Today's my birthday! And I'm hoping you'll do me a favor on my birthday: Donate to a good cause, and with a good reason.

You see, my sister in law Jennifer Browne (along with my wife Alaina and several of our friends) is running in this year's New York City Marathon. But she's running as part of the New York Road Runners Special Charity Initiative, which means she has to raise $2500 to participate in this year's marathon, which is on November 5, 2006.

Even though I'd watched the NYC Marathon for years, the 2004 race was the first one where I had a group of friends and family participating. It was an amazing event for all of us, and I'm happy that this year it'll also be for a good cause. (The photo to the left is Jennifer right before she and Alaina crossed the finish line.)

So, since I know my readers can be exceptionally generous, I'm hoping you'll lend a hand. Here's what to do:

• Visit the Special Charity Initiative donation page. (It's a secure payment page.)
• Enter a donation amount. (I think $26.20 is particularly appropriate; That's a dollar a mile.)
• Enter in Marathon Entry # 70972.
• Enter member's last name Browne.

Then just enter your payment info. With your donation, you'll be supporting a number of deserving organizations, each receiving a percentage of the total amount:

• The Armory Foundation - 30.5%
• USA Track & Field, Inc. to support its USA Distance Project - 23%
• Central Park Conservancy - 15.5%
• The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, for the benefit of Van Cortlandt Park - 8%
• Achilles Track Club - 7%

You can see more about the Charity Initiative on the New York Road Runners site.

The marathon is a pretty special event for my circle of family and friends, and I'm hoping you can help make it possible for Jennifer to participate. If you want to find out a little more, you can check out Jenn's MySpace profile or shoot me an email or leave a comment and I'm glad to answer any questions.