I’ve donated a copy of my novel, IDENTITY CRISIS, as one of the door prizes, along with several books provided by fellow mystery author Marcia Talley.
You can also help support research, increased awareness and support for dystonia patients and their loved ones, in a wide variety of ways, including volunteering or making a donation.
Gotta be off now. Things to do, money to raise, illnesses to cure . . .
You remember all those T-shirts I mentioned in a previous post? Well, guess what? Still got a whole lot of them. And that follow-up ride at which I was going to sell them? Kind of hasn’t happened yet. (The people who offered to plan this tell me they haven’t forgotten, FWIW.)
So, more than two months after my fundraiser, we’ve still got boxes of T-shirts cluttering up our rec room. They’re kind of getting in the way. I could give them to charity I guess–but that seems silly since I’m selling them for charity, right?
And in case you need a reminder of why I’m doing all this, it’s to help raise awareness of dystonia and money for better treatments and, ideally, a cure for this little-known, but awful condition, by supporting the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.
What’s dystonia? You can read about it here. Or you can watch these short videos. Pictures speak much louder words.
First, the trailer from “Twisted” (a documentary about dystonia):
Then a PSA made by the Bachmann-Strauss Foundation:
Not too cool, huh? Surprising more people don’t know about it, right? Well, that’s why I’m telling people. That’s why I organized a fundraiser. The word must be spread about this. The money must be raised. The research to find a cure must continue. And it can with your help.
If you’ll just donate $20, you can get a great T-shirt and support a great cause. They’re really nice, if you haven’t seen them, here they are:
Nice, huh? Buying this T-shirt will not only raise money, but wearing it will raise people’s awareness. When I wear mine, people often ask, “What’s dystonia?” Then I tell them and they say, “Gee, I never heard of it.” But they know about it after that.
If you’re interested, just email me at infogirl2k@yahoo.com and tell me your size and where to mail it.
For a $20 donation to DMRF, you can help this cause. And you can help me clean out my rec room.
Just as a reminder of why this fundraiser was so important, here’s a clip from CNN about an 11-year-old boy named Tyler Staab who (along with his sister!) has dystonia. His parents have started a foundation called Tyler’s Hope to raise money for research to find a cure.
This local newscast (in the clip below) talks about the foundation and Tyler’s surgery.
Surgery is a pretty extreme option. Another reason we so desperately need to find a cure.
Without turning this into a sales blog or anything, I’d just like to point out that there are T-shirts left over from the event–and I’m still selling them to anyone who’d like to support the cause of finding a better way to treat dystonia and, with any luck, find a cure for this condition.
Here’s one:
Not bad, huh? Good quality, too. 100% cotton, yet mine didn’t even shrink when I washed it. Who would’ve thought?
We sold T-shirts for $20 each at the event. If you’d like one, feel free to give me a shout. You can email me at infogirl2k@yahoo.com. Just put “Dystonia Fundraiser T-Shirt” in the subject line. And don’t forget to tell me your size (subject to availability) and where to send it.
Just wanted to report that the Freedom Ride for Dystonia has (as of today) made a profit of more than $1,200. Not too shabby for a first-time fundraiser. Not bad at all. And next year will be even better!
Don’t forget–there may be more news to come about another ride for dystonia in the near future. Keep checking in, and I’ll keep tweeting these posts. Thanks!
What a day it was! I can say without reservation that the First Annual Freedom Ride for Dystonia was a success!
While the weather turned out a bit dreary and our event ended up competing with other rides, we raised quite a bit of money. In fact, we made a profit! (The exact amount I’ll know better after all the bills and donations are accounted for.) Not every first-ever fundraiser can make that claim. (I’m not bragging here, just saying . . .)
The food donors provided an awesome spread. And The Guzzlers were rockin’ out. It was a genuine feast with great entertainment.
Not to mention the cake! (Which was fabulous. As you can see, someone swiped a piece before the photo could even be taken.)
There are so many people I’d like to thank for making this day possible. But one of the most amazing would have to be Donna Knipp, the events coordinator at Old Glory Harley Davidson. Here’s a picture of me and Donna.
Along with some more photos of our fabulous volunteers.
Here’s one of the riders buying raffle tickets at the registration desk.
It was a truly wonderful event. If you couldn’t make it, I feel sorry for you. Because you really missed out. Maybe next year. (Did I just say next year? Yes, I did.)
Not sure exactly when next year, but I think we should do this again. And we can do it even bigger and better next time, if that’s possible. Because if I do say so (and I do), it was darned good this time. We raised awareness of dystonia and even made money for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation. And it was just so much fun!
So keep your eyes peeled next year for more information about the Second Annual Freedom Ride for Dystonia. It’s going to be good, you can count on it.
This is it–the big day is here. The Freedom Ride for Dystonia takes place today, in about 10 hours. So be there! Looks like the rain may hold off (if it comes at all) until later in the day. Great! Registration opens at 9:30 a.m. sharp. And closes at 11:30 a.m.
After the 67-mile run, you can enjoy food, music, door prizes, raffles and vendors. You can buy more T-shirts and poker hands. Just remember–the poker sheets must be turned in to someone on the event staff (one of those people wandering around in the Day-Glo green T-shirts) by 3 p.m. The grand prize for the winner is $250.
A 50-50 raffle will be drawn at the end of the event.You must be present to win. The winning ticket holder will have 15 minutes to claim the prize, but if no one comes forward in that time, the money will be donated to the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.
We have another food donor for our ride. It’s Cakes Plus of Laurel. (And a big thank you to them!) A nice marble cake with the ride logo in icing on top. Yum.
Just another reason to show up for what should be a really great event.
And (once more with feeling) if you’d like to register or donate online, you can do so by clicking right here. Thanks!
This blog is to promote the Freedom Ride for Dystonia, a poker run that will take place Saturday May 2, 2009, starting at Old Glory Harley-Davidson at 11800 Laurel Bowie Road in Laurel, Maryland. All two- to four-wheeled motor vehicles are invited to participate. An event after the ride will feature food, a live band and a variety of vendors.
