Running (for) CML

I am the Executive Director of the nonprofit children’s museum, Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry located in Charleston, South Carolina. Our nonprofit museum has been economically devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and we are facing the real potential of going dark indefinitely.

Leading in this time is particularly stressful and so to combat that stress in a healthy way, I took up running.  I am not now, nor have I ever been, a good runner (!) - but, I work hard to be a good leader. And leading in these uncertain times means doing things outside of our comfort zone, especially if it can keep our doors open. Our work matters- play matters, now more than ever, to help children process this period, to learn, and to grow. And play has always mattered to the development of all children. The need won’t go away; therefore, CML just can’t.

So, for the month of October, I’m committing to running this nonprofit both figuratively and literally by running 100 miles Oct. 1-31. Follow me and support this campaign - I’ll update you with records of my mileage, video diaries with details of the museum and our plans, and more about what it’s like to ‘run’ Charleston’s hands-on, interactive, nonprofit for children, their caregivers, and educators in this uncertain time.

http://charlestonceo.com/video…

Runs to Date: So far, I’ve tried a couple of different neighborhood routes, a gym treadmill (2, bc the first needed to reboot!) and a treadmill that friends loaned me for home. I tend to run at night when it’s cooler, after I’ve spend some time with my son, and most of the evening work is done. Looking forward to week 2!

So here we are at week 3, coming up to the halfway point. Did you know that CML’s is not a tax supported organization? Most of our income comes from earned revenue and that’s why the pandemic has been so very hard on us. Limited visitors = loss of our biggest revenue source. We need support. Please keep sharing the campaign and I’ll keep running!