12th Annual Health Celebration: Tri-ing for Rights

It's that time of year again! Since 2011, I've convened community once a year to celebrate health and raise funds for various causes, as I take on a physical challenge. I do this to honor my own experiences of escaping paralysis in my legs twice, and as a previvor of Breast Cancer due to the BRCA 1 gene. Over the years, you all have helped me raise ~$30,000 for important global causes - even a pandemic didn't stop us! If there is anything that recovering from five surgeries has taught me, it is that the body is remarkable and we must cherish and celebrate it in any way I can.
 
This year I am challenging myself in a new way. On August 28, I will be competing in the 2022 Chicago Triathlon Sprint, where I will tackle 0.46 miles of swimming, 12.4 miles of biking, and 3.1 miles of running in one race. I've never done something like this before, but I am really excited for the challenge! I am raising funds for the American Civil Liberties Union. We live in a time where new threats to civil liberties seem to make waves in our media almost daily, and as a leading voice in health equity, it's important to me that I do all I can to ensure they are accessible. I believe that everyone has a right to live life the way they choose to, and all should have basic legal rights to vote, to access healthcare, to pursue an education free from harm, and to provide a comfortable and safe living environment for their families. Some (among many) of the relevant issues that ACLU is tackling that I find of particular importance:

Voter suppression
Reproductive and women's health access
LGBTQ rights in schools and healthcare settings
Disability rights
Workplace discrimination
Immigration Rights

It is tough to say one issue is more important than the other, when all are so inter-related to each other! Why not give to an organization that is successfully tackling all of them?!
 
Three ways you can support:
1) You can join me this year by donating! I'd love to see in the running scroll which one of these causes you are donating in the name of: https://www.gofundme.com/f/12th-annual-health-celebration-tri-ing-for-rights
 
2) You can join me this year as a competitor in the race: https://www.chicagotriathlon.com/
 
3) You can join me with any physical challenge of your own wherever you are on August 28. Be sure to tag pics with #MadhTrisForHumanRights!
 
Thank you all for your continued support and for continuing to give back with me year after year. I love this annual challenge, but I mostly love how much bigger the community grows that contributes to it. Much love!