AICR
Carla and her two children
All of us at AICR are grateful to the people who make our vital work possible. Many of our donors are living AICR’s message every day — and are actively advocating for cancer prevention lifestyles in their communities.
Our donors run, bike and even hike to raise money for cancer prevention research and awareness. Now, for the first time, one of them is throwing her support behind AICR and our mission by lifting weights.
Meet Carla, one of our current special events donors. She’s using her personal fitness goals to raise funds for cancer research and to build awareness for health, fitness and cancer prevention.
After the birth of her second child, Carla found herself at 200 pounds. She decided to embark on a journey to lose weight and improve her health. During this time, several loved ones, including her dear friend Sue, passed away from cancer. These losses hit Carla hard, but she harnessed that sadness and recommitted herself to her journey in their honor.
Carla was inspired to take her new-found love of fitness to the next level. She has decided to train for a figure competition and honor her friend by raising funds for cancer research and prevention.
“Knowing first-hand what this disease can do to a loved one has inspired me to use my journey to the [figure] stage as a means of increasing awareness and support for cancer research,” she says. Figure, much like bodybuilding, is a sport that requires a strict healthy diet and hours of dedicated training in the gym but the goal is to create lean muscle rather than bulky muscle.
Throughout her training, Carla has kept a personal blog to document her progress. She also has a personal fundraising page through AICR, which she uses to solicit contributions from friends, family and local business sponsors. The money she raises will benefit AICR’s cancer research and education programs.
Unfortunately, over the past year Carla has faced some personal setbacks. After her husband lost his job, her family was uprooted and forced to move across the country. Despite these hurdles, Carla was determined to complete her competition in honor of Sue. As her family settled down in their new home, Carla set out to find a figure competition.
Backed by her incredible support team, including her physique coach Layne Norton, on May 12, 2012 Carla will be competing in her first figure competition in the NPC Palmetto Cup in Columbia, South Carolina. Through every step of the journey Carla will keep Sue in her thoughts.
“Every drop of sweat, every grueling set and rep in the weight room, will be fueled by my passion to help others in their battle against cancer,” says Carla.
Since beginning her campaign, Carla has raised more than $1,600. If you want to support Carla in her incredible journey visit her personal page and donate now. You can also follow her blog Blood, Sweat…. and Heels.
To plan your own special event to benefit AICR visit our events page or contact Sarah, our Special Events Coordinator, at 202.328.7744 or via email at [email protected].
