What It Means to Care

I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF MYSELF AS a compassionate and charitable person. I was raised in a sheltered, upper-class environment in Marin County, California, but my parents instilled an unshakable sense of social justice in me. From an early age, I felt compelled to give a voice to those without one: whether it was a stray animal or a homeless person.

Recently, I discovered a deeper, more authentic meaning of the word “care.”

I spent eight days touring remote communities in Mozambique with CARE, to observe their work and to meet the people who benefit from it.

Now, it’s one thing to hear about the state of affairs in places like Africa and to care about what’s going on. It’s another thing altogether to sit with these people and to look into their eyes when they talk about their dreams of a better life for themselves and their children. I can never again ignore this problem or be glib about how profoundly and viscerally poverty affects people. I now know what it truly means to care.

With that, CARE and I created the I Am Powerful Workout, which couples the issues of personal health and worldwide poverty in a most unique and uplifting way.

This campaign helps each of us elevate our own health (in a time when we really need it!) as we elevate marginalized women and girls around the world (in a time when they really need it!). What makes the I am Powerful Workout so powerful is the unique nature and win-win dynamic of the gift. In “gifting” yourself with better health, you are gifting others with a better life. Literally, every step you take to get into better shape is a step on behalf of marginalized women and girls worldwide. When you finish a workout, you feel stronger literally. And, knowing you did something for people a world away is empowering, too. Look good, feel good … do good!

Those women I met in Africa have awe-inspiring strength, power and courage to endure every day against impossible odds. I am hoping to empower them by competing in professional triathlons to support CARE; I know they are empowering me. Whenever I am unmotivated to work out or exhausted by the pain of an Ironman, I think of what these women endure each day. I gather myself up, I take a deep breath, I shake off the doubt and I forge on in their honor.

Please log on to www.care.org/workout and join me today.

And, feel deep in your heart what it really means to care – for yourself and for others.