Mom and daughter run for Casita Linda 
By Jean Gerber December 26, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Jessica Phillips and Carol Merchasin On November 16, 2009, San Miguel resident Carol Merchasin and her daughter Jessica Phillips ran in the San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in support of Casita Linda.

Jean Gerber, Executive Director of Casita Linda, interviewed Carol after her return from the race.


Jean Gerber: How did you get started raising money for Casita Linda?

Carol Merchasin: Back in June, my daughter Jessica asked me to join her in running a half-marathon in November in San Antonio, Texas. I jumped at the chance, since many things sound good when you don’t have to do them at that exact moment. When I told my mother about what we were doing, she asked me, “What are you running for?” When I started to give her a list of the reasons (fitness, lose weight, regain youth, pure craziness, stupidity?), she interrupted me to say that she knew all of that; what she wanted to know was, what organization were we going to support by running?

Immediately after I realized how smart people are after the age of 80, I knew that I wanted to try to raise money for Casita Linda. I had always loved to run and I thought this might be a good way to do something that I liked, and to give something back to the community at the same time. And it provided something very meaningful for Jessica and me to work on together.

JG: How did you pick Casita Linda? San Miguel has so many worthwhile organizations.

CM: Because as I began training and running in the campo, I began to see the “homes” that many people live in—reeds lashed together with twine to form walls and black plastic for a roof, sometimes a lean-to, with corrugated aluminum for a roof, that houses entire families. Every day, when I got up and the weather was cold or it rained in the night, I thought about how basic the need for shelter is. Every year families in this community lack not only the essential dignity of a roof, floor and walls, but also they risk death and illness in the winter. I was also inspired by the dedication of your volunteers. Casita Linda not only gives people the safety and security of a decent home, but they give us, as guests in this country, an opportunity to volunteer, raise money and help others. When I talked with Jessica about it, she loved the idea. In fact, she is coming down in February to be a volunteer for a week.

JG: What has it been like training in San Miguel for a 13.1-mile race? 

CM: It has been fantastic! First, running at this altitude is great for training (although it feels horrible while you are gasping for air!). Secondly, we have wonderful running weather (usually not too hot or cold) and the surrounding countryside is so beautiful and filled with dirt roads that are great for long runs. The cobblestones in Centro are a little difficult to navigate at first, but I mapped out several routes that got me off cobblestones pretty quickly. 

JG: What did you actually do to raise money?

CM: We put together a list of family, friends and professional colleagues and we sent an email asking them to sponsor us in the race. We told them about the work that Casita Linda is doing and the great need that exists here. I put a PayPal button on my website (www.trainingdesignstudio.com) and encouraged people to go there to make donations. Despite the economy, we had a wonderful and enthusiastic response. We raised over US$2,000 in donations ranging from $10–200. Jessica is a musician at the Metropolitan Opera, so we had contributions from her circle of friends. I was a lawyer in the US, so I reached out to my former colleagues. Interestingly, we also had responses from American families who saw this as an opportunity to get their teenaged children involved in fundraising for a worthy cause and to then come down this winter to do volunteer work on a house. We raised another US$3,000 in pledges from these families.

JG: How did you and Jessica do in the race?

CM: We finished in 2 hours and 23 minutes, running together every step of the way and feeling, well, really not too bad, all things considered (like age and hip pain). At about mile 9, when we started to get a teeny bit bored and more than a little tired, we thought about everyone who was wishing us well, about all of the Casita Linda volunteers who go out, raise money and help build houses, about our small contribution to a family who will get a house this winter, and we got a little weepy. But then that had to end—it’s very hard to cry and run at the same time! The very best part was running with my daughter and working together to raise money for Casita Linda, knowing that every dollar raised goes to help a family in need. And the icing on the cake was that I finished 21st out of 204 in my age division (who knew there were 203 other women between the ages of 60 and 64 who are as crazy as I am?).

JG: What’s next?

CM: We are done for now, but only for now, as we plan to run another half-marathon in the spring when we will cast our net wider for Casita Linda supporters! Anyone want to join us? I can guarantee that it builds determination and strong legs (in case you are short on either) and the rewards are terrific.

Casita Linda is a nonprofit organization whose primary goal is to build low-cost homes for the most disadvantaged families. For more information, visit www.casitalinda.org or contact Jean Gerber at jean@casitalinda.org or call (415) 154-9446.