sfwalk

Visitors since August 2000
 

Jane - 2000

Dear Friends,

2000: A year of changes...and commitments.

Many of you know last August I decided to venture out on my own and start an organization development consulting practice.  I’ve been enjoying my commitment to take the experience gained from twenty-five+ years in the field and help my clients build and grow more effective and successful organizations.  What many of you do NOT know is another big commitment I’ve made this year:

Sherry - 2000

Dear Friends,

Life is full of challenges and I have just taken on a very exciting one.  The weekend of July 28, 2000 I will be joining with over 2,000 participants in the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day walk from San Jose to San Francisco in an effort to raise money to combat breast cancer.

My training program has now started in earnest.  By the end of July I have to be ready and able to walk 20 miles a day (that’s ok) for three days in a row (that’s a challenge!)

The second part of this challenge is to raise funds.  In order to participate, one must commit to raising $1,800.  I have set my personal goal at $7,200…that’s $1,800 for me and three close friends who have dealt with breast cancer.  I hope you will join me in this fundraising effort.  Please make checks payable to:  Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day and mail them to me at 10156 E. Estates Dr., Cupertino, CA 95014.

Ask another friend or family member to contribute to this very important cause and send their contribution along with yours.  Thank you all in advance for your generosity.

There will be a closing ceremony held in San Francisco on July 30^th when family and friends can come celebrate what we have accomplished….walking 60 miles and raising lots of $$$$ for the fight against breast cancer.

With thanks,  

Sherry - 2001

Dear Friends,

It’s that time again………time to step up and be counted in the fight against breast cancer.

Last year we made quite a team…with your support, I walked over 700 miles and raised $13,000 for breast cancer research and to fund non-profit support services for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer.  I wish I could say that we don’t need to repeat that accomplishment, but we do.  A very dear friend, who walked with me last year, was diagnosed with breast cancer within weeks of having completed the Avon 3-Day walk.  Most likely quite a few of you have had a close friend or family member diagnosed with breast cancer.

We need to keep up the fight against breast cancer.  I intend to keep on walking until we find a cure.  Won’t you please support me with a contribution?

Make the check out to “Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day” and mail to

[address]

Thank you for your encouragement and support.

Catch the wind,  

Last year I raised almost $10,000 for the fight against breast cancer.  I did seven months of hard training so I could do the 60-mile Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day walk from De Anza College in Cupertino to the Marina Green in San Francisco.  Four days before the start I broke the fourth toe on my left foot, was unable to do the walk and spent the next four weeks on crutches. 

I am undeterred!  I am starting over.  I am training hard.  And I am asking you to make a donation to the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day. 

Breast cancer is a disease that grips our attention. Maybe its because almost everyone knows someone who has had it, or because it strikes many women in the prime of their lives. Whatever the reason, the raw statistics are frightening in themselves.

§ Breast cancer strikes one out of every 8 American women.

§ It is the most common form of cancer among women in the U.S.

§ 185,000 new cases are discovered annually, 500 diagnoses per day.

§ It is the deadliest form of cancer in women under age 55.

Breast cancer has a very high cure rate, with 97 percent of women surviving for 5 years if the cancer is diagnosed early. Indeed, the death rate from breast cancer has been dropping for the past 5 years, down from 50,000 deaths per year in the US to 40,000. That's 10,000 more women per year who are surviving!  This is amazing progress, but much more must be done. 

With your contribution, you and I can help save lives today.  For your convenience, I also put a copy of the pledge form on the Web at:

http://home.inreach.com/rwheeler/abc3d/

Please make several copies of the pledge form to give to your friends, family, and co-workers; go to this web site and send it’s URL to friends; fill out the form; please make a generous contribution; and mail it to:

Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day
135 S. La Salle
Dept. 7201
Chicago, IL 60674-7201

Many employers have a matching gift program. Please ask your employer to match your gift and provide them with a copy of the pledge form.  Also, please send this e-mail to all your wired friends.

Thanks,

Next summer I will be participating in a very challenging event in the fight against breast cancer. It’s the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day and I’d like to tell you about it.

During the weekend of July 27-29, 2001, I will walk 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco. More than 3,000 people will walk to support non-profit breast health programs and medical research throughout the country. The Avon Products Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization operated solely for charitable and educational purposes, awards grants to recipient organizations from 3-Day funds.

This year, over 180,000 in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Over 40,000 will die.* That’s why I’m walking so far: I want to do something big. I hope you’ll share this incredible adventure with me by supporting my fundraising efforts.

