Strength & Purpose
TweetIt is time to build up the miles on Bella Bike, and there is an urgency in the air about the importance of training, of building strength, of knowing your purpose, of gaining on the goal. Memories of Kaye Kriz are all around me as I prepare for this event. Four years ago, Kaye and [...]
It is time to build up the miles on Bella Bike, and there is an urgency in the air about the importance of training, of building strength, of knowing your purpose, of gaining on the goal. Memories of Kaye Kriz are all around me as I prepare for this event. Four years ago, Kaye and I trained together for this ride, and I remember her strength and purpose in training and fundraising. Kaye completed the challenging ride around the lake, and soon after, her blood cancer became active again. A new resolve, a new strength and purpose, was before her as she bravely faced another stem cell transplant and all that goes with that procedure. Nearly two years ago, cancer claimed my friend...but not without a fight. It is that fight that I continue to wage on blood cancers by raising awareness and funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My ultimate fundraising goal is $10,000 during this season, and I'm well on my way. I still need your help to get there with your donations and your willingness to share my story with others. [caption id="attachment_629" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Jan & Kaye at Lake Tahoe"]
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As we savor Spring and all that it brings...new life, new colors and textures, and warmer temperatures, let us remember to savor life with strength and purpose. Happy Spring! 
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This week, I recorded a video with an enthusiastic fifth grader from Auburn Elementary School in Riner, VA. We were preparing the school to participate in a program called "Pennies for Patients." Students take home a collection box and gather spare change for three weeks, bring it all to school and dump it into a bigger box, to be put together with other boxes all over VA, to be put together with collection boxes all over the country. Last year, Virgina schools collected $265,000 in spare change. Last year, $21 million was collected nationally to add to our fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. That is impressive! And on a bigger scale, that is what we do in Team in Training. My goal of $5000 is put together with Bob Dapper's $5000, which is put together with Nancy Valet's $5000....and so on throughout Virginia and the nation. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is one of the top charities in the country for effective fundraising and use of funds for research, education, and family services.
I am within $1000 of my goal of $5000. Help me to reach my goal so my funds can be added to those of my team mates here in Virginia and all over the country. The donate button on this site will take you to my Team in Training fundraising page. Once I reach my goal of $5K, I'm starting my own "spare change" campaign between now and the Lake Tahoe ride. Won't you join me? 
In January, I traveled with six VA Tech students via Megabus to New York City on a mission trip. We waited for subways, people, tours, and meetings. We wondered about many things...why well-dressed, well-mannered, educated people could become homeless, why we'd been warned to avoid eye contact with people in general, why we should wear dark colors to blend in. We wandered Central Park, the neighborhoods surrounding iconic cathedrals, and smaller icons like St. Paul's Chapel near the site of 9/11, poignant reminders of rescue workers who were fed, massaged, counseled, and given respite from the unspeakable tasks only they could carry out. Yes, we waited, we wondered, and wandered through this amazingly diverse and welcoming city. We learned that in the midst of serving the homeless and the elderly, we were given more than we gave. We came to serve, but it was we who were served.
That's how I feel about Team in Training...about training for endurance and raising funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Try training with a blood cancer survivor. It will change your life. It's like going on a mission trip, then coming home to realize you're the one that has been blessed. Whether your contribution is one of offering prayers, $5, $50, or $500....it all adds up to something greater than the individual gift. Collective prayer is powerful. I have experienced it. And our collective gifts add up to funds that translate into new treatments, education, and family services. Thanks to the efforts of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 75% of your contribution is guaranteed to get to the mission! So please click on that donation button today and make a difference in the lives of those trying to live the way we do. They are the first to say they are blessed by your gift. If you prefer to send a check, make it to LLS and send to me at 305 Country Club Dr., SE, Blacksburg, VA 24060. 
