Thursday, May 14, 2009

One Month Countdown...

It's the final countdown - 1 month left until the big day. Just got home from a great swim in the bay. I wanted to let you all know that training has been going great. Been swimming, biking, and running like a madman. Whether I'm biking through the Berkeley hills, running with Pua from our house to Cesar Chavez Park and the waterfront or along the Ohlone Trail, or swimming in Aquatic Park - I'm hitting them all and hitting them hard. In fact, 2 weeks ago I did an Alcatraz crossing - it was awesome. (picture below - not the most appealing, but...) I've been really enjoying the bay swims as of late, something about the cold water wake-up call and vast openness of the water, seems to be the most exciting!



Anyways, I wanted to thank everyone who has contributed already, it really means a lot. I also wanted to send out a reminder to those of you who have yet to donate but still would like to - it's not too late. The information is below. We are trying to gather all donations to be in by race day on June 14th, so you still have a month. Thanks so much for all your support.

Stay tuned to this incredibly exciting blog as race day approaches to find out information about where to go if you want to come out on race day to cheer on the competitors.

Thanks again everyone for all your support - it has been fantastic!

Brian


Donation Information:

For the George Mark House, if you would like to donate by mail then fill out this form:
http://georgemark.org/images/980_downloads/form_donation.pdf

and send to:
George Mark Children's House,
2121 George Mark Lane,
San Leandro, CA 94578

If you would prefer to donate online, then go here (also other ways to donate on this page as well):
http://georgemark.org/www/donors/ways_to_donate.htm

You see towards the top of the page the option for 'online donation'

For the MLD Foundation, by mail:

MLD Foundation
21345 Miles Drive
West Linn, OR 97068-2878
USA
please make checks payable to: The MLD Foundation

and for online, you can follow this link:
http://www.mldfoundation.org/donations.html

Again, please make sure for any checks or online donations to donate in Abby Walpole's name.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

LA Times article today on the George Mark House

Today the LA Times wrote an article about the George Mark House, you can find the article here

There is also an audio/photo montage on the side, and you can hear Abby's name mentioned towards the end.

Thanks again for following along and all your support. George Mark and MLD Research need all of our help now more than ever!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

And we're off...

Since the start of my blog, we have had a great response from friends and family - so thank you all very much. There was some confusion about how to donate, so I'll clear it up here.

For the George Mark House, if you would like to donate by mail then fill out this form:
http://georgemark.org/images/980_downloads/form_donation.pdf

and send to:
George Mark Children's House,
2121 George Mark Lane,
San Leandro, CA 94578

If you would prefer to donate online, then go here (also other ways to donate on this page as well):
http://georgemark.org/www/donors/ways_to_donate.htm

You see towards the top of the page the option for 'online donation'

For the MLD Foundation, by mail:

MLD Foundation
21345 Miles Drive
West Linn, OR 97068-2878
USA
please make checks payable to: The MLD Foundation

and for online, you can follow this link:
http://www.mldfoundation.org/donations.html

Again, please make sure for any checks or online donations to donate in Abby Walpole's name.

Finally, apparently I misspoke in my initial post. MLD Foundation is also funded exclusively on private donations, just as the George Mark House is, so they are feeling the final struggles that everyone is feeling now. Sorry for any confusion and thanks to Teryn Suhr of MLD Foundation for the clarification.

Thanks everyone to their generosity and support so far, and going ahead. We really appreciate everything.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Support the George Mark House and MLD Foundation.

On June 14th, 2009 I will be participating in the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon includes a 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. The race continues with an 18 mile bike ride out the Great Highway, through the Golden Gate Park, and concludes with an 8 mile run through the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. I will be training and competing in the loving memory and honor of my niece, Abigail Patricia Walpole, who passed away on November 1st, 2008 of Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, an extremely rare genetic disease. In the short but precious time we got to spend with Abby we all knew she was a smart and beautiful young lady, who was taken from all of us much too soon.



So while I use Abby's memory as my motivation to train and compete, I am asking for the support of friends and family in raising contributions for 2 worthwhile organizations.

First, the George Mark Children's House. Located in San Leandro, CA, the George Mark Children's House is a place for families to go with near-death children, and words cannot begin to describe how incredible this place is. On-site nurses and doctors as well as rooms and suites for families to stay, the workers at George Mark do everything possible to make the final days of your child's life, an incredibly difficult time, as peaceful as possible. Abby and our family spent the last week of her life here and it was truly amazing - more then words can describe. For the George Mark House, you can donate here http://georgemark.org/www/donors/ways_to_donate.htm.

Second, the MLD Foundation, a leading online resource supporting research and families suffering from Metachormatic Leukodystrophy. You can donate here http://www.mldfoundation.org/donations.html.

While both organizations are in need of resources, the MLD Foundation has multiple income sources while the George Mark House relies exclusively on private donations. So as with everyone in this down economy, the George Mark House is struggling. If you are able to contribute and unsure which organization to give to, we would suggest the George Mark House. Though again, both groups are equally deserving. Please note on either donation that you are donating in the loving memory of Abby Walpole.

Please PLEASE feel free to forward this blog to other friends, family, coworkers, companies, social groups, bridge clubs, etc. that you think may be interested in supporting these 2 great organizations. We would love to be able to repay just a fraction of the support they provided our family by raising a lot of money, so the more the merrier!

I thank you all in advance for your support through this time and as well as the support that you have all provided to our family during the past couple months, which have been very difficult. We couldn't have made it this far without you. I will try to update this blog with my ongoing trainings and such as I start moving towards competing, and quite possibly winning (NOT) the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. And plan to come on out on June 14th to support me! Thanks.