I’ve pledged to raise $2,000 before June 29^th. I cannot walk in the event if I fail to do so. I need your help. Would you please consider making a fully tax-deductible pledge to help me meet my goal? I’ve enclosed the following to make it easy for you:

- A postage-paid card addressed to me to let me know of your support. (All notes of encouragement are gratefully received!)

- A pledge form and postage-paid envelope to send your pledge directly to the 3-Day offices. (This enables all pledge receipts to be put to work immediately.)

Please look the form over and designate the amount that is right for you. If you don’t find an appropriate amount, you might consider one of the following categories:

+ “10 Cents A Training Mile” category (I will walk 1,000 miles to train for this event.)

+ “Tax Time is Coming and This is a Good Write-off” category (How about $75?)

+ “A Buck Per Event Mile” category (It’s 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco.)

+ “Let’s See If She Can Finish” category (Isn’t that worth $40?)

+ “We Only Hear from Her at Christmas and Now She Wants Money??” category ($30)

Thank you very much for considering my request. I hope you’ll make a pledge today.  (If you’d like to learn more about the event, point a browser at www.breastcancer3day.org.)

Sincerely,  

I wish to invite you to take a walk with me.

I can promise it will be an extraordinary journey, involving commitment, challenge and compassion. A walk through through new doorways of accomplishment, a walk all the way from San Jose to San  Francisco.

During the weekend of July 27, 2001, I'll  be participating in a powerful event in the fight against breast cancer, the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day. I'll walk 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco with more than 3000 other courageous people to raise money for breast cancer and other diseases that affect women. This
incredible challenge is very out of the ordinary for me. I am in training for six months, getting to know all the muscles and tender skin of my body.

I find it prophetic that this walk will happen on the two-year anniversary of the date that I learned that I had cancer. As a survivor, I feel it is important that I grow from what I thought were my limits two years ago. Cancer has changed me, and I struggle remake myself as a better, stronger, and by the way, thinner, individual.

The net proceeds from the event will support non-profit breast health programs throughout the country and breast cancer research. The Avon Products Foundation, Inc.. a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization operated exclusively for charitable and educational programs, will award the grants.

And, to do this walk, I've agreed to raise $1,900 in pledges before June 29th! But I need your help. Will you share in my commitment? Would you please consider making a fully tax-deductible pledge to help me meet my goal before June 29th? Please look over the enclosed pledge form and designate the amount that is right for you. Please keep in mind how far I'll be walking, and how hard I'll be training.

This year over 180,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Over 40,000 will die. That's why I am walking so far. To do something big. I hope that you'll share this incredible adventure with me by supporting me in my fundraising efforts. And, if you drop me a line at susauer791@yahoo.com, I'll keep you posted.

Thank you for your generosity!

All my best,

The weekend of July 28, 2000, I will be participating in a very special and powerful event in the fight against breast cancer.  It’s called the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day and I’d like to tell you about it.

I will walk 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco with more than 2000 other courageous people to raise money for breast cancer.  The net proceeds from the event will support non-profit breast health programs in every region of the country, and cutting-edge medical research on women’s diseases at leading academic institutions.  The Avon Products Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes, will award grants to these types of organizations.

And I have agreed to raise $1,800 in pledges before then!  But, I need your help.  Would you please consider making a fully tax-deductible pledge to help me meet my goal?  I’ve enclosed a pledge form for you.  Please look the form over and designate the amount that’s right for you.  Please keep in mind how far I’m walking – and how hard I will have to train for the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day between now and July.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for all women, and the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55.  Both its cause and the means for its cure remain undiscovered.  I happen to be one of the statistics.  I have been a breast cancer survivor for threes years now.  I am walking for everyone with breast cancer, and for everyone who may have the disease and not know it.  I have chosen to do something big—something that will challenge me almost as much as my personal fight against breast cancer.

Can I walk 60 miles in three days?  Can I raise $1,800 in pledges?  Can I survive breast cancer?  You bet I can!  I hope you will share this incredible adventure with me!

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

All my best,

Call me “crazy” but yes, I have signed on once again to walk the 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco in the 2001 AVON Breast Cancer 3-Day event, July 27-29, 2001.  This is just one of the nine 3-Day events scheduled in 2001 across the US.

This year I have a new tent mate…my daughter Anne will be walking (and sleeping) with me every step of the way!  Anne worked day and night as part of the “crew” for the event last year. (I think that was harder than walking will be!)  She has already begun her training and we are trying to coordinate our schedules so we can do as many training walks together as possible.  We will keep you posted on our progress!  I am so excited to be sharing this experience with her.  It will again be a long, uncomfortable, physical, exhausting, emotional journey but the rewards are worth every inch of the 60 miles.  Together, Anne and I will be embracing the spirit of the 3-Day, moving beyond our limits for the fight against Breast Cancer.

