Thank you! Our Fundraising Total is...

Michelle, Me, Melissa, Noelle and Sarah @the fundraiser

Wow! I am so thrilled, thankful and humbled to announce that our combined American and Canadian fundraising efforts raised just over $12,000 dollars for Multiple Sclerosis Research! Because of each and every person who showed up at our To the Roof of Africa and the Bottom of the Barrel fundraiser in Coronado, donated online, or sent a check into our fund, we blew our goal out of the water! 

I need to give special recognition to the incredible woman that inspired these efforts--my Mom. She helped keep track of all the donations, setup the fund through the MS Society in Canada and then link the fund to the American MS Society's page. She's an incredible woman, mother and friend and we're hopeful that this money will help find a cure for the disease she's battled half her life. We love you, Mom!

Busy street in front of WineStyles...good news!

 Secondly, I need to give a HUGE thank you to all the fabulous ladies who helped me plan, organize and setup the even on Coronado. To my board members: Michelle Amthor, Sarah Garza, Laura Lopez, Noelle Salucci, and Melissa Trombetti--Thank you so much and I love you all dearly. This event would not have gone even half as well as it did without your help.

I would also like to recognize WineStyles Coronado for allowing us to host our fundraiser at their wine bar and providing such a fun environment for the party. They were incredibly easy to work with, extremely helpful and also provided some excellent wines to taste!

Mom drawing the raffle winners as everyone awaits

I would also like to thank each of our raffle donors. Michelle Amthor provided a Pampered Chef basket as a business donation. Be sure to check out her business page here. Sarah Garza generously donated two flower arrangements to raffle off in honor of my Mom (since she loves flowers!). My Dad, Paul Bennett, donated a fantastic gift basket with reserve wines and cheeses included. And WineStyles provided one wine and italian fare basket to include. THANK YOU!

And last, but certainly not least, I would just like to thank any and everyone who came out to the event. It was such a fun way to raise money and I appreciate the support from each and every one of you. God bless.

Putting the FUN back in FUNdraising

The time has come. Throughout the dreaming, talking and eventually planning to take this journey, my Dad and I have always said we wanted to couple our adventure with some sort of fundraising for multiple sclerosis in honor of my Mom. Well, we're just under 6 months from climbing to the roof of Africa, and here I am contemplating what exactly would be the right fundraiser. I have been to and helped organize many a fundraiser in my day. Between raising money for soccer or school trips growing up (wrapping paper, anyone?) and then fundraising for service trips in college, I feel like I've been to and seen some pretty great and some pretty horrible fundraisers.

But this one is different-- if I can only figure out what it is! I want to plan an event that inspires people to come, learn about Africa and this adventure, share in the excitement of the journey and contribute to a cause at the same time. This trip is about living out a lifelong dream. This fundraiser is about allowing those living with MS to dream of a long life. One is significantly more important than the other. Now if only I could figure out how to align the two...hmmmm. I'll keep you posted! Leave your suggestions below.

Climbing for a Cause

You may notice that absent from this climb is my Mom, Beth. Although she's a staunch supporter of Rich, my Dad and I realizing this dream of climbing Kili, she can not physically join us.

In 1986, my Mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She was 36 at the time, with three young children, living in a foreign country. Since then, I've seen my Mom battle the autoimmune disease valiantly, every day of her life. There are days when she can barely get out of bed because MS has robbed her of her balance or use of her legs. Then there are other days where she appears fine and can participate in nearly anything until exhaustion gets the better of her and she must rest. Overall, she's inspired all of us to try harder, take each day as a blessing and reach for our goals despite the obstacles in our way.

So, in honor of my Mom, we've decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro fund-raising for Multiple Sclerosis research every step of the way. We will be hosting events, participating in local walks and hopefully even organizing a walk of our own so that as we reach the summit of the mountain, so too might MS researchers be able to achieve their goal of conquering the disease and finding a cure. We love you Mom and we'll see you at the top!

We're working with The National MS Society to setup a personalized fund raising page. Once that's active you can bet we'll be posting a link to it here! In the meantime, please visit the National MS Society's page and learn more about the disease.