CEO & President Lesli Suggs, LICSW, and her daughter Sydney Todd are running the Boston Marathon April 17 to raise visibility for kids’ mental health and critical funds for The Home for Little Wanderers.
While this is Sydney’s fourth marathon—she ran the Chicago Marathon and Boston last year—this is Lesli’s first. Both Lesli and Sydney began running in earnest during the pandemic, so when The Home was awarded two bibs, the mother-and-daughter team jumped at the chance to go the distance for the kids and families we serve.
Sydney, who has done back-to-back training cycles, swore she’d take the spring off. “But I’d never say no to running Boston,” she says. Representing The Home, which has been such a big part of the lives of both the social worker-turned-CEO and her daughter, was also key. “I’ve always said, if I was ever going to run the Boston Marathon, it would be for The Home,” says Lesli. “That’s the motivation for me, and to run it with Sydney.”
While Lesli is training along the Charles River and on Boston’s Esplanade, Sydney, a 22-year-old Tech Analyst for a knowledge management consultancy in D.C., has made that city her training ground, weaving in and around the monuments and tackling hills at The Capitol. The two check in regularly and will hit the course together in the coming weeks for long runs. “Sydney and I did the Boston half-marathon in November,” says Lesli. “She holds me to it, saying, ‘Mom, you can do this!’”
Lesli’s daughter isn’t her only coach. When training, Lesli often thinks of the staff at The Home. “When I’m challenging myself, sticking to the schedule, making myself do something even when it’s hard, those are all values I see our workforce engage in every day,” says Lesli. “I’m honoring that hard work and the impact that we have on kids.”
Every day, staff at The Home make great strides to support the mental, social-emotional and physical well-being of children and youth within our community, and bring lasting, loving relationships to those who feel alone in this world. Sydney and Lesli know firsthand the power and possibility that comes from such support. “Better and brighter futures happen through connection,” says Lesli, “by having somebody in your corner.”
Click here to support the children and families we serve and learn more about The Home’s Marathon team.
