It’s been adventure. This project has pushed me farther than I thought I could be pushed. What started as a personal goal to raise $10,000 for the MS150 Bike Tour has turned into a organization that has raised more than $40,000 for MS research. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around.

I remember Charlie’s funeral. I was confused, because part of me was still that 10-year-old kid trying to grasp the concept of a sick parent. My parents told me my mom had MS, but I didn’t understand. Later, I met Charlie, and they said he had MS too. Charlie seemed okay, and I decided if Charlie was okay than my mom was okay too. Ten years later, Charlie wasn’t okay. Sitting at his funeral, I couldn’t stop myself from seeing my mom in Charlie’s place.

Forty thousand dollars later, I’m still scared, and I’m far from finished. As we move into another year, I challenge you to fight with me. I know I have asked a lot of the people in my life, and you have all been unbelievably supportive. I need you again. Every day this week, I need your votes in the Big Ten Network’s LiveBIG community service scholarship program. It’s for a $1,000 scholarship, but it’s not about the money. This contest could mean a lot of attention for GF10k and the donations that could come with it.

It’s two clicks to vote everyday through Friday, Jan 27, and one more click to repost it. Tweet it, share it, and support GF10k’s fight. It’s really that simple. Together, we can bring home another win and maybe we’ll be one small step closer to a cure.

I fight for my mom, Charlie, and the 10,000 families in Wisconsin affected by MS. I’m asking you to fight with me.

Thank you for standing by me through this adventure, because I didn’t do this alone.

Love,

BECKY

To win, I need your votes until Friday, January 27. You can vote once every day from every phone and computer you have! The BTN will honor the Badger with the most votes with a $1,000 scholarship. If allowed, I intend on donating the $1,000 to Going for Ten Thousand and our fight against MS.

VOTE HERE.

Tweet it. Post it. Share it.

With one click every day, you can support the fight against MS.

Much Love,

BECKY

Nitty Night- Thursday, February 9
5p-10p, Nitty Gritty Restaurant, Madison, WI
The Nitty Gritty Restaurant in downtown Madison is donating 20% of sales, including alcohol!  Bucky Badger and the UW MadHatters will be making appearances.

Trivia Night- Thursday, March 1
7p-9p, Tripp Commons, Memorial Union
Come test your knowledge with Going for Ten Thousand. Contactshallgren@wisc.edu to get registered!

Race to Erase MS 5K Run/Walk
Saturday, April 14- UW Natatorium, Madison, WI
Sunday, April 22- Arrowhead High School, Hartland, WI
Find more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities here.

Going for Ten Thousand Open- Thursday, June 21
Western Lakes Golf Club, Pewaukee, WI
Register your foursome and find more information about GF10k’s first golf outing here.

In December, Going for Ten Thousand is working with the UW MadHatters, a mens a capella group on campus. They’re donating 1/3 of music sales from the entire month. We’re excited.

The ‘Hatters have been there since GF10k started on campus. Last March, they donated 1/3 of music sales and $1 from each Spring concert ticket. All told, it was $2,400. Earlier this semester, they performed at our kick-off event at the Nitty Gritty. They’re a great group of really talented guys, and they’re a blast to work with.

We’ll post the links to purchase music in December. Until then, we’re going to help the boys sell tickets to their winter concert on December 2-3. Tickets are $15 for students and $20 for adults. Email goingfortenthousand@gmail.com if you’re interested, and we’ll figure it out from there.

Check out the MadHatters here. Buy tickets and support another great organization on campus!

Much love,

BECKY

I remember when she was first diagnosed. It was the summer before fourth grade, and my parents called me into their bedroom. They tried to explain it to me, and I didn’t really get it. I knew it was bad, because my dad was crying. I had never seen that before, but I also hadn’t noticed my mom was sick. To me, sick was coughing, blowing your nose, and having a fever. I just saw my mom taking more naps.

Then I met Charlie Siewert. They told me Charlie had MS too, but he seemed fine to me. I decided if Charlie was okay, my mom must be okay. Then Charlie got worse. Ten years later, we were at his funeral, and I couldn’t shake the connection I had made a decade earlier. Charlie was gone, and it became much more real. While my mom was still doing well, I realized she might not always be okay. When I looked at Charlie, I saw my mom, and it scared me.

This project gave me something to control. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was doing something. I never imagined it would become this, and I’m always amazed by the support I’ve received. But it’s become so big I feel like I’ve lost control.

Big is good, and big means more money. Emotionally, big is hard. It forces me to deal with my mom’s MS every day, which can be wearing. At times, it feels like I can’t take a break from Going for Ten Thousand. I’ve always been very internally driven, but I think I’ve lost that recently. I’ve been trying to meet other people’s expectations. I need to remember why I started this. This needs to still be something that I do, because I want to do it. This is something that I’ve been struggling since last semester. I need to take a break, and I’m finally okay with it.

