YOU are the KEY for Manitobans living with an intellectual disability!

In 1978, 11 people died in a tragic fire at the Portage Developmental Centre. The next year, John Robertson, a journalist on CBC-TV, resolved that it would never happen again. He inspired a small group of friends to take on the enormous concept of a new event - the Manitoba Marathon - to support Manitobans who live with an intellectual disability. And right from Day 1 in 1979, the participants in the Manitoba Marathon have made every mile count, by raising funds to build a better community.

John's idea was a simple one. Get community organizations, volunteers, sponsors and the City of Winnipeg to put on a great event for runners, and in turn, ask every runner to make a personal donation or take their pledge sheet to their neighbours and friends, to support the Manitoba Marathon's cause.

Since 1979, runners have done exactly that, raising over $4 million, to kick start over 300 projects across Manitoba. Hundreds of Manitobans have been freed from institutional care, and welcomed back into their communities. All thanks to the Manitoba Marathon - to runners like you - and the work of organizations like the Association for Community Living-Manitoba.

Did you know that over 300 people still live in the Portage Development Centre, an institution that houses people living with an intellectual disability? That’s over 300 people who deserve the same lifestyle you and I take for granted. Each one deserves to have a KEY to their own front door, just like you and I.

Did you know that just $100 is needed to buy a KEY set at a hardware store? A donation of $100 to the Manitoba Marathon Foundation would pay for the KEY to one front door for people living with an intellectual disability.

Did you know that just $500 will pay for the door that KEY fits into? A donation of $500 to the Manitoba Marathon Foundation will make sure that one more home for people living with an intellectual disability is secure.

Did you know that $10,000 is the usual grant made, by the Manitoba Marathon Foundation, to support inclusive housing projects for people living with an intellectual disability? Each home supported by donations to the Manitoba Marathon welcomes up to four people living with an intellectual disability. Remember there are over 300 people still waiting for the KEY to their own front door.

YOU are the KEY to SUCCESS! Please click here to visit our fundraising website.

As well as registering securely online, you can once again create your very own Fundraising website for the 2010 Manitoba Marathon. With a few key strokes, you can advertise your commitment to your friends via email. They can visit your website, make their donations online, and even get an instant tax receipt printed out! Simply click on the following link, to send you on your way!

And of course, you can raise funds the traditional way! You can still download or print out a Pledge Sheet (PDF). Please chat to your family, friends, and neighbours before Race Day, and make your run extra-special this Father's Day, by asking for their commitment to a better community and a better life for Manitobans living with an intellectual disability. Let them know that you, too, want to make "every mile count"; in support of Manitobans living with an intellectual disability.