Thinh Tran is excited to be running his first TCS New York City Marathon in support of The Fortune Society. He has been interested in running the New York City Marathon for a while, but the opportunity to run 26.2 miles in support of an organization he aligns with gave him the push he needed.  

Thinh first learned of Fortune from David Kochman, Thinh’s co-worker, a Fortune board member and the captain of the Fortune Flyers Marathon team.  

“David always tells me about the things he is involved with and I thought ‘this organization is cool’ in terms of being able to help people get back on their feet and become a good part of society. The last thing you want someone to do is go back to the streets and not do something productive. I’m all for this type of cause,” Thinh explained. 

Since learning about Fortune, Thinh has begun reading about various topics related to Fortune’s mission, including fair chance hiring.  

He feels that formerly justice involved people “are always going to be your top-notch people and employees because they want to stay out of trouble. They want to be a good part of society.”  

As part of the Fortune Flyer team, Thinh is fundraising to support Fortune’s mission and services. He has been pleased by the response from his network of friends and family to his fundraising efforts for Fortune.  

“I think they’ve read up on the cause and they want to support me in the run. People have been really generous and I’ve been blown away by people’s generosity so far,” he said. 

 Thinh has run one marathon previously and has enjoyed the personal challenge that training for the upcoming race has provided him: “I’m not really trying to race against anyone but myself. My goal is really just to finish and fundraise for a great cause.”  

He is looking forward to the energy on race day as New Yorkers come out to support the runners: “Just the vibe of New York is something I’m excited about as well. Being a part of a team like this is pretty exciting.”