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BROOKLINE - Months of training through one of New England's toughest winters will culminate in just a few days as Brookline residents Mark Edwards and his daughter, Amina, prepare to run the 115th Boston Marathon on April 18.
The pair is training to run the Boston Marathon for Horizons for Homeless Children, a Roxbury-based organization that offers early education and care programs to young homeless children and comprehensive support services to their families on their path to permanent housing.
With over 140 Playspaces (educational and recreational spaces) in shelters across Massachusetts, as well as three Community Children's Centers in greater Boston, HHC strives to break the cycle of homelessness by ensuring young children in homeless families are as "school ready" as their housed peers by the time they reach kindergarten. HHC also assists parents in setting and reaching educational and employment goals as their family advocates guide them through the daunting task of acquiring permanent housing.
Mark is the executive director of OpportunityNation, a national campaign of business leaders, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and grassroots organizations united around a bipartisan/nonpartisan agenda to enhance economic opportunity and mobility in America. Mark is former chairman and current member of the HHC Board of Directors, and serves on the boards of Summer Search and the Winsor School. Though this year's race is not Mark's first marathon, he's looking forward to the opportunity to run for a cause he supports alongside his daughter.
Amina is a high school senior at The Winsor School, and will be attending Yale University in the fall. She's been involved with HHC previously, working in the toddler classroom at the organization's Putnam Investments Community Children's Center in Jamaica Plain last summer. It's her first marathon, and she's thrilled to be running with her father.
© Brookline TAB 2011
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