MS Walks 2009

This year, I participated in TWO MS Walks, one in Fargo, ND, and the annual walk I do in Minneapolis. B. participated in her first walk this year as well, in Fargo. She raised well over $500 for the cause - awesome!

Why two walks you ask? Well, Amanda lives in Fargo, and she was chosen to be the walk ambassador or grand marshal up there! What an honor! Tons of people from her school community came out and walked for her (Wildcat Walkers), and I think she organized the biggest team by far. I was incredibly proud of her, and I was also very touched to see how many lives she has affected. She is clearly adored by her community, and it was wonderful to be a part of that. What an honor! Really, pretty neat.

The walk in Fargo went really well - the weather was perfect, and the community made a big deal out of it. A drum corps came to lead us, a local radio station hosted the pre-walk, the local mascots cheered us on, and the Walk even made the news (we saw Manda leading us out - pretty dang awesome!). I think they managed to raise a decent amount of money as well, which is the point of the walk after all. Plus, I got to spend the day with my family - everyone but Trav made it there. That was REALLY nice, as I miss everyone. I hate that my sisters live far away. Anyway, the Fargo walk was a great success, and I'm glad B and I could participate!

The Twin Cities walk was also a great success this year, though their fundraising efforts were really hurt by the economy. That sucks, as MS doesn't stop during recessions. Depite the disappointing results, the walk was a blast. Dad and I enjoyed PERFECT weather, I wasn't nearly killed by a flying tent, and we finished the walk in a little more than 2 hours - not too bad for a 6.5 mile walk! I managed to make my fundraising goal, but mostly because of one extremely generous donor - my mom! To everyone who donated, thank you so much! I will be sending formal thank yous and receipts soon - I apologize for the long delay, but the house, work, and the wedding have been kicking my butt! I hope you'll forgive me and continue to support me in future walks. :) I hope to be better next year.

2009 MS Walk - I need your help!

Below is the letter I sent out asking for donations for the 2009 MS Walk. I sincerely hope you will consider supporting me for this year's walk, my 11th! The links to do so are in the letter below.

However, my sister Amanda, who actually has MS, is the co-captain of the Wildcat Walkers, a team of her fellow teachers, school administrators and staff, and students participating in the Fargo MS Walk. So, if you don't feel like supporting me, please consider supporting Amanda or her team by following the link above or below. If she doesn't inspire you, I'm not sure what will. Either way, the money goes to a great cause - perhaps you can split your annual donation between the two of us this year.

One more option (not a lesser one by any means): my sister Samantha is also walking this year, and clearly she is also worthy of your support. Contact her if you want to support her, or perhaps you can split your donation into thirds. Anyway, there you have it - you get to choose a Schmid girl or help all three! How can you possibly go wrong? :)

Know that if you do choose to support one or all of us, your support means the world to me, Amanda and our family, and every other person suffering from the devastating effects of MS. Thanks so much.

Finally, here's the letter I sent out (with my links):

Dear friends and family,

As some of you might know, my sister Amanda has multiple sclerosis (MS). Every year since her diagnosis in 1998, I have walked in the MS Walk, and this year's walk on May 3 will be my 11th walk! Please read below for more information on MS and the MS Society.

Last year, with your generosity, I was able to raise $2,000 and I would love to at least match that amount this year. So, I need your help! You can pledge me three different ways: 1) online (see the links below or go to http://www.nationalmssociety.org/MNM/home/ and click on E-pledge), 2) by check (to the MS Society), or 3) with cash. Please contact me directly if you want to send cash or a check and I will provide my address. I need to turn my pledges in the day of the Walk, so time is important. Also, your donation IS tax deductible, so please let me know if you need a receipt.

Every year I'm amazed by your generosity, and I'm deeply grateful for your support. Thanks so much!

Love,
Schmiddy

Information from the MS Society:

Multiple sclerosis stops people from moving. I want to make sure it doesn't. That's why I'm walking in Walk MS: Twin Cities Walk. I hope you will also make your mark against MS by supporting my fundraising efforts.Your tax-deductible gift keeps the National MS Society moving toward a world free of multiple sclerosis by funding cutting-edge research and supporting programs for people living with MS.

Movement is something many of us take for granted, but for people living with MS movement isn't a guarantee. Support me and together we'll move forward on behalf of those who may not be able to do so themselves. You can donate online by clicking on the link at the bottom of this message or by sending your gift to the address below.P.S. For more information about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, how proceeds from Walk MS are used or the other ways you can join the movement, please visit mssociety.org.

Click here to visit my personal page. If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/MNMWalkEvents?px=1885649&pg=personal&fr_id=9611&s_tafId=91510

I survived the 2008 MS Walk!

In fantastic news (in my strongly biased opinion), I survived the 2008 MS Walk! I even managed to do so without having to dodge flying tents or any other dangerous objects. In fact, the walk went incredibly smoothly. Honestly, I'm not sure it could have been better. We had fantastic weather, the rest stops along the route were plentiful and well stocked with delicious treats and water, the finish line was filled with cheering folks which made me grin uncontrollably, and we had more even more snacks at the end (located in the lovely Minnehaha Park).

To improve the day even further, I managed to make my fundraising goal of $2000 at the very last minute, as my aunt and uncle, Nicole and Doug, came through with a huge donation. My mom also helped with a very generous donation near the end. Thanks much to them and to everyone who so generously donated to the Walk this year; with your help I once again raised more money than ever before. Additionally, my team, composed of me, my sister Samantha, our family friend Jessie, and my dad, raised nearly $6000! According to my sister, that makes us one of the top fundraising teams; not too bad considering many teams have way more members.

