T-Minus 1 day!!!

I can't believe 5 months have come and gone so quickly. After 3 fundraisers and lots of begging for money from friends and family, I am proud to say our team has raised almost $10,400 for Komen Foundation. I am so proud of every member of my team for all the hard work they have put in to this - it has been a challenge to say the least. Thanks again to all of you who have donated - your donation means so much not only to our team, but to all those who have been diagnosed with this disease.

Well, I have packed (and unpacked) and packed again...and unpacked again (I have to admit I am a little OCD). I hope that I have everything I am supposed to bring! If not, I'm sure Jen, the other OCD team member, will have remembered it. Luckily we have Valerie and Leigh to keep the 2 of us calm. We will be leaving for Cleveland at 4:30 am on Friday morning (ugh!) in order to make to opening ceremonies on time. I still can't believe I was asked to participate by carrying one of the banners - I'm so honored, but I'm sure I'll be a nervous wreck come Friday!

If any of you will be on the west side of Cleveland this weekend and want to come cheer us on, you can visit the following link for information on where the official cheering stations are.
http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=CL_Spectator
And for any of you that are the praying type, please pray that we stay safe this weekend and make it through these 60 miles without any major disasters! And for the rest of you....just wish us GOOD LUCK!!!

As of last night I reached my new goal of $3,000! I am sure all my friends and family are tired of hearing me ask for donations, but I am an overachiever and couldn't stop at $2,300! Then, today our team met our team goal of $10,000! I am grateful to everyone who has donated to Team Second Base - we truly appreciate each and every penny!!!

So Excited!!!

So I got home last night and had a message from someone with the Cleveland 3-Day. When I called back I was informed that I had been chosen to be one of the flag carriers for Opening Ceremonies! I'll be carrying the lifetime flag that reads "JOY"...I feel so honored to have been chosen!!!

I'm also proud to say that each member of our team has met their $2300 goal and we are within $100 of meeting our team goal of $10,000! With one month to go, I have high hopes that we will not only reach that goal, but surpass it! Thanks to everyone who has donated!!!

Just want to thank everyone who showed up for our 3rd fundraiser at the Blind Pig on Friday night. Leigh, Valerie, Jen and I had a blast! Hopefully everyone who came out had as good of time as we did. Between our 50/50 raffle, the tips we made bartending (and a few we made afterwards), we raised $700!!!

We are still shy of our team goal of $10,000. I know we have asked so much of our friends and family so far (and you guys have really been generous)but we only need about $360 more to hit our mark - won't you please help us get there?

To donate please follow this link:

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/ClevelandEvent?px=3030294&pg=personal&fr_id=1294

It’s been a while since I updated this…guess that shows how busy I’ve been. I wished I could say it was because I am walking 10 miles a day and never get on the computer (that would be a straight up lie though). Actually, I have been trying to walk when I can, but I have learned that Jacob doesn’t do well past mile marker 3 if we are on a bike path. That means when he comes with me, we are stuck walking in Chardon (because he loves to watch all the traffic). Good to get the heart beating, but the scenery isn’t as nice as the bike path!

We also have new team member, Leigh Hornyak (shown in the picture with me). We are so excited she is a part of our team!

As many of you know, we just had fundraiser #2 last weekend. We joined forces with Erin Pianko’s team for the weekend and set up a fundraising table in front of the fire station at the Maple Festival. I am thrilled to announce our team raised just under $1,000! Thanks to all of you that stopped out and supported us! It was a fun weekend, but I think I may have gotten a few gray hairs in the days leading up to the event!

Our next fundraiser will take place at The Blind Pig in downtown Cleveland on June 19th. Team Second Base will be bartending from 6:00-8:30 and all the tips we make will go directly to the 3-Day Walk. Come down and watch us make fools of ourselves (since none of us know how to bartend!) and help out a great cause! Mark it on your calendar and bring a friend (or two or three or four...)!!!

Little did I know when I signed up for this walk that the fundraising part was going to turn into a part-time job. I have spent many nights typing letters, printing off donation forms, folding those letters, licking envelopes (yuck) and attaching stamps and mailing labels till midnight sometimes! I’m really not complaining; it makes me feel good to know that I am doing this all for a great cause.

I have already started to see some donations come in….thank-you so much to those of you have already donated! I get so incredibly excited when I get an email from the 3-Day website that says I have another donation! Keep them coming!!!

I have also spoken to a few people who have thanked me for taking on this challenge because they knew someone with breast cancer and were grateful that I was willing to walk. With each person I talk to, it makes me more determined to raise this money and complete this journey. I started with a list of 3 people I knew who had battled with breast cancer who I was personally walking for. With each call or letter I get, that list grows. I am now not only walking for my great aunts and my friend Erin, I am also walking for 2 other wonderful ladies I have learned about who had this disease as well.

As for training, it’s been tough so far. Since Mike is a fireman he’s at work every 2 out of 3 nights. I have trouble trying to find time to go to the fire station to walk on the treadmill more than twice a week! I do what I can and hope that our spring comes early this year so that I can throw Jacob in the stroller and hit the bike path. I was lucky that it hit 50 degrees here today and so we took advantage of the warm spell. We went for a quick walk around the neighborhood only to find that even though it was 50 degrees, the wind was blowing like crazy and I ended up with an earache!


Finally, Team Second Base would still love to have some more team members to join us on this journey! We just got together for the first time last weekend to go over some ideas and talk about the walk. If you are interested in joining us, let me know….we’d love to have you!


To donate, please click on this link: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/ClevelandEvent?px=3030294&pg=personal&fr_id=1294

I have taken on an incredible challenge. On July 31-August 2, I’ll be walking 60 miles over the course of three days, camping out at night in little pink tents with thousands of other women and men taking this journey with me.

We all probably know someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly, some of those are no longer with us. I am walking in memory of those we have lost, in honor of those who struggle with this on a daily basis, and in the hope that one day, they will find a cure - so that every woman has the chance to live a long, healthy life.

I need to raise $2500 to help bring us closer to that goal.

Please consider making a donation of $10, $25, $50 - any amount would be appreciated. If you can't give this amount all at once, you can spread it out over four months, using the payment plan option, if you donate online at http://www.the3day.org/. Please also ask your employer if they will double your donation with a matching gift.

Please support me as I take an amazing journey in the fight against breast cancer! Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.

To donate, please click on this link:

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/ClevelandEvent?px=3030294&pg=personal&fr_id=1294