In 1998, John Wood was a rising executive at Microsoft when he took a vacation that changed his life. What started as a trekking holiday in Nepal became a spiritual journey and then a mission: to change the world one book and one child at a time by setting up libraries in the developing world. He was soon driven to leave his career with only a loose vision of the change he wanted to bring to the world.

John made the unlikely marriage between Microsoft business practices and the world of non-profits to create Room to Read, an organization that has created a network of over 7,500 libraries and 830 schools throughout rural and poor communities in Asia and Africa.

In late 2009, Tracie and I set a goal of raising $12,000 for Room To Read to sponsor three libraries within countries such as Nepal, Vietnam and India. With the help of our family and friends we raised over $1,000 in 2009. In May, I will be participating in the White Lake Half Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run) in White Lake, NC. Please join me in supporting Room to Read by making a pledge so that together we can transform the lives of 5 million children in the developing world - one book, one child, one community at a time.

With your support and pledges, I hope to raise over $1,000 for Room To Read from this event.

I setup this website to capture donations specific to this event. At the conclusion of the race, I will send you a reminder about your pledge. If you would prefer to donate immediately, you can do so here.

You can learn more about Room To Read at http://www.roomtoread.org and about John Wood's book Leaving Microsoft to Change the World at http://www.leavingmicrosoftbook.com.

All gifts are tax deductible

Support Room To Read by Sponsoring Greg Scharlemann

Total Pledged to Date: $1,475.00 / Goal: $1,000.00 (148%)