting sick when I was 13 and by the time I graduated high school she hardly recognized me. My father and I shared in the responsibility of caring for my mother, and it was hard. Each day our week would unfold, Dad & I get up at 6 to head off to work & school. I get dropped off at the school bus by 7:45a. My Dad picks me up at 5p after practice and we get home by 6p where I get dinner started and he cleans mom up (once she became incontinent). Sometimes he heads out after dinner to do a side job while I do homework. If my Dad isn�"t back home, I end the night around 11 or midnight by getting me and Mom ready for bed, which usually means changing her again and bathing her. Sometimes family members would help out, like my Dad�"s Mom or my Great Aunt, but a lot of the time it was just the two of us. We survived, but I know having the assistance of organizations like the MS Society or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society would have made a HUGE difference for us.

After losing my Mom, I pledged to be an advocate for health, well-being, and preventative medicine; I became an aerobic instructor and personal trainer and started a women-focused fitness company (Exoticise). I have a sister diagnosed with Lupus and my father has Diabetes, gout, and high blood pressure; I have friends living with, and survivors of, cancer. Chronic diseases like MS, Lupus, and Cancer have a huge impact on both the person diagnosed and all those around them who love them. I am doing this triathlon in honor of my Mother, Barbara Linda Kennedy, my sister Nikki, my father GK aka Big Poppa, my friend Susan Fey & her husband Sid, my friend Cosette, and every other person I don�"t know who has a friend, family member, or loved one touched in anyway by any chronic disease, so that means YOU!

want this organization , LLS, to be able to reach out and support thousands more families and patients, and I request your support to help me reach and exceed my fundraising goal of $2600 by May 15th. $5.00 will make a difference but $50.00 will make a bigger one!

All donations are Tax Deductible and you may assist in one or more ways!

• Donate here online using any major credit/debit card
• Mail in a check / Money order payable to:

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Illinois Chapter

to: Kania Kennedy

1507 E 53rd St #848

Chicago, IL 60615

• Join this cause online via facebook click here!
• Invite your friends to Join this cause & donate!

• Thank you in advance for being someone who cares! Oh and make sure you check with your employer about matching donations, that way you can give TWICE!! I hope you will visit my web site often. Be sure to check back frequently to see my progress. Thanks for your support!

Love,

Kania

Your Beauty, Fitness, & Wellness Coach