Two young people we know recently came up with terrific ways to help Charley’s Fund. Not only are these kids raising money and awareness, but hopefully their ideas will inspire copycats. If you are a parent, please share this entry with your tween or teen. Young people seem to truly believe that their actions can make a difference, and we really need this inspiration!
Idea #1
The first young man is Joey Wein of New York City (14 years old.) This e-mail we received from him earlier this month explains it all:
9/5/05
Benjamin and Tracy,
I know we have met before, but I would like to re-introduce myself. My name is Joey Wein, I am 14 years old, and I am Charlotte and Ruth’s cousin. About a month ago I decided to register for the Boston Triathlon. This was my first triathlon and I thought it would be great to try to raise money for Charley’s Fund. So, I collected pledges from friends and family, which I would receive if I completed the half-mile swim, 12.5-mile bike race, and 3.1 mile run. This past Sunday on September 4th, I completed the race in 1 hour 18 minutes and 28 seconds and have received promises for $1150 to Charley’s Fund. I am proud to have raised this money for Muscular Dystrophy and would love to see a cure discovered to save Charley and all others suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
I was also wondering if it would be okay with you if I printed “Charley’s Fund” on my racing singlet for future races in order to spread awareness to spectators.
It was my pleasure to contribute in finding a cure for Charley.
Joey Wein
Idea #2
Nick Herbst, around the same age as Joey, is also pounding the pavement to help Charley’s Fund. Nick is furiously bunching “bouquets” of Charley Pops and selling them to stores in his neighborhood. He is asking each store to purchase five bunches of pops, for a total of $20. In the best case scenario, the store sells the pops to customers and helps spread the word about our efforts to cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. At the very worst, the store owner has donated $20 to our cause and can give the pops to friends and family.
This is a fantastic project that can be done anywhere. Think how wonderful it would be for Charley Pops to appear in stores all over the country! Each bouquet comes with a tag that explains what Charley’s Fund is and has a note from Charley himself. If you are interested in selling Charley Pops to stores in your neighborhood, please e-mail us at info@charleysfund.org. We will send you all the materials you need to assemble the bunches and get on the move.
If you have an idea of your own, please submit a comment to this blog entry. We know there are so many people out there who want to help, but who just don’t know what to do. Let’s use Joey and Nick as inspiration to begin a list of ideas that people can choose from. Anyone can do these projects for a school community service requirement, a bar-mitzvah project, or just to perform a mitzvah. Thank you Joey and Nick for getting the ball rolling!