Date: 2006-04-08
To: The Ask, Part I - by Lefty
Miles today: 0.0

Mom and I went back and forth for a longtime (years, in fact) trying to determine if we should try to raise money for a non-profit breast cancer organization at the same time we were doing our hike. Mom, was very patient with me and my explanations for why we should, why we shouldn¢t, why we should, why we shouldn¢t (you get the point). Obviously, I was torn. I didn¢t want us to miss an opportunity to give back to the breast cancer community and the fight against the disease. But on the other hand, hiking the AT was a dream come true for me and I wanted to appreciate every second of it and not feel like I had to be ¢on¢. The preparations involved in putting your life on hold for 6 months is challenging enough, let alone making the hike into something "bigger" than just mom and I fulfilling a dream.I had pretty much decided by late February of this year that I didn¢t want to do the whole fundraising thing. And then, wouldn¢t you know it, just when I was beginning to feel at peace with myself & my decision to ¢just hike¢, mom comes along and says, ¢WE HAVE TO raise money now. Wal*Mart says they will match whatever we raise!¢ Well, I guess that¢s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes... I wouldn¢t have chosen to do ¢The Ask¢, but now that I guess ¢WE HAVE TO¢ I'm feeling really glad that it has worked out this way. We have had a lot of fun the past few days preparing for our romp through mom's Wal*Mart and calling around to drum up some local press.The next discussion up for debate was WHO we would raise money for. As you can probably guess, mom and I don¢t agree....on much. There were weeks of back and forth. She would like an organization, but it would rub me the wrong way. I would pick an organization and she wouldn¢t say anything (code for, ¢I¢m not going to argue with you, Kelley¢). Since I have personally benefited from SO MANY different breast cancer services and organizations, I had a hard time narrowing it down to just one. Mom, decided to solve this problem by choosing a Myrtle Beach non-profit called ¢A Cure in Our Lifetime.¢ It was exactly the kind of organization which mom would have benefited from had it existed when she went through her diagnosis and treatment. Mom was not as lucky as I was when it came to having endless streams of support services available to her.The organization that I have chosen to raise money and support for is the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund (NBCCF). I heard their President speak at the ¢Young Adults Affected by Breast Cancer¢ Conference in Denver, CO in February this year. I went back to Buoy¢s hotel room (where he was staying on business) stepped into a luxurious bath tub and read all their conference material. I then read just about everything they had on their website. I was sold. They are fabulous. I hope you will join me in learning more about what you can do to support their work fighting breast cancer through action and advocacy. Check them out at www.stopbreastcancer.org. For 15 years, the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund (NBCCF) has empowered and trained advocates to be effective in every aspect of the fight to end breast cancer. NBCCF gives women the tools to make their own informed decisions and to work besides legislative, scientific and clinical decision makers. NBCCF also helps guide the public through the maze of information on breast cancer. NBCCF¢s sister organization, the National Breast Cancer Coalition, trains advocates at the national, state and local levels to lobby for public policies that impact breast cancer research, diagnosis and treatment. NBCCF has created a sponsorship form that will enable them and us to keep track of all donations they receive from people who learned about them through our efforts. Please view our first guest book entry for instructions on where to find the sponsorship form on their website.If you are unable to access their website or are not able to download the sponsorhip form you may copy, paste and print out the form included at the bottom of this journal entry. One last thing about, "The Ask." I want to personally acknowledge that not all readers can or want to contribute financially and I totally respect that! I am actually one of those people. I hardly ever donate money to "good causes". It's kinda on principal with me. I figure that I do non-profit work. I contribute plenty already! There are so many "good causes" out there that you have to draw the line somewhere. For those of you, like me, that would like to contribute in a way other than financially, I promise to come up with some creative ideas for you. Thank you for your support! For those of you who "on principal" love to donate to a "good cause" The NBCCF is a fabulous one. Thank you for your support! ********************************************************************************National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund Sponsorship Form: In Honor of Righty, Lefty & Buoy's Appalachian Trail Hike ********************************************* All sponsorships are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by federal law. Please print all information for acknowledgment and tax purposes. Thank you. Sponsor¢s Name: Sponsor¢s Street: City: State: Zip: Sponsor¢s Phone number (required for credit card donations): Sponsorship Amount: Check: Make Checks Payable to: National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund Visa:_____MasterCard: _____ or American Express:____ Credit Card Number: Expiration Date: Signature: Return sponsorships to: National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund 1101 17th Street N.W., Suite 1300 Washington, DC 20036 Attn: Jessica Nysenbaum ¢ Community Affairs Associate www.stopbreastcancer.org Please direct any questions to Jessica Nysenbaum: (202) 296- 7477 or community_events@stopbreastcancer.org