Running for the National Diaper Bank

Hi! My name is Paul Kennedy. I'm a father, a teacher, and an avid runner. I'm running this fundraising project to donate money to the National Diaper Bank Network, an organization whose mission I believe we can all get behind. To generate interest in this project and give myself a new running challenge, I'm going to run 5 half marathons in 5 states in 4 weeks in the summer of 2025.

I’m going to leave my home in Central Indiana at the beginning of July 2025 and start heading West. My trip will take me all the way out to Seattle and back. I plan to camp almost every night, renting a room only when I need a safe place to leave my Australian Cattle Dog, Mason, when I’m racing. I intend to run 5 half marathons in 5 different states.

I wanted to choose a charitable organization to sponsor with this project that I felt could unite people from a variety of different political and cultural ideologies. I believe that, regardless of your point of view, we all care about children and want to see families succeed in raising them. My wife and I struggled for a long time to have our two boys, and we benefitted greatly from the care and support of a huge network of friends, family, and even strangers. I want to pay that care and support forward.

My personal budget for this trip is $2500. That includes $400 for race entry fees, $700 for gas, $800 for food, and $600 for campground fees and emergencies.

I’m asking people to donate using the GoFundMe I’ve set up for this campaign. I will put 50% of every contribution toward my expenses for the trip and the other 50% towards donations to the Diaper Bank. Once I have hit my $2500 budget for the trip, I will donate 100% of every additional contribution to the Diaper Bank.

If anything happens that will prevent me from starting or completing the trip, I will donate 100% of all funds received to that point.

If you want to support the Diaper Bank and their mission but would rather not contribute to my trip, I would still encourage you to donate to them directly. Thanks!

The National Diaper Bank coordinates with a variety of organizations throughout the country to eliminate diaper need and address the lack of basic necessities that all families need to thrive. In 2023, they distributed more than 240 million diapers. They are a four-star rated charity with an excellent reputation. I am very excited to use this project as an opportunity to help them fulfill their mission.