Team Brookline Accepting Marathon Applications

For next year's Boston Marathon, several Brookline non-profits will team up to benefit from local runners--and they will do so with the help of Brookline Community Mental Health Center (BCMHC), which is running the Team Brookline program. 

The Center, and the Town, will start accepting applications for both runners and non-profits interested in participating in Team Brookline today, Sept. 18, according to a press release from the BCMHC sent yesterday afternoon.

"We really see this as an opportunity to increase the impact of the waivers, and what it will mean for people within the community who need the support." BCMHC Vice President for Development Nancy Vineberg explained, "That, ultimately, is what the Marathon program has been all about, it's using a resource that's given to a town, and increasing the value of that resource through the runners' fundraising, and then figuring out ways of actually matching those funds to organizations that need it.

For each Boston Marathon, the town receives a handful of racing numbers, or waivers, each year--many of which previously went to the BCMHC's runners. Under the new program, BCMHC would recruit, train and support runners from a number of non-profit organizations from Brookline--including their own--with the aim of making a more community-wide program. 

"I think of the Center as more of a conduit," Vineberg added. 

Runners will also meet with fundraising coaches from the Center to learn more about raising funds for their organizations. 

Said Vineberg, "That's part of it. The beauty of being part of a team is that you have the camaraderie, you have the physical training support, and you have the fundraising support."

Each runner will be assigned to raise money individual non-profit entities in town, such as the Senior Center or Community Housing, and funds raised by those runners will go to the organizations for which the are running. 

Larger organizations can also sponsor the entire team, and those sponsorships will be divided among the beneficiary organizations. 

"No one wakes up in the morning and decides to run a marathon, without having trained for it. The same thing goes for fundraising: no one wakes up in the morning and goes 'hey, I'm going to raise $5,000.' It's something that, there's an existing art and science behind it, and we know what it is."

The Team plans to hire a coach who will create individual running plans for team members, as well as organizing regular runs leading up to the big race. Runners will also have the option to run in a half-marathon before the big race, which will let them guage their training progress.

After fielding applications from runners and non-profits, team organizers will select team members and organizations. 

Vineberg noted that the Center has had 10 years of experience working with fundraising during the Boston Marathon. Selectman Jesse Mermell also ran with the Center in 2009. 

“Having run with Team Brookline myself a few years ago, I know the dedication and training it takes to cross the finish line--not just physically and mentally, but also in terms of fundraising,” said Selectman Jesse Mermell in the press release. 

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