All About The Rice: MS Walk 2017

Dear Friends and Family,

I am so sorry for the delay in sending out this email, but I was waiting for confirmation on some fundraising numbers from the MS Society, which arrived yesterday.

What a day! As we were walking and soaking up the sun, Lara and I agreed that last Sunday was THE warmest and sunniest year ever for the MS Walk. It was gorgeous! I’m not sure what the temperature was when we started but when we got home at 1:00, it was 29 degrees and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Although there seemed to be fewer people overall at the walk this year, Kevin’s Heroes had 20 human participants and one furry friend. As always, the kids took off from the starting point and I did my best to run between groups of our team members to visit while we walked. It was nice to see familiar faces on the path out to Old Orchard Park as well as some new ones – both on our team and others. I love the sense of community created by so many people coming together to raise money for MS research, support and awareness of the disease. Being at the MS Walk each year reminds me just how much our family and friends care about Kevin, and how fortunate we are that his disease has progressed so slowly. Yes, there are days when Kevin’s symptoms are pretty debilitating, but overall he really has been fortunate. Life gets pretty crazy sometimes so it’s nice to be able to take a few hours to reflect and be grateful.

This year, the Tri Cities Walk for MS raised $39,633. I am so proud to let you know that Kevin’s Heroes was the #2 Fundraising team for the Tri Cities walk this year. We raised $3,930, which brings our 13 year total to $76,064. $76,064 towards finding a cure for multiple sclerosis. Miss Bradyn was in and out of the top 3 Individual Fundraisers in the weeks leading up to the walk and it was so fun to see her competitive side come out. She recruited her friends to walk with us this year and I just know that next year she will be a force to be reckoned with. Although Bradyn was apparently announced as the #2 fundraiser on walk day (we missed the announcements due to a combination of slower walking and earlier wrap-up), she officially came in as the #4 Individual Fundraiser for the Tri Cities walk this year by raising $1,750.

I am so proud of our team and our fundraising efforts. There are so many worthy charities and fundraising efforts out there these days that it’s hard to financially support all the ones you may want to. To those of you that were able to pledge our team financially, I am sending you a huge hug and a big thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for supporting a cause so near and dear to Kevin, Bradyn and me. To those of you that were able to walk with us, and those that were there with us in spirit, please know that your love and support means the world to Kevin, Bradyn and me. Fundraising for MS research is a no-brainer for me because MS touches our family each and every day, and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives. There will be good days and there will be bad days. No matter what Kevin may have to deal with in the future as he lives with this disease, I know that we are surrounded by friends and family who love us and will be with us every step of the way to help us make it through.

I can’t say it enough…thank you.

Love and hugs, from our family to yours.

Brenda

Kevin's Heroes - photo 1