NOTE: This post is an email from Rick D’Amico (Amanda’s cousin).
In just over a week I will be running the New York City Marathon and I am raising money for a cause that is very close to my heart. We will also be hosting a little party after the marathon for friends who make a donation and are in the City (see details and a link to donate below)
In August 2017, my 25 year old cousin, Amanda Laura, suddenly got very sick with a virus that attacked her brain and she tragically passed away. Our family was robbed of one of our favorite people and the world was robbed of the impact she was sure to have.
Amanda was one of the more remarkable young people I have ever known. After graduating with honors from the University of Pennsylvania she dedicated her entire professional career to teaching underprivileged high school students in Chicago and Madrid. If you want to know who she was to others, read the attached post from one of her students or check out the foundation website (link below). Dozens of similar testimonies and letters were sent to our family after her passing from students and colleagues all over the world. Before she got sick she had just finished a Fulbright program in Spain and was set to begin law school at the University of Chicago. She was going to study education reform to try and fix the issues and injustices that she experienced firsthand as a teacher in underprivileged communities. That’s who she was as a young professional and a citizen of this world.
To our family she was the caring, smart, witty and hilarious girl who cut her backpacking trip across Europe short by three weeks to make it home for her little sister’s sweet sixteen party. She loved her family and friends and was always there for them.
Amanda’s death left a void in our family that can never be filled. However we can continue to pursue her cause. The family, led by Amanda’s little sister Gianna Laura, has set up the Amanda Rose Laura Foundation, whose mission is to support teenagers growing up in poverty and providing them with an enriched educational experience. It champions the values Amanda so humbly brought to her students every day.
As all of you know, I am not much of a runner and marathons are certainly not “my thing.” However, I decided to take this on because I wanted to do something deeply personal and challenging, but was also much bigger than myself. Amanda’s passing was as personal as it gets, but the cause of the foundation transcends this loss and supports the selfless dedication and ripple effect her life had on fixing a much bigger issue.
On November 4th, I’ll be running with so many others running for causes, issues, and people who were bigger than life itself. Amanda was one of those people and it would mean so much to me if you could come out to support her cause and celebrate her life.
Special thanks to Marc Spilker and the New 42nd Street for generously sponsoring my spot in the Marathon.
About Amanda, Donation and Celebration Details
Donate: GoFundMe Page for Amanda Laura
https://www.gofundme.com/rick-runs
Learn about Amanda:
https://arlaurafoundation.org/home-page/amandas-journey/
Celebrate: The Post Marathon Celebration Party
The Larstrand
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
227 West 77th Street, The Lounge (will have the option for The Roof, weather pending)
*Tell the doorman you are attending the Amanda Laura Fundraiser Marathon Party
**All children/ toddlers/ infants are welcome, there is a great playroom for them as well.
Please RSVP to kellichristine4@gmail.com