Like you, I have been asked countless times for money by someone who is walking, riding, or swimming for a good cause. Generally, while I donate to support those efforts, I don't participate in these events because (a) I don't like cycling in large groups and (b) I don't like asking people for money. But, I am making an exception in this case because I know the two remarkable women who started this organization -- Beyond the 11th -- and because their lives and life stories ought to be an inspiration for all of us.

Susan Retik of Needham and Patti Quigley of Wellesley were both pregnant young mothers when their husbands boarded flights in Boston on the morning of September 11, 2001. Neither saw her husband again.

When they first met, after 9/11, Susan and Patti found in each other a common determination to turn their own grief and loss into a force for good. They founded Beyond the 11th to help other women who had lost husbands to war and terrorism...in Afghanistan, where the plot that killed their husbands was hatched! To raise money for their fledgling organization, Susan and Patti began marking the anniversary of 9/11 by cycling from Ground Zero in Manhattan back to Boston, in essence reversing the ill-fated course their husbands flew on that terrible day.

Anyone who knows these two women will testify that they possess a resiliency and compassion that is absolutely breathtaking. They have traveled to Afghanistan to see first hand the projects Beyond the 11th supports, programs that are helping Afghan war widows keep their families and their lives together and, not incidentally, showing that Americans can bring more than war to their country.

I urge you to watch this two-minute excerpt from a documentary film about Susan and Patti called "Beyond Belief" to get a sense of what they and Beyond the 11th are all about. Copy this web address into your browser and it will take you to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grGCaSdr3eA

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 please forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!