Team EMC Runs The Disney Marathon

A shout out to these Team EMC runners, for completing the Disney Marathon to improve maternal health.

This past month, three Team EMC runners participated in the Disney Marathon. Midwife, Kendra Ippel, her father, Jake Stelpstra and EMC intern, Lauren Russo ran mile-after-mile at the Happiest Place on Earth to help make pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother.

Kendra Ippel, MS, LM, CPM is a midwife in Florida where she works at Commonsense Childbirth alongside our grantee, Jennie Joseph. Her father, Jake, travelled all the way from British Columbia to share the race with his daughter. Kendra shares why she runs for EMC:

Working as a midwife at Commonsense Childbirth, I live each day believing that every mother counts. I ran this marathon to raise awareness about maternal and child health around the world, including right here in Central Florida. I ran:

• GRATEFUL for the amazing care I received from Jennie Joseph and Commonsense Childbirth during pregnancy and the delivery of my daughter.
• MINDFUL of all the women who walk through the doors of Commonsense Childbirth who want a safe pregnancy and delivery.
• HOPEFUL that mothers everywhere are granted this same opportunity because of organizations like Every Mother Counts

Lauren Russo is an EMC intern who works on our running program so for her running for EMC comes naturally. Lauren shares a few “end of the race” thoughts:

When I felt really tired at the end of the race, I thought about EMC’s mission to help moms. I was reminded that my mother may have not have made it through my delivery if she was not able to get a C-section. Thoughts like that helped me finish the race.

This March, Team EMC will be running our first international marathon — the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon in Tanzania. Learn more here, or support a Team EMC runner on our Crowdrise page.