26/09/2026
Friends and Family,
This Sunday, I am running the Boulder Marathon for The Aloe Family, and I'm dedicating every mile to someone in our Aloe Family who inspires me.
One mile. One story. Each mile honors a participant whose resilience, perseverance, and courage remind me to keep running when it gets hard. Here are a few of them:
Mile 3: Dolly. Dolly, her son, and her husband live together in one room. She's an entrepreneur in Mexico, and The Aloe Family helped her buy a computer and printers for her design business. Her attention to detail, hard work, and joy inspire me every day.
Mile 4: Yinery & family. Yinery and her family in Nashville have overcome more hardship than anyone I know, and they still show up with joy, love, and a desire to build community for others. Yinery's mom now leads her own business and is a strong mother and friend.
Mile 5: Enrique. I met Enrique 20 years ago, when he was a little kid in an orphanage. He became our first entrepreneur when he opened his own mechanic shop many years later. Today he's a leader among the other boys in our program and works in our construction apprenticeship while studying the computer side of cars and growing his business.
Mile 6: Abelardo. In three years with our Mexico program, Abelardo has gone from a shy apprentice who didn't know how to use tools to a university engineering student, construction team leader, and mentor to younger boys. He now reads construction plans and directs the team.
Mile 25: Brandon. Brandon has been with me since he was 9, and he's 22 now. Growing up in an orphanage, he learned to work hard at a young age. Today he's a husband and father, a leader on our construction team, and an engineering student. He amazes me every single day.
We still have 17 miles to sponsor. If these stories inspire you, please consider sponsoring a mile of the Boulder Marathon. Your gift supports education, job skills training, and hope and healing for families in Nashville, Mexico, and Colombia.
Give here:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/262-miles-natalies-marathon-for-the-aloe-family
Friends and family, thank you for helping us keep running. I'll be thinking of every one of these stories, and every one of you, on Sunday.
Natalie Hennessy Firkser
Founder, Director, The Aloe Family
