2009: The year in review ..

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Halethorpe, Md., Jan. 08, 2010 - The past year of 2009 was an incredible year for Adventures for the Cure (AFC). The support we received from our donors, fans and supporters inspired us to improve our outreach programs and services to adults and children living with diabetes and our support for other worthy causes such as Kupenda for the Children and beyond.

Also, check out this athlete profile video spotlighting AFC co-founder Adam Driscoll at the JDRF 2009 Capitol Chapter Gala.



And now, a serious (and not-so-serious) look back at 2009 ...

January
February
  • Luke rides on his maiden voyage on special bicycle.
  • Lots and lots of base miles and training in preparation for record-setting push at the 2009 Race Across America (RAAM) in June. Did we mention it's still cold outside?
March
  • Princeton Sports presents Adam Driscoll and Pat Blair with Cannondale road and time trial bicycles for the 2009 Race Across America (RAAM).
April
  • AFC holds 1st (Annual) AFC Sugar Hill Cross-Country Mountain Bike (XC MTB) Race; raises more than $3,000 for diabetes programs.
  • 2nd Annual UMBC Cycle-o-Thon (led by Adam Driscoll, Alex Driscoll and Pat Blair and fellow UMBC cyclists) raise funds for Extreme Weekend and Kupenda for the Children.
  • AFC has over 20 riders compete in Baker's Dozen 13-hour Mountain Bike Race.
May
June
  • AFC's Adam Driscoll and Patrick Blair (and support crew!) compete and win the 2-man division of the 3,021-mile transcontinental event at the 2009 Race Across America (RAAM), The World's Toughest Bike Race. Raise over $30,000 for Extreme Weekend and Kupenda for the Children.
  • AFC goes Web 2.0 - uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Picasa, Flickr and other 25 social media sites to get connect with our fans, donors and supporters. David Harrity is expected to announce his entire takeover of the Internet. ;-)

July
August
September
  • Matt Gilman - Blind Time Trials Rider - joins the AFC Team; Matt was blinded by Type 1 diabetes but that doesn't stop him from performing incredible observed bike trial rides.
  • Laura Matt and David Harrity become newest members of the AFC Board of Directors.
  • AFC wins big at the Sugar Free Miles 5k (supporting diabetes causes). Top 2 overall (Adam Driscoll, Pat Blair), 2nd female (Tracy Kessler Driscoll) and age-group winner (Jennifer Blandford).
  • CYCLOCROSS!!! AFC team members like to get muddy and so begins the cyclocross season with events from the 2009 Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association (MABRA) and Mid-Atlantic Cross (MAC) series.
  • Adam Driscoll crushes the competition and wins the Cat B (Cat. 2/3/4) event at Charm City Cyclocross in Baltimore, Md.; moves up to Elite Men's (Cat. 1/2/3) races after that.

October

  • Annapolis Area Christian School students (led by Roberto Irias) raise more than $5,000 with AFC Bike-a-thon for Kenyan youth suffering from skin cancer due to albinism; funds go to support surgery and medical treatments.
  • "AFC Headquarters" gets much needed "woman's touch" with fresh coats of paint. (Why is this significant you ask? You have to seen the "before" and "after" shots of the townhouse to truly know why.) ;-)
  • University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Magazine spotlights Adventures for the Cure and its causes.
  • By now, AFC members have easily ridden over 5,000 miles of early morning rides as part of TheMorningRide.com (TMR). Debate rages on whether that exceeds the amount of emails flying around the TMR's Google Group. ;-)
  • Team Adventures for the Cure racers (Bill Vickers and Mike Berry) win the EDGE 6-Hour Adventure Race.
  • Adam Driscoll competes in first UCI-level race at Granogue Cross; some say it was a bit muddy (that's the understatement of the century, check out this video!)
  • Numerous AFC team members compete in the Baltimore Marathon (running), Seagull Century Ride (cycling), Little River 24-hour Challenge (mountain biking), and Iron Cross (cyclocross)
  • Jose Cepeda captured 1st place in his age group (and 6th overall) wearing his Adventures for the Cure skinsuit at the 2009 Bassman Duathlon (3.1 mile run, 58 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) held in Bass River, New Jersey. Columbia-Md.