Category Archives: Uncategorized

Going for Ten Thousand needs your help with Let’s Chalk about MS. 

It’s the awareness part of Going for Ten Thousand’s kickoff on Wed, Oct 19. From 10:30 am-3:30 pm, we’ll be in East Campus Mall encouraging students to sign their name or draw a picture in sidewalk chalk if they have been affected by MS, know someone who has been affected, or just want to know more.

We need people there talking to students and explaining what we’re doing. In the morning, we’ll need a couple of people to draw, because we need to start somewhere! We have hour-long shifts, but feel free to create your own shift.

Fill out the survey here, and we’ll send you more information.

Questions? Contact Ben at bducharme@wisc.edu.

Join the fight my friends.

Much love,

BECKY

Summerfest is donating $3 from every $15 general admission ticket, but you have to follow this link. We only have until June 10.

It’s simple, but we need your help spreading the word. You can tweet, send an email, or post a status.

Here’s the long link: http://www.summerfest.com/fundraising/?code=goingfortenthousand. Remember people need to follow the link for the money to be donated, and tickets need to be bought by June 10.

Buy a ticket. Post the link. Join the fight.

Much love,

BECKY

In July, we won a $5,000 Pepsi Refresh grant. Today, the Refresh team has given GF10k eight hours to generate as much attention about the project as possible. We need “likes” on a new fan page.  We’re competing against six other projects from around the nation for $1000.

At 9:15 am the page “Pepsi Refresh 8 Hour Challenge- Going for Ten Thousand” went live. “Like” it here. After you like it, post it as your status. We have until 5:15 pm tonight. I’m going for 10,000 likes. Go big or go home, right?

LIKE IT. SHARE IT. JOIN THE FIGHT.

Much love,

BECKY

Going for Ten Thousand is getting bigger.

Spread the word and join the fight my friends. (:

Check the Facebook event here.

Much love,

BECKY

If my life where a poem, it would be this.

“Stubborn Ounces”
(To One Who Doubts the Worth of
Doing Anything If You Can’t Do Everything)
By Bonaro W. Overstreet

You say the Little efforts that I make
will do no good: they never will prevail
to tip the hovering scale
where Justice hangs in balance.

I don’t think I ever thought they would.
But I am prejudiced beyond debate
in favor of my right to choose which side
shall feel the stubborn ounces of my weight.

Love always,

BECKY

Let’s make this big.

Bring your friends. Bring your mothers. Bring your mothers’ friends.

Thank you all.

BECKY

I’m kicking off the Going for Ten Thousand 2011 fundraising campaign at the Nitty Gritty on Tuesday, November 30.

The Nitty Gritty restaurant in downtown Madison has given me the top floor for the night. Pay $10 at the door for an entree, side, and bottomless nonalcoholic drinks. They’re donating $2.50 from every meal. It’s a pretty sweet deal. Bring your friends. Bring your mothers. Bring your mother’s friends.

People ask about the name. I’m sticking with Going for Ten Thousand. In Wisconsin there are ten thousand people fighting Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Now, I’m going for them, and I’ll stop when there’s a cure.

I’ve been itching to start again, and I’m excited to see what happens.

Here we go again.

Love always,

BECKY

I have no brilliant excuse as to why I haven’t posted since June. This is my most personal story, and sharing is hard I guess. That’s probably why I’ve spent the last 30 minutes staring at the computer screen.

I’m sitting in College Library, the same library I cried in twice last school year. Those were tears of happiness. Looking back, it’s hard for me to not cry again. This campaign has been an adventure. Throughout the six months I spent fundraising, I had both moments of unexplainable happiness and utter devastation.

I remember laying in my dorm room bed last February. I was deeply, deeply afraid of failing, and I didn’t know what was going to happen.

I was in Africa at the end of the first month my project competed in the Pepsi Refresh Project, and for the last two weeks, I was cut off from marketing. When I finished just outside the top ten, I was broken. I don’t accept failure . I remember shaking with tears.

As upset as I was, there were 832 times that I was that much happier. There were the hugs from friends, the texts of support, and the really big donations. And then there was the time I broke $10,000. Then $20,000.

I remember being on stage at Arrowhead’s Girls’ Soccer banquet. That was the biggest check I’ve ever accepted. Literally.

I remember the applause after sharing my story in lecture halls. I remember turning around and seeing every laptop screen logged onto the Pepsi’s website. I remember being chased out of 400 person class that I was never enrolled in, but not before explaining how to vote.

I remember finally finishing in the top ten of the Pepsi Refresh Project. My brother and I jumped in a lake in celebration.

The final tally was just over $21,000. Inarguably, the world rocks.

People ask how I did it. I did it with very little sleep and a whole lot of help. It was my mom, my dad, my brothers, my teammates, my coworkers, my coaches, and my friends. I’m blessed in that I’m able to surround myself with an amazing group of people. It was them.

Fundraising and riding bikes is merely how I manage.

Thank you so much. Thank you to everyone that supported me. I did not do this alone, and I couldn’t have done this alone.

Now the question that everyone asks. What’s next? I don’t know, but I’ve never been good at stepping back. Watch out Chuck (:

Thank you,

BECKY

www.refresheverything.com/goingfortenthousand

Now vote vote vote.

Thanks!

BECKY

Jenna’s been getting some responses from parents about last Friday’s event. I thought I would share.

**Congratulations Jenna on raising so much money for MS. I was out of town and not able to attend the event but my son had a great time! You did an excellent job communicating on email about this fundraiser!
Kelley Knutson

**Congratulations on a successful event!
I just wanted to let you know my seventh grade son came home and said that was the most fun he has had in a long time and he wished he could do it every Friday night! The kids had so much fun with all their friends from all the area schools participating together.
What a great way to show awareness and raise money for a great cause! The administration and your family should be very proud. Best of luck to you and your family in the future. We look forward to next years event.
Sincerely,

Jenny Dvorak
Stone Bank

**Thanks for the thoughtful follow up Jenna. Yes – “passion for a purpose” is the most important motive! Our son Ethan had a great time at the event. It hit close to home, as my passion is serving people with disabilites ( I work for a vocational rehab organization that empowers individuals with barriers to reach their full employment potential) further more, I have a past co-worker who is challenged with MS. So – kudos to you and your “passion”! Good luck with you and your future positive influence on others!

**Jenna:

Thank for organizing and running a great event!
It was a lot of fun and for a great cause.

Looking forward to coming back again next year.

Take care,

Bill Voss.

**Way to go!

The kids had a great time!

Thanks always,

BECKY