Here I am with my proud Mom, just after I finished last year's Boston Marathon in memory of my Dad! It was an unbelievable experience, and my mom made sure I had support all along the way, with friends and family at strategic spots.
 
Thank you to all of you, you inspired me to finish!
 
I am now training to run again for Team Eye and Ear for the 2010 Boston Marathon and ask that you once again support me in this endeavor. Last year everyone was very generous. My goal was to raise $5,000. and we far surpassed that, raising over $13,000!  This year I am setting my goal to $10,000 and hope to far exceed that as well.
 
I know that Mass. Eye and Ear is the place for me to raise funds for, as the research being done there that I hope will benefit me, and many others who have either lost their sight or will due to accidents like mine or degenerate diseases. With your help we will continue this research.

Here's to another successful year for Team Eye and Ear and the research they do!!

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!  I Look forward to seeing you again along the way in April.

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WHY I'M RUNNING:
Will, 29, has once again joined Team Eye and Ear from Aspen, CO where he lives with his dog, Riva, a two-year-old Newfoundland.
 
Almost four years ago, Will had a mountain biking accident near Vail, Colorado.  As a result of the accident, he broke his back.  During surgery, Will had a stroke to the optic nerve in both eyes, leaving him legally blind and facing a new way of life.
 
Due to the special rehabilitation Will received while in Craig Hospital, a rehabilitation hospital in Colorado and support from friends and family, he walked out of the facility with only the aid of a cane.  He says, “I have two rods and many screws in my back, but my back has been fine, it’s been my eyes that hold me back.” 
 
“My family has been looking and we are all hoping for some kind of cure for my eyes.”  Last year, Will found Mass. Eye and Ear and Dr. Dean Cestari’s marathon team of nine members who were raising funds for neuro-ophthalmology research and knew it was a perfect match.
 
Will ran the 2009 Boston Marathon with Mass. Eye and Ear in memory of his father who he lost to cancer.  “As a family, we have raised lots of funds for cancer.  Now we think my dad would want us to do some fundraising for eye research and we feel we have found the right place . . . we are all looking for some type of cure for my eyes.”
 
Will is not new to giving back.  He uses his challenges to help others.  In addition to his fundraising activities, Will volunteers for Challenge Aspen, a non-profit organization that offers life changing experiences to individuals and groups with disabilities. 
 
Will attributes what he’s been able to overcome and accomplish due to the support from his friends and family including his mom, who lives in Scituate, MA and his younger sister, Becca, who lives in D.C. 
 
On April 19, Will will join the 50 other members of Team Eye and Ear for the 114th running of the Boston Marathon to raise funds for neuro-ophthalmology research, which he hopes will one day benefit him.

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A special thank you to the following off-line donors:

Priscilla Y. King Revoc tr	$1,000.00
Lois Ann & William H. Walsh, Jr.	$75.00
Matching Gift (Fiduciary Trust)	$75.00
John J. & Rita H. David	$100.00
Donna Compererchio & Janiece A. Lowe	$25.00
David E. & Charlotte A. Gibbs	$50.00
Jane F. & Edward F. Goff, Jr.	$25.00
Barbara E. Serverson & Lisa G. McDermott	$25.00
John W. & Alice A. Coppinger	$100.00
Peter & Helen L. Mulroy	$100.00
Lois R. McNamara	$600.00
Marion M. & Thomas Dailey	$100.00
Victor J. & Jeanne C. Babel	$100.00
Peter C. & Elizabeth Ann Buhler	$50.00
Corporate Sponsorship (King, McNamara & Moriarty, LLP)	$1,000.00
Russell N. Cox	$50.00
Catherine Lambert	$50.00
Marcy C. & James M. Sweeney	$25.00
Geraldine A. Pacheco	$25.00
TMI Executive Resources	$100.00
Dennis & Mary Coady	$70.00
Don M. & Anne Pendleton	$50.00
Anne H. McEvoy	$50.00
Maureen Frisoli	$50.00
Richard E. & Sarah Ann Toran	$100.00
Paul McGonigle	$100.00
Stephen & Phyllis Small	$100.00