I’m still that confused kid that doesn’t quite understand what is going on. I know I’m still in control, but it’s different now. I’m going to figure it out, and I promise you Going for Ten Thousand is not over.

With love,

Becky

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

Let’s Chalk about MS is an awareness event. We’ll be in East Campus Mall from 10:30 am- 3:30 encouraging students to sign their names in sidewalk chalk and make a statement against MS. Sign if your name, draw a picture, and join the fight.

We need a lot of help with the event. If you’re interested in volunteering, fill out this survey. Everything helps!

We’re headed back to the Nitty Gritty at night. They’re giving us the entire restaurant from 5:00 pm- 10:00 pm, and they’re donating 20% of sales, including alcohol. Bucky Badger and the UW MadHatters will be making appearances.

Spread the word. Tell your friends, post a Facebook status, and tweet it.

Questions? Email goingfortenthousand@gmail.com.

Join the fight my friends.

BECKY

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

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Hope isn’t a strategy, and that’s what I realized at Charlie’s funeral. While I have always hoped for a cure and I still hope for a cure, hope alone is not enough. I needed to do something, and Going for Ten Thousand is my strategy.

I never imagined it would be this big. When I started this project in my dorm room I had one goal, to raise $10,000 for MS research. I wanted to do it for my mom and for Charlie. Today, it’s become so much larger than one goal. It’s become about fighting for the 10,000 people in Wisconsin fighting MS.

After the 8 Hour Challenge, we received a lot of attention on campus. It amazes me every time someone approaches me knowing what GF10k is and knowing my story. One of my friends sings on the UW MadHatters, an all male a cappella on group that’s seriously talented and seriously popular. In March, he asked me one of the coolest questions I’ve ever been asked.

Can the MadHatters do something for Going for Ten Thousand? Yes, yes you can.

The UW MadHatters

In April, the UW MadHatters are donating one-third of music sales to GF10k. That includes Itunes sales and physical CDs. I was at their spring concert last night, and it was amazing. Also, they dropped a surprise announcement. They’re donating $1 from every ticket of last night’s sold out show. That’s $1,800. I cried.

As I’ve gotten to know a handful of the Hatters better over the last couple of weeks, I’ve realized what an amazing group of guys they are. They love singing, and they’re truly committed to giving back to the community.

Support the ‘Hatters and donate to GF10k. Buy music and spread the word.

Much love,

BECKY

At 9:15 am, the page “Pepsi Refresh 8 Hour Challenge- Going for Ten Thousand” went live. We wanted as many likes as possible. In eight hours, 6,557 people “liked” the page. That’s 14 people per minute and one person every 4.5 seconds. We got support from Marquette, Yale, Harvard, UCLA, and schools from across the country. We broke into Spain, England, Norway, and Australia.

It was a huge success. Thank you all. Some highlights from the day..

All day, I was in and out of lecture halls. I wanted to talk to as many people as possible. The third lecture I talked in was the first time I really nailed it. When I finished, the room went nuts. Normally they clap. This time, there was cheering and yelling. We broke 1,000 shortly after that lecture.

Around noon, a story went up on the Wisconsin homepage. UW- Communications wrote the story earlier this semester but was waiting to time the release with our next event. I passed along word of the 8 hour challenge, and they said they would release the story yesterday. I didn’t know it was going on the front page. I didn’t even know it was there until I started getting texts from my friends. That was the first time I cried yesterday. Check out the story here.

In the morning, I e-mailed Lori Berquam, the Dean of Students at UW-Madison. I shared my story and asked her to help spread the word. She responded to my e-mail that afternoon. “I’m on it.” She also “liked” the page and posted on the wall. I cried for the second time when I saw that. Later, I talked with Paula Donner, the CEO of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. Paula has a close friend with MS. She joined the fight.

We ended the day at the Nitty Gritty restaurant on campus. For the last five minutes, we kept hitting refresh. We were getting hundreds more “likes” each minute. When 5:15 hit, I couldn’t stop crying I was so happy. A film crew followed me around for the course of the day, and the producer was trying to get me to tell the  camera the final tally, but I couldn’t pull myself together. Instead I said, “I just want my mom.” I turned around, and she walked in with my family. I knew she was coming, but I didn’t know when. It was perfect.

Last night, the Nitty Gritty hosted a fundraiser. They donated 20% of sales from 5-9 pm. They staffed their restaurant as if it were a football game day, and it was necessary. The restaurant was packed. We made $1,200.

Thank you to everyone that liked the page, shared the link, and joined the fight yesterday.

People are asking how we did in comparison to the other six projects, but we don’t know yet. The Refresh team kept us in the dark.  I don’t know who the other grant winners are or what they chose to do, but everyone will be done by late next week.

Regardless, Thursday was an amazing success, and there is nothing that could make me feel otherwise.

I’m able to do everything I do, because I have amazing people in my life. I couldn’t imagine better friends or family. Thank you to all of you. I really can not say that enough.

Much love,

BECKY