Hope Clinic was grateful to have the chance to raise money through the BHBH Run for the fifth year in a row. Team Hope had a record-breaking year in 2011, raising over $32,500 for the clinic. We were moved by the support and enthusiasm shown by every member of the team, but one man’s effort really touched us.

Santos Hernandez has not lived in Michigan that long. Like many recent immigrants, life has sometimes been a struggle. He was once a patient at Hope’s satellite medical clinic in Wayne because he was sick and had no health insurance.

Earlier this year, one of Santos’ friends asked him if he’d like to be part of Team Hope to raise money for Hope Clinic. He had never participated in any kind of fundraiser before, but after learning more about it he agreed to take part. Santos figured that it would be a good way to give back to the people who had once helped him.

Santos made a poster for his fundraising and displayed it at work. Some of his co-workers were skeptical about fundraisers and wondered if Santos was trying to con them out of their hard-earned money. They gave him a lot of grief, and more than once Santos came close to abandoning his efforts. Because his friend urged him to stick with it, Santos persevered. He went on to run the event, raising several hundred dollars for Hope Clinic in the process. Thank you, Santos!

I wanted to share with you some pictures and stories from JFS’ experience at the 2011 BHBH.

This year the BHBH race was very special to JFS as our team ran in memory of Eric Keefauver, the husband of JFS Clinical Director, Lisa Keefauver. Our earnings will go to a fund we have established in Eric’s honor to help meet the emergency assistance needs of some of our clients. We also plan to make this an annual JFS event, bringing together our community with the Ann Arbor community to run together.

Alice Miller
Marketing and Development Intern
Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County