After the walk, I went to Beth's and crashed for about 3 hours - I still have no idea how we used to walk 18 miles (the length of the walk when I first started ten years ago). Absolute insanity I tell you, as today's little 6.5 mile route exhausted me. To say the least, I'm glad the walk is much shorter now. Perhaps when I'm 40 I'll have to do the little 1.5 loop! Ha!

Thanks again to everyone that supported me this year - my friends and family continue to amaze me on a daily basis. Lots of love to all!

If you want to see more pictures and read another account of the day, go to Samantha's blog.

Pictures:
1: The four of us at the beginning of the walk
2: Samantha and me before we started
3: Me, Samantha and Dad at the rest stop sponsored by Great River Energy, my dad's company.
4. Reenacting the great tent debacle of the 2007 MS Walk. (or at least attempting to do so, which was hard because I kept laughing - at least we were near the actual location.)
5. Me at Minnehaha Falls after we finished - enjoying a well deserved Coke.

Goal for the 2008 MS Walk: Survival!

Sunday is the MS walk, and I have a goal (in addition to raising tons of money - thanks peeps!): survival. Why you ask? Well, last year I barely managed to escape major injury from a fly away tent (the kind you rent for graduation parties, not the kind you camp in) at a rest stop along the route. Literally.

Here's what happened: I had waited in line for chocolate milk and then I stopped to look at the signs listing the names of the $1000 fundraisers when suddenly I heard the two guys playing guitar and singing nearby say, "WHOA!" I turned to look and the big tent covering the guys was being blown off the ground and heading right toward me. Of course, out of the hundreds of people in the area, the tent somehow only hit me. After it hit me, it then kept going and almost hit a car on the River Road. Fortunately, I was able to throw my arms up in time to protect my head. I just wound up quite scared and with a decent bruise on my elbow. It was honestly quite frightening, and my dad and Samantha will vouch for me when I say I'm not being overdramatic. I truly felt lucky that nothing worse happened.*

So, given that incident, I think survival is an excellent goal for Sunday! Keep your fingers crossed; you never know when a tree branch will fall down or other such calamities might occur!

Also, let's hope for nice weather. Through the years, I've walked in snow, rain, sleet, and a combination of all three. Sunny and cool would be perfect, thank you very much weather gods.

*This blog was shamelessly adapted from a previously posted blog entry on Myspace. Finals are here; cut me some slack!

Jigga what is up with this weather?

I normally don't write about the weather. In fact, I think it's a very boring topic. I hate watching it on the news, etc. I feel like it's often inaccurate anyway, so I might as well just stick my head out the window. However, I think that this weekend's weather warrants a blog entry - it sucked, plain and simple. On Friday night, after a lovely evening of Chipotle and Rock Band (we beat the game by the way), poor Beth and I had to drive back in SNOW. SNOW in late April. It was sort of scary and tense, and I found myself annoyed. Today, I saw snowflakes again, and our softball game was canceled because the fields are a mess (probably snow filled). Seriously, what gives? Did we piss off the weather gods? Because this has to change. I can't write about weather again; it threatens my overall coolness. So, let's do a sunshine dance or something; I have to walk 7 miles next Sunday (MS walk people, get your donations in), rain or shine. I prefer to walk sans snowsuit, thank you very much.

Signing out on my first and hopefully last blog about the weather,
Schmiddy

Why I do the MS Walk every year

As you all know by now (unless you've been completely ignoring me), I do the MS Walk every year. I do this because my sister Amanda was diagnosed in 1998, and I've done the walk every year since (this year's walk is my 10th!). My youngest sister Samantha also does the walk, and as part of her fundraising efforts, she interviewed Amanda this year. Samantha just posted the interview, and I think Amanda's story explains why we walk every year. Check it out if you want, and if you haven't already donated, please consider doing so.

All my love,
Schmiddy

2007 MS Walk - Success! - myspace blog post

A giant thank you to everyone who supported me in the 2007 MS Walk! As some of you know, this was my 9th walk, and with your help, I once again reached my fundraising goal. In fact, I beat my goal and raised over $1650!

As promised, my dad, my sister Samantha, and I completed the entire 9 mile route despite the high winds and drizzle. Additionally, I managed to escape major injury from a fly away tent (the kind you rent for graduation parties, not the kind you camp in) at a rest stop along the route. I had waited in line for chocolate milk and then I stopped to look at the signs listing the names of the $1000 fundraisers when suddenly I heard the two guys playing guitar and singing nearby say, "WHOA!" I turned to look and the big tent covering the guys was being blown off the ground and heading right toward me. Of course, out of the hundreds of people in the area, the tent somehow only hit me. After it hit me, it then kept going and almost hit a car on the River Road. Fortunately, I was able to throw my arms up in time to protect my head. I just wound up quite scared and with a decent bruise on my elbow. It was honestly quite frightening, and my dad and Samantha will vouch for me when I say I'm not being overdramatic. I truly feel lucky that nothing worse happened. I guess I DO have to take that Employment Discrimination exam on Tuesday...oh well, I'm happy to have my brain intact to do so.

Despite that craziness and thanks to your help, the walk was a smashing success! Thanks again!

All my best,Lisa (my real name, Myspace friends! )