Charity to Fight Epilepsy One T-shirt at a Time.

Smitha Arons is a full-time attorney living in San Diego, California. She is also a full-time wife to husband Michael, and mom to two beautiful children – five-year-old Serena and seven-year-old Drew. As if that work load didn’t sound hectic enough, she’s also a blogger for Running with SD mom, founded America’s Finest Fitness Bloggers, and is an ambassador to several wonderful organizations and company.

This week, aside from running her first full marathon (go figure), Arons announced that she’ll be teaming up with national screen printing company Rush Order Tees to produce custom t-shirts and help raise funds for the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego.

Profits from the t-shirts will be used to help her team, Serena’s Crusaders, reach their $10,000 fundraising goal heading into this year’s Sharon’s Ride.Run.Walk for Epilepsy in April.

But Arons wasn’t always an avid runner or community organizer. In fact, just a few short years ago, she wasn’t a runner at all, and the mere thought of running a 5k blew her mind, she told RushOrderTees. That all changed four years ago, when her daughter, Serena, only 18 months old at the time, was diagnosed with Epilepsy.

Following Serena’s diagnosis with epilepsy, Arons learned about Sharon’s Ride.Run.Walk for Epilepsy, which is sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego, and became very involved in the local running community.

“To me, running and organizing this community is to give myself something to think about other than worrying about Serena, but it’s also about showing her that Mommy is just as proud and brave as she is.”

Serena, now 5, has learned how to live an active life with the disorder.

“I just want the world to know she’s affected by epilepsy, but there’s so much more about her,” Arons said. “She is the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. She never uses epilepsy as an excuse, and never lets any of it hold her back from living a normal life.”

The shirts come in two color schemes – pink and purple and gray and purple – and are available in adult and children’s sizes. They feature the phrase “Pace Yourself!” – a reminder relevant to more than just running.

“I thought long and hard about what I wanted the t-shirts to say, and in the end, I settled on ‘Pace Yourself!’ because it applies to more than just running,” she said in the post. “Enjoy the moment of this day. Every day without a seizure or an accident is a good day, and one that needs to be cherished. And just as in running, pacing oneself and taking the time to enjoy – truly enjoy – every good moment is priceless.”

Arons said that 25 percent of the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego’s annual operating budget comes from the funds raised for Sharon’s Ride.Run.Walk for Epilepsy.

“The running has given me a hobby and an interest, and a way to inspire others to be healthy and live in the moment,” she said in the post. “But I’m not just interested in the running, I’m interested in the cause. The Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego is the only service of its kind in San Diego, so giving them our support is essential.”

To purchase the commemorative “Pace Yourself!” t-shirts visit the Serena’s Crusaders page on RushOrderTees.com.