I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the warm days of summer! I wanted to share with you that I will be racing in my very first marathon this summer, the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday, August 3^rd. My goal is to run the marathon in under three hours. It will take a lot of hard work in these months leading up to August 3^rd, but I believe I can do it! I also would like to invite you to participate with me in this marathon by supporting the cause for which I am running it.

I realized that I want to run my first marathon for a reason, for a cause that I fully believe in and support. This past academic year, I worked as an intern with a non-profit organization called Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service. Pace e Bene is committed to educating people about and giving them hands-on experiences of the core concepts of nonviolence. Nonviolence is a means of responding to violence and injustice in our world as an alternative to violence or passivity. You may be familiar with the movements led by Mahatma Gandhi in India or Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States which used nonviolence to create positive social change. Nonviolence informs us that we must recognize our common humanity with those that seek to do us or others harm, even as we stand up against the violence or injustice they are inflicting.

Through my participation in nonviolence workshops and study of their nonviolence educational materials, Pace e Bene has played a huge role in helping me realize the power and importance of nonviolence in the midst of our violent world. That is why I have chosen to run the San Francisco Marathon as an advocate for Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service. I want to ask you for your support of me and Pace e Bene as I run this marathon. I am hoping to raise $1,000 of support for the important work of Pace e Bene by the time I race on August 3^rd. I invite you to contribute at whatever level you are comfortable with (every little bit helps!). Your contribution will go towards the creation of more written resources on nonviolence and further trainings on nonviolence throughout the country and internationally. Please take a look at the pamphlets included here to learn more about the work of Pace e Bene that you would be supporting. If you do want to support me in my marathon by contributing to Pace e Bene, please send a check made out to Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service to:

John Cummings

5561 Marshall St.

Oakland, CA 94608

I thank you in advance for your thoughts, prayers, and monetary support as I prepare to run this marathon. I am very excited about this amazing opportunity to run farther than I ever have before, and I am so glad that I can share it with you.

In Peace,

John Cummings