Community Corner

Richard Family Forming Charity Running Team for 2014 Boston Marathon

The family of Martin Richard announced Monday that they have created a memorial foundation and are forming a charity running group in his honor.

The family of Boston Marathon bombing victim Martin Richard announced Monday that they have formed a foundation in his honor and are putting together a charity running team for this year's race.

Martin Richard, 8, died in the marathon bombing. His sister, Jane, lost a leg in the attack and his mother, Denise, also suffered serious injuries. The family lives in Dorchester.

According to the post on the the Richard Family's blog, runners interested in joining the team will be required to raise $7,500 and applications are due Jan. 18. 

Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here is the text from the Richard Family's post:

As 2013, which was the most difficult year of our lives, came to a close, we thought we would reflect back and share an update before looking forward.

Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

We are often asked how are we doing. The short answer is we are continuing to heal and doing our best to live our lives. Everyday life is busy with school and sports, daily chores and longer-term house projects. Lately we find ourselves shoveling out like everybody else in greater Boston. We are also spending time with family and friends who continue to be a tremendous source of strength for us.

We make the time to have some fun, but still struggle at times to get through a day. We celebrated Christmas this year, not like in years past, when we would have a house filled with loved ones. We snuck away this year, to someplace different, because now everything is different. But that was okay. We are, and will continue to make new memories while holding on to ones from precious years gone by.

Medical appointments still consume many hours of every week, but our healing progresses. Jane is walking with a new prosthesis, and to our surprise is playing basketball for her CYO team (please don’t tell her doctors!). Martin would be a 4th grader on that same team with Jane. We know he would be out there making sure Jane got her opportunities to score and being the floor general he always was. Henry is busy maintaining good grades as a sixth grader, preparing himself for that big transition into 7th grade.

We continue to receive support from near and far in the form of letters and gifts. We open and read everything. The letters we receive are an inspiration to us. We hope to reply to every single letter in time, and ask that you forgive that it takes us so much time to do so.

Our lives have changed forever, but many things stay the same. We miss Martin deeply – more than any words on paper could possibly describe. We persevere, trying to live as normal a life as possible for our sake and for the sake of our children. Through all we have been through, it has become obvious that we need to fill the emptiness we continue to feel. Martin will forever be a part of us, but we also feel an obligation to make sure the world remembers him and his message.

So, with the help of family and friends we have created the Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation, which will operate as “Team MR8.” The mission of Team MR8 is “to honor Martin’s message of ‘No more hurting people – peace’ by investing in education, athletics and community”. The foundation became a legal entity on January 2, 2014, and our 501(c) (3) application has been submitted and is pending approval.

This foundation will be a legacy for Martin, allowing us to “pay it forward” and make a difference in ways that would make him proud but also be a source of healing and purpose for us.

Our first order of business is to recruit a team of charity runners for the 2014 Boston Marathon. Team MR8 (Martin’s initials along with his favorite number and age) will be a diverse group of runners committed to the foundation and its mission. Anyone wishing to apply for a marathon bib, or who wants more information, should visit www.TeamMR8.org.

Finally, while we will never forget the past we hope to look forward beginning in 2014. We still have many people to meet and thank, some who risked their own lives for our family and others on Boylston Street that day: citizen bystanders, doctors, first responders and others. Please know we are eternally grateful and hope to meet everyone in time.

Wishing everyone Peace in 2014.

If you have questions about this story, please send them to owen.boss@patch.com. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here