So where does the money go?  In 2000, Avon made history by awarding $32 million to fund access to care and finding a cure for breast cancer, representing the first time Avon has extended its funding mission to include medical research into the possible causes, prevention, treatment and cure of breast cancer.  Five research centers are now receiving support from the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade and they are:  

The weekend of October 22^nd, 1999, I’ll be participating in a very special and powerful event in the fight against breast cancer. It’s called AVON’s Breast Cancer 3-Day, and I’d like to tell you about it.

I’ll be walking 55 miles along the California coast all the way from Santa Barbara to Malibu, with more than 2,000 other courageous people! We hope to raise millions of dollars for awareness and early detection of breast cancer. The net proceeds from the event will benefit Avon’s Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade, a non-profit initiative of Avon Products, Inc. In partnership with the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO), grants are awarded to non-profit organizations that educate women about the facts of breast cancer, and the benefits of early detection and treatment.

I’ve agreed to raise $1,700 in pledges before then, and I need your help. Would you please consider making a fully tax-deductible pledge (on the enclosed pledge form) to help me meet my goal?  Please look the form over and designate the amount that’s right for you. Please keep in mind how far I’m walking – and how hard I will have to train between now and October.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for all women, and the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 40 and 55. Both its cause and the means for its cure remain undiscovered. Currently, one million women in the United States have the disease, but don’t know it. And they probably won’t know about their potentially fatal illness for another five to eight years. That’s why I’m walking 55 miles. To do something big – something that would challenge me as much as breast cancer challenges millions of women in the U.S. I hope that you’ll be a partner with me in this effort.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!

The experience of a lifetime…

In October, 1999, I had the honor of participating in a very special and powerful event in the fight against breast cancer. It was the AVON Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. 2,900 strangers and I walked 55 miles along the California coast all the way from Santa Barbara to Malibu – 3 days later, I had 2,900 new friends.

We raised over $5,000,000 for awareness and early detection of breast cancer. The net proceeds from the event benefited Avon’s Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade, a non-profit initiative of Avon Products, Inc. In partnership with the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO), grants are awarded to non-profit organizations that educate women about the facts of breast cancer, and the benefits of early detection and treatment.  

Lisa S - 2001

If I told you I’d walk to the ends of the earth to find a cure for breast cancer, would you support me?  

In July, 2001, I will walk 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco with more than 3,000 other courageous people to raise money for breast cancer, as part of the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk program. The net proceeds from this event – and eight other walks across America – will support non-profit breast health programs in every region of the country, and medical research on breast cancer.

2001 will be my 3-peat year in this incredible program. In 1999, I participated in the LA 3-Day Walk from Santa Barbara to Malibu. Together with my sponsors, I raised $4,000 – and the group raised just over $5 million. In 2000, I walked the first-ever 3-Day event from San Jose to San Francisco, raising $5,000 to join the group in a record total of $6.3 million. Across America, the seven 3-Day Walks in 2000 raised over $40 million, in the hopes of finding the cure. This year I vowed to raise at least $6,000 – or $100 per mile.

Last year, I trained for 6 months, led training walks, completed the 3-Day in July, and helped mentor and train LA 3-Day walkers who live in the Bay Area.  Then I went to LA in late October for their event, pitched tents, shlepped gear, cheered, and gave high-fives in the pouring rain.   

Yes, I’m afraid that  this has become a year-round obsession! Training walks are already  underway for the 2001 season; I’m leading walks again, several times per month.  It’s such a thrill to be back on  the road with the 3-Day crowd again!  I may have promised last year that I would not do this again – OK, I lied. I really, really, love this program. I’m not ready or willing to quit.  

Would you make a fully tax-deductible pledge (on the enclosed pledge form) to help me meet my goal? Please look the form over and designate the amount that’s right for you.  Please keep in mind how far I’m walking, how  hard I will train between now and next July, and how much money I hope to raise.

This year, over 180,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Over 40,000 will die. That’s why I’m walking. To do something big. To be a part of something special, and something very, very important. I hope that you’ll be a partner with me in this effort.

Lisa S - 2002

We’ve been walking for three years… and we still don’t have a cure.

But we’re making progress.  In 1999, 2000 and 2001, I participated in the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. In July 2002, I will be there again, as 3,000 courageous walkers trek 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco. The net proceeds from this event -- and 12 other walks across America -- will support non-profit breast health programs in every region of the country, and medical research on breast cancer.

In 2001, the nine 3-Day Walks raised over $45 million, with the goal of finding the cure. Through the generosity of people like you, I have raised more than $20,000 in sponsorship over the last 3 years.

