Above: My family serving a meal at The Bowery Mission back in 2019! 

Brad Layland, Chief Executive Officer & Senior Consultant

If you’ve ever read any of my blogs, you know what to expect. I share ideas, I tell stories, I teach, I encourage. But I never ask you for money. 

This week is different.

This Sunday, my daughter Dakota and I will run the New York City Marathon together. For me, it will be my 71st marathon. For Dakota, her second. But this race isn’t just about miles or medals. We’re running to raise money for The Bowery Mission—an organization that has been serving New Yorkers facing homelessness, hunger, and addiction since the 1870s. Our simple goal is to raise enough money to provide 2,500 holiday meals, just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each meal costs just $3.49. That means our fundraising goal is $8,725.
With your help, I believe we can get there.

👉 Give here to provide a meal (or many)

Why The Bowery Mission

You might wonder what The Bowery Mission is about and why I’m so enthusiastic to support them. At The Bowery Mission, the meal is just the beginning. When someone comes in off the street—cold, tired, hungry—they’re welcomed with a hot, nourishing plate of food. But they’re also welcomed with dignity and hope. That single meal is the entry point to something much greater: safe shelter, medical care, job training, residential recovery programs, and, Lord willing, spiritual transformation.

It’s the same model Jesus used. He met people where they were. He fed them. He healed them. Then He invited them into a new way of life. That’s what The Bowery Mission is doing—one person, one meal, one changed life at a time.

(Above) My daughter and I doing some pre-marathon race planning.

Why This Marathon Is Unique

Running has always been part of how I live and grow and reflect. It takes discipline, perseverance, and faith. But running this race with my daughter, and running for people who need a fresh start, gives this marathon deeper meaning for me. When Dakota and I step up to the starting line, we’ll be running not just for the joy of the journey, but for the person who walks into The Bowery Mission this Thanksgiving wondering if anyone sees them, loves them, or believes they can change. I believe they can. And I believe we can help.

What You Can Do

Join us by donating now at this link. Here’s what you will be supporting:

• $3.49 = 1 meal
• $35 = 10 meals
• $349 = 100 meals
• $875 = 250 meals
• $1,000+ = go big, change lives

Jesus said, “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.”
(Matthew 25:35)

This Sunday, as we run through the streets of New York, I’ll be thinking about that verse.

Thank you for being part of this—whether by giving, praying, sharing, or cheering. It all matters. And it’s all part of a greater story.

Running with purpose,
Brad (and Dakota)

P.S. Please consider forwarding this to someone who shares your heart for people on the margins.

 

 

We’ve been privileged to help many organizations be more effective in their fundraising by learning and implementing relational fundraising principles in their work with donors. Want to talk?