A Little Creativity

In case you haven't by now heard the news, we had our biggest and best WalkMS ever this year. Our team exploded and we had over 130 members on Walk Day (after starting with only 23 in 2008!) Even more impressive is how much money we raised. As of a couple of weeks ago we were just over $26,200 - but that wasn't enough for MY team of overachievers!

The last week of April the Pace Academy Theater Dept put on a hilarious show called "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and its director (aka my stepdad) George Mengert and his cast and crew took it upon themselves to try and raise a few extra dollars for the National MS Society. They donated 10% of all the ticket sales and after each performance, all the actors were in the lobby collecting donations to fight MS and encouraging the audiences to give generously. Each of those high-schoolers stood out in the lobby, not just waiting passively for donations, but encouraging each theater patron that passed them by to support their cause.

Their perseverance and tenacity paid off and after 3 performances, the cast/crew of "Spelling Bee" sent in a check for $1878 to the NMSS! I am so proud of these kids and of George's creative idea that I could just burst! A huge thank you to my stepdad, to Beth Barrow-Titus and to the amazing cast: Tony Papadopoulos, Benjamin Harris, Hannah Hoff, Lauren Gold, Kitty Cook, Larisa Bainton, Megan McCurry, Colin Barham, Patrick Corbett, Ben Hirsch, Sterling Butler, Cory Bush, Sam Downey, Taylor Williams, Kate Kolbinsky & Alexandra McCorkle. Thanks also to Nicole Hammons & Michelle Yancich and to Phil Bush for the PR help and to Stephanie and Rebecca Husk for taking charge each night and rounding up those dollars!

So as of today, Team Wearing Red Shoes is #1 in the state of Georgia having raised $28,332! Holy cow, Batman!!!

Also wanted to give a quick plug to my childhood bff, Jennifer (Macchia) Frankowski who has signed up for a NMSS fundraiser in Philadephia next month. Here's the link if you want to check out her event, the MudRun and support her on her crazy endeavor.

Jennifer and I celebrate our 25th anniversary as friends this year and she is the most awesome wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend and I am so lucky to know her.
Knock 'em dead, sister!

So you see, with a little creativity and a little help from my friends, we can basically conquer the world. Or at least get a heck of a lot closer to conquering MS. Be warned - Your days are numbered, MonSter....