While the walkers spend months training, the Crew also spends months in preparation. Some of our responsibilities include route signage, concierge/camp services, food service, gear shlepping, tent pitching, clean-up, recycling, security, staging, traffic control, check-in, pit stops, motorcycle safety, sweep vehicles, medical, chiropractic, podiatry, physical therapy and massage services.  We also handle crisis situations, dispatch from the Command Center, and keeping an eye on the Caboose (last walker).

As a program volunteer, I will continue to manage an e-mail discussion/support group of over 600 SF area walkers, manage the Frequently Asked Questions website at www.sf3day.org, mentor this year’s crop of new walkers, train new training walk leaders, and assist with training walks around the Bay Area.

As you can see, I am 100% committed to this program, and look forward to new challenges and experiences in the coming year. And yes, Crew members seek sponsorship too! I hope you’ll consider supporting me in this ongoing commitment with your tax-deductible donation. As I embark on Walk #4, I’m asking for a lot. I know that. But it will take a lot if we’re ever going to find answers to incredibly difficult problems like this.  No contribution is too small to show your support in the fight against breast cancer. Every dollar helps. You can also visit http://www.bethepeople.com/donations/online.html to sponsor me on-line. Select "Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day SF 2002” and include my participant number, 9188.  

Thanks again for your friendship, your support and your compassion. Together, we can beat this disease!

Lisa R - 2001

Last year when I participated in the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk, I experienced one of the most challenging and fulfilling events of my life. I was personally challenged by the 60-mile walk and all the training and fundraising that goes along with it. It was fulfilling to me because I was helping others by bringing awareness to this disease, and proud to be part of the San Francisco walk which raised 6.2 million dollars net to help fight breast cancer. And, I walked 60 miles in 3 days!

Before the walk and during our training sessions, Kim, my walking partner, and I were convinced we couldn’t possibly walk again. Then as we started the walk and as it progressed, we were so impressed by the event, we thought that maybe we could be part of the crew, but NOT walk again! Then after the walk (after the pain and exhaustion wore off – not unlike childbirth!), we signed up to walk in July 2001!

Last year I walked for my friend (and walking partner) Kim, who has been cancer free for 3 years now. I walked for my friend Lori who was diagnosed again last year with breast cancer (the second time in three years). I walked mostly for my sister, Julie who had been coping with the disease for nearly 10 years. On December 6^th, 2000 Julie succumbed to the disease she had so bravely fought. This year I am walking for Kim, Lori and all the brave women who face breast cancer every day. I am walking with the hope that one day very soon, there will be a cure and our daughters won’t face this disease the way our sisters, mothers and friends have. Most of all, I am walking in memory of my sister, Julie.

I am asking for your support, once again, to help me reach my fundraising goal of $3000. With your help last year, I raised $2300 which I never dreamed possible. Please consider making a fully tax-deductible donation, fill out the enclosed pledge form, and return to me in the self-addressed stamped envelope. Include the names of your friends and loved ones that are or have fought this disease. I will honor them by writing their names on the banners at the Avon walk, as well as on my T-shirt. Please pass the extra form on to a friend or your employer. Every bit helps!

If you are interested in participating in this amazing event in any way (volunteer, crew or walking), or if you would like more information, visit www.breastcancer3day.org.

Sincerely,  

As most of you know, I am a breast cancer survivor.  My battle with breast cancer is far from over.  With three recurrences in 2001, each day is a blessing.  I am writing you this letter to ask each of you to help me raise funds towards research and treatment for an issue that has created tremendous suffering to people like myself.

In May I will be walking from Baltimore to DC in the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk.  Contributions from all who are dear to me will have a serious impact on this cause.  I am dedicated to the cause and would love to see a major breakthrough in breast cancer research in my lifetime.  I am also doing this for my daughters so they may have the chance to grow old without being touched in any way by this life threatening disease. 

On September 11, 2001 it hit me that there were others out there who had it worse than I did.  Those innocent people didn't have a chance.  I do have a chance and I want to do all I can to help fund the fight for a cure.  I think differently than I did one year ago.  I treasure each day, I thank God each day and night for everything I have, and most importantly I don't sweat the small stuff.  Unfortunately it takes a major event, both personally and in the world to realize that life is a gift and we should live each day simply and happily.

I hope you can find it in your heart to give towards a good cause.  I will be thinking of each of you as I walk for twenty miles a day for three days in May.

Have a wonderful holiday season and most of all a Happy and Healthy 2002..........

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website sponsored by the Cheerios SF Walk 2000/2001/2002/2003 walking/crewing/training group & support crew
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last modified: November 20, 2003