Dear friends and family:
Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!
4/13/09 UPDATE : I will be NOT be running the Hook Mountain Half - Marathon on April 26, 2009. Unfortunately, I trained too hard, it seems, and injured my knees. I am on 3-4 weeks rest to recover. I will be doing some rehab to get back into shape and looking for other opportunities to race. However, I am still asking for your support for Cherish Our Children International (COCI), as we near the date of the "Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance, Gotta Help!" Festival. (See below for details).
I am helping to organize "Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance, Gotta Help! A Festival of the Arts and Social Action." It will take place on May 17, 2009 at the County Center in White Plains, New York. (See the Cherish Our Children website for more information about this). We plan to raise $50,000 through this event! In addition, Lorenzo and Aliya have helped with fundraising, and raised over $400 so far.
PLEASE COME TO THE EVENT! Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at http://www.firstgiving.com/boxoffice-gottasinggottadancegottahelp.
And if you can not make it to the event, you can watch a live broadcast on the internet by going to http://www.mogulus.com/whitelinefilms. Log-in Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 4:30 PM EST. (How cool is that!!)
I found out about COCI when I teamed up with my friend Jerry Fishman to help organize a benefit concert for people affected by Hurricane Katrina back in 2005. We knew we wanted to channel the money we were raising to a charity that was making a real difference, especially for children. Jerry heard about COCI, and the more we learned, the more inspired we were.
After that, we were hooked. Jerry not only kept creating opportunities to raise money for COCI, but he is now on the Board of Directors.
When I celebrated my 40th birthday, (a double birthday party with my friend Joe), we made our celebration a fundraising event for COCI, and it was the sweetest, most memorable birthday I've ever had. We played music, sang, danced, recited poetry, and ate cakes we had baked for each other. But the best part was that it gave me a chance to express my stand for children and my commitment to peace on the planet with the most extraordinary and loving group of family and friends. It was a profoundly fulfilling moment.
So, I'm at it again.
I hope you will give generously again this time, as I take on making a difference for the world's most vulnerable children!
Please visit the COCI website at cherishourchildren.org/ to learn more about their fabulous programs. They do so much for provide a brighter future for children in need, serving children in Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and here in the US, too. By raising money for COCI, I have the chance to be who I have always wanted to be-- a person having fun, working with wonderful people, and bringing peace, love and hope to the world!
Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.
Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!