How much good can $10,000 do?

I was on the phone the other day with Brandon Rhoads, who helps manage fundraising for the Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center, and he told me exactly what $10,000 will do for them. Let me break it down for you.

The Respite Center provides support for people with disabilities, adults as well as children. Like everything else, of course, there is a cost associated with that care. For example, for one adult to spend his or her days there for a month, full time, it costs the program about $1250. Most of the adults in the program are funded. That is, some portion of that cost is paid for by someone other than the family. 35 adults are fully funded. $10,000 pays for one of them to use the center for 8 months -- full time, fully funded, in a home environment where they can be safe, where they can take classes, where they can participate in activities that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

Stop and think about that for a moment. By contributing to this cause, you're giving someone a special gift: a home.

Half-mile sponsorships are sold out -- but you can still donate!

26.2 miles is a long, long way to go on foot. If you think about that when you set out to run a marathon, you’ll never make it.

Instead, you have to focus on the next step, the next tree, the end of this block. You have to break it down into small sections that are manageable. You do them one at a time. That’s how you get across the finish line.

And that’s what I’m asking you to help me do: get across the finish line. I’ll be running the Boston Marathon on April 21 to support the Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center, an amazing program in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, near my company’s headquarters. (Check out the video.) You can help by sponsoring a half-mile of the marathon. Each half-mile sponsorship is $50 (tax deductible). You simply tell me which half-mile is yours and I’ll add your name to my blog (below) to stake your claim to that section of the marathon. And please consider sponsoring more than one half-mile.

Here's my promise to you. As I’m running, I’ll keep this list in my hand the entire way, and I will remember each and every person who helps me get there as I run each half-mile section.

Here’s how to sponsor your half-mile:

* Online. Go to the Respite Center's donation page and use your credit card or PayPal account. In the “Purpose” field, be sure to type "John Hyde, Boston Marathon." This is important as it’s the only way that the Respite Center can track who you're sponsoring (to meet the minimum sponsorship criteria of $2,500).

* By check. Send a check made out to "The Respite Center." Send it to:

John Hyde
946 Anderson Circle
Woodland, CA 95776

After you make your donation, please send me an e-mail to let me know which half-mile you’re claiming as yours, and I’ll add your name after that section of the marathon (below). Then check back periodically to see the progress we’re making together toward completing this marathon and helping the Respite Center.

Corporate sponsors

Thank you very much to these generous businesses:

Stormship
An excellent design agency in Medford, Mass., that brings a fresh and witty perspective to their projects. And they do great Flash work. Thank you Kia, Mike, Anne, and Carrie!

The Flannery Group
A full-service event planning and management company -- located in Massachusetts but managing events nearly everywhere. For them, no project is too big (or too small!) and no deadline is too short.

Pair Design
A high-quality design agency near Sacramento, Calif. Pair Design has produced an incredible body of work for Documentum and then EMC. One of Pair's signature projects is Studio D.

Mileage sponsorships

Please help me add your name to this list:

0.0 - Stacey Price
0.5 - Julie Cullivan
1.0 - Joanne Brattain
1.5 - Tom & Catherine Small
2.0 - Brenda Mortier
2.5 - Andrew Lickly
3.0 - Matt Zafonte & Jill Tomczyk
3.5 - Shannon Mendez
4.0 - Lisa Snow
4.5 - Roxanne Tashjian
5.0 - Justin Schuster
5.5 - Mark Lewis
6.0 - Joel Bauman
6.5 - Roger Kilday
7.0 - Casey & Alex
7.5 - James Young
8.0 - Mercy Dominguez
8.5 - Ann & Benny
9.0 - Benny & Ann
9.5 - Morgan Campbell-Hyde
10.0 - Lisa Stein
10.5 - Mark & Sheryl Lubell
11.0 - Debbie Phipps
11.5 - Jason & Amy Wister
12.0 - Vivian Goetz
12.5 - Dave & Amy
13.0 - Paul Flannery
13.5 - Jerry & Judy
14.0 - Tara, Steve, and Emma Von Dollen
14.5 - Barbara Massa
15.0 - Whitney Bouck
15.5 - Leslie Feldman
16.0 - Gabriela Markette
16.5 - Gaylynn Wells
17.0 - Bonnie Anderson
17.5 - Dane Becker
18.0 - Lynn Post
18.5 - Chip Hyde
19.0 - Mike & Kerin Hentz
19.5 - Terry & Charlene Cooke
20.0- Kyla Russell
20.5- Maria Pavlick-Larsen
21.0- Tony & Laura Duarte
21.5- Peta Adamson
22.0- Dena Davidson
22.5- Tina Tringali
23.0- Sheryl Chamberlain
23.5- Terri Flannery
24.0- Kristina Lumsden
24.5- Steve Skidmore
25.0- Judi Tracy
25.5- Adam Price
26.0- Blake Campbell-Hyde

And a big thank you to the following additional sponsors:

Toni Eddleman
Mark Lewis
Susan Pazera
David Tse
Andrew Bates
Dave and Amy
Chris Chidgey
Eric Perry
Georgi O’Keefe
Geoffrey Bock
Linda & Bill Christensen
Philina Burkholder
Tina Foster
Deb Parsons
Jen & Mike Campbell
Chris & Amy Jensen
Greg Dierickse
George & Sandy Shehata
Mac McClelland
Nathan and Christine Blunt
Craig Moodie
Eric and Kerry Andre
Dori Borjesson
Jackie & Eric Richardson
Kim & Duncan Fletcher
Bryan & Audrey Gillette
Christopher Sprague
Lance Shaw
Sheila Childs
Jessie Woon
Katherine & Antony Seppi
Kevin Kempskie
Pat Oldenburg
JoAnne Fuezy
Colleen Cremerius
Lori McKellar
Alex Park