Physical Therapist running for Capital Campaign

Left: Brooke Nack, physical therapist, at Saint Anthony Medical Center, spends time on the treadmill, as well as on the streets, preparing for her run in the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

CROWN POINT - Brooke Nack has a knack for giving back. In six years as a physical therapist at the Saint Anthony Medical Center Rehabilitation Institute, she has helped numerous people along the road to recovery, following an accident or illness.

On Oct. 11, Nack will take her cause to the streets to give back again – this time to the Saint Anthony Medical Center Capital Campaign – for which she is seeking pledges for her participation in the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It is Nack’s first marathon and her first pledge drive. So far, she has raised about $100. Her goal is $1,000.

“If I’m going to spend four hours running a marathon, I might as well be doing something good for the world,” she said, adding she contacted Warren Johnson, director of development for Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Northern Indiana Region, about how she could help locally. He recommended assisting the Capital Campaign.

“As a Christian working for a nonprofit organization, I want to help the community – all of us should be chipping in,” said Nack, a Crown Point resident who took up running about 2 ½ years ago and began marathon training in June.

The Capital Campaign, which began last February and will run through the end of next year, seeks to raise $4.5 million, half of which is being matched by a local, private donor, to build a new complex to house Saint Anthony’s St. Clare Health Clinic and the Prenatal Assistance Program, both of which provide free services for underprivileged area residents and have for years been located in tight, outdated quarters.

Nack, whose goal is to complete the 26-mile event in under-nine-minute miles, says running has proved beneficial to her in more ways than one.
“I do a lot of thinking and it really helps in sorting things out and in making me feel refreshed. It’s definitely a time to be at peace with God and the world,” she said.

Johnson said Nack is no newcomer to supporting the Capital Campaign.
“Brooke was already contributing to our fund drive via our employee giving campaign. Her going the ‘extra mile’ by seeking pledges for her running in the marathon is so heartwarming and a great way to engage her friends, family and many other sponsors in supporting this project,” he said. “We thank her for choosing to run for St. Clare.”

Donations may be made by check to: Saint Anthony Medical Capital Campaign/Marathon, in care of Warren Johnson, 1201 S. Main St., Crown Point, IN 46307. In-person donations also may be made to Nack at the Rehabilitation Institute by contacting the Marketing and Communications Department at (219) 757-6040. Contributors will receive a thank you letter showing proof of their donation, for tax purposes.

BREAKOUT

Running inspiration
While she is clicking off the miles, Brooke Nack says she draws peace and strength from the following Bible verse from Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”