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Healing the scars on the soul

July 20, 2009 Michael AugustineLisez en Francais

I apologize for not submitting any blogs recently. Life, as can sometimes happen, got the better of me (as I’m sure it sometimes has for all of you). I’ve been pretty busy lately, not just with volunteering, but also with my own projects. I’ll try to update you in several brief notes, starting with this one... 

Every year around this time, my friends Bill and Andrea Bates are hard at work raising funds AND awareness to help in the fight to end MS. As you may recall my mentioning, they are the top fundraising couple in Canada, and they are also two of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. They ride in 3 of the 5 RONA MS Bike Tours in Ontario. Their BBQs for charity have again raised the bar for fundraising, earning them over $32,000 this year alone, and $135,000 since 2002. 

In a couple of days we have our last event of the year. By the time you read this, we will have shown all the nay-sayers that tough economic times merely makes for even tougher volunteers! Bill and Andrea  are my inspirations, and I hope to achieve their level of dedication and success as I begin my own fundraising journey to enable me to climb to Mt. Everest Base Camp next year! 

One could hardly ask for better role models! 

Irreverently Yours, 

Aug

Posted in RONA MS Bike Tour | Permalink | Have your say: 4 Comments

Comments

From  Jim Marsh  on  July 22, 2009
Can't wait to get to Everest base camp with you next year!
From  Pam S.  on  July 22, 2009
"By the time you read this, we will have shown all the nay-sayers that tough economic times merely makes for even tougher volunteers!" Indeed! The MS Society of Canada is fortunate to have volunteers like you and the Bates. Thanks for the post, Mike. I admit, your post headliner got my attention!
From  Victor Sinclair  on  July 27, 2009
You're right again MIke.... proved the Nay Sayers wrong. The bes quote I've ever heard on the subject...... "Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it. " I"ll also share my personal perspective. I confess to having a more sceptial outlook than a "Positive Person" should, and last year and this year I pretty much figured out that most if not all of the high amounts of fund raising was done by high level business executives with large donations, only to find that it's the exact opposite. Pretty much all the high level fund raising amounts come from people who canvas and get pledges all year around sometimes a dollar at a time. I noted that it wasn't two minutes since Bill finished his ride that he was manning the finish line cheering on the next round of riders. That's spirit! Bill and Andrea have inspired me too! Awesome folks! Lookin' forward to riding with them again ! ! !
From  Aug  on  August 12, 2009
Thanks, Victor, for your encouraging words. Yes, it's true. The top MS fundraisers in the Canada have ALWAYS reached their goals dollar by dollar, one donation at a time. I always mention my father's inspiring advice to me: "If you want someone to follow your lead, you have to lead by example". Well, Bill and Andrea Bates have done that for me and many others! I hope to continue to follow their example, and in turn demonstrate to others that the most important puzzle piece to achieving your dreams is understanding that your success is measured by your efforts and not your results... and that must never give up!

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