Dear Family and Friends,

I have exciting news! I will be running the 112th Boston Marathon on April 21, 2008. It’s been a long-held dream of mine to run a marathon and I am excited for that dream to come true.

As important as this opportunity is to me though, I want my Marathon run to have some impact, some benefit to someone else. That’s why I’ve decided to join a group of runners representing the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary called Team Eye and Ear.

Mass Eye and Ear is a world leader in treating people with hearing, vision, voice and balance problems and in finding better treatments through research. Mass Eye and Ear has discovered new drugs, perfected new techniques, identified disease-causing genes, and much more. Their vision is to be the preeminent world-wide source of advances and leaders in preserving and restoring vision, hearing, balance and voice as well as in curing disorders of the head and neck. 
My personal goal is to raise $10,000 to help this worthy cause!

I am sure you can think of a few people who have been afflicted with some of these problems; I know I can.  I will be running in honor of my four year old nephew, Jack Arnold, who has been diagnosed with Auditory Neuropathy Disease an unusual hearing disorder that is widely misunderstood.  However, Jack will greatly benefit from the cochlear implant research that Mass Eye and Ear is currently undertaking so that he will one day regain his hearing.  I believe that raising $10,000 toward this cause is a goal worthy of my best efforts. I hope you will help me by supporting me and making a gift. You can easily make a gift with your credit card online through my secure personal fundraising website at www.FirstGiving.com/MatthewZick.  Please make checks payable to the Foundation of MEEI, Inc.. and mail back to me in the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope. You may also make a donation on-line. Just go to www.FirstGiving.com/MatthewZick.

It’s a tax-deductible gift. It’s a concrete way to help kids like Jack. And it’s insurance for the future—ensuring research continues for kids who have nowhere else to turn but to us.

Thank you in advance for your generous support.

Sincerely,
Matthew J Zick

Thank you for visiting my Personal Fundraising Page. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!