Hello –
If you’re getting this email, it’s because, not quite 3 years ago, you donated to my Crowdrise campaign called Run Lizzie Run to benefit Brady. You have been on my mind a lot over the last six months and I wanted to reach out today, as I ready myself for the 16th anniversary of my Mom’s murder, to give you an update – and to thank you.
You likely know by now that I had to wait a long time for justice. My mom’s killer was convicted in 2015, nearly 12 years later. In that period of waiting, it was hard to know how to show up as my whole self. The uncertainty, suspicion and mystery surrounding her murder made it difficult to share my experiences publicly. Instead, my life’s work was my own survival. My garden of friends, family, husband, children and my own healthy life and heart required daily tending. I didn’t dream of more than that.
Three years ago, I got the idea to run a marathon to honor what would have been my Mom’s 70th birthday. The marathon distance meant I’d run one mile for every year I had with my Mom. The idea stuck in my heart and wouldn’t let go, and became something that I felt I had to do. It was exciting, but also terrifying. Putting my voice and experience out for public consumption hadn’t been simple or easy in the past, but it felt like a risk worth taking. It was.
You responded. You donated. You shared my posts with your friends. You sent me e-mails. You listened and you cared. I felt supported, understood, and completely myself. The complicated, traumatic parts of my life’s experience finally felt fully connected to my daily life.
Your response changed my life. Thank you.
By sharing my story with the big wide world, I found my voice. After the race was run and the funds were raised, I kept thinking about how else I could play a part in ending this country’s epidemic of gun violence. Two years later, I started work here at Brady, formerly the Brady Campaign. I have learned so much over the last six months about the gun violence prevention movement , all that remains to be done, and the talented team here that is pursuing change that will save lives.
As you think about your own year-end giving, I hope you will consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Brady. In the coming year, we will continue our work in Congress, courts, and communities to ensure that there are fewer families like mine, with holes that will never be filled. The beneficiaries of our work will be names that I will never know - families saved of this heartache and pain. This club of loss is one that I wish no one had to join.
More than anything, I want to thank you again for all the support you’ve already given me. Doing the work here at Brady feels authentic, coherent and incredibly rewarding; I recently shared some of those reflections on our podcast, Red, Blue and Brady. I have so much to be thankful for and I know I couldn’t have gotten here without you.
Sincerely,
Liz