Community Spotlight: Pier 22 Kicks off 1,200 Mile Charity Run

Lakewood Ranch High School wrestling coach and congenital heart defect survivor, Nels Matson, is running from Bradenton to the Cambodian Embassy in Washington D.C. in 35 days, beginning June 15, 2013, to fund open heart surgeries for impoverished children in Cambodia.

Locals are encouraged to run a mile with Nels, run all 46 miles of Day 1, or just come out and cheer! We want to see you at the start line of the Tri 4 Number 1 Run.

There are approximately 100,000 children in Cambodia suffering from Congenital Heart Defects and very few are treated. Nels is running to fund heart surgeries for these children through Hearts Without Boundaries. He was saved by an open heart surgery when he was a toddler and wants to give these children the same opportunity at life he was given!

The Goal is to fund 7 heart surgeries. One heart surgery is approximately $3,000, so the fundraising goal is $21,000.

Nels will be running with Diplo the Diplomatic penguin on his back. If you or your child has a congenital heart defect, come out and sign Diplo! He will be gifted to the children receiving the heart surgeries in Cambodia as a symbol of our support!

About Tri 4 Number 1 Foundation and Hearts Without Boundaries

Tri 4 Number 1 Foundation Inc. is a nonprofit founded by Nels Matson of Bradenton, FL. He is completing an ultra run as the first fundraiser of its kind to benefit Hearts Without Boundaries (HWB). Based in Long Beach, California,  HWB is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that funds cardiac teams from the United States to perform heart surgeries on impoverished children in Cambodia who suffer from congenital heart defects (CHD). It also sponsors Cambodian children with the most severe CHD to travel to other countries for life-saving heart surgeries and medical care. To raise awareness of this cause, Matson will run an average of 40 miles per day from Bradenton, FL to the Cambodian Embassy in Washington D.C. from June 15 to July 19, 2013.

For more information on Tri 4 Number1 Run, go to www.T41Run.com. For more information about Hearts Without Boundaries, visit www.heartswithoutboundaries.org.