For the past several months Ive committed a large amount of my time and energy to raising money and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Indiana Chapter through an organization called the Indiana Guys & Dolls Auction Gala. Last night was the 26th annual gala. I feel very fortunate to have spent the better part of a year surrounded by caring, dedicated people who have become my close friends. Being involved with this cause has changed me as a person; it has taught me important lessons about life. Witnessing true courage in the face of tremendous adversity means youll never be the same, and for that I am thankful. Id like to especially thank a very brave little girl that I met for the first time last night. Madison came to the gala last night to speak about her experiences with cystic fibrosis. She was very nervous, so she asked me if I would go on stage with her and read her speech. I promised I would hold her hand the whole time. When we got on stage, I asked if she would read the first card, and not only did she overcome her fears, she read the entire speech! She is a role model, a hero, and is truly courageous. Im glad to have made such a special new friend. We live in a world where our heroes are larger than life; they defy our expectations. My heroes have quiet strength but light up the lives of those around them. To anyone reading this, I encourage you to find a cause that you believe in and contribute something - anything - in support of that cause. When I got started, I knew very little about this disease and nothing of the tremendous strength and kindness of the community surrounding it. A good friend and better person, Brett Schwab, pushed me to come to an info night and even then, I wasnt sold until I began to meet the CF families in our community. Great and caring people like Dawn Sellers, Dean Havey, Lucas and Hannah Fox, and Madison Leer showed me the importance of being positive, showed me you can live a lot of life in just a single moment, showed me that being born with cystic fibrosis is something to be proud of, not something to be scared of. (cc: Brenda Watland Fox; Rachael Havey; Kristen and Wade Leer) Thank you to Brittany Nash and Andy Bauman, our outstanding co-chairs; to Ben Waddell and Adam Ketterman, for supporting just about every single fundraiser we put together; Danielle Sayre, for doing more work than I believed to be humanly possible; to Beth Walker and Annie Caruso, for connecting this years honorees with the amazing CF families in Indianapolis; and to each of the other mentors and committee members who supported us, guided us, led us, and inspired us. Thanks also to Joanna Whitaker, Jennifer Milewski, Juli Ann Hollingsworth, Kaitlin Roberts, and Jessica Lawson for supporting us, putting up with us, and for everything you do, every day, big and small, because its important work you do and youre not told nearly enough how much it is appreciated. And thanks to all who supported me and this cause: my friends, my family, my co-workers, and well-wishers who dont know me but can see the importance of supporting this noble cause and the special people we lift up through our work.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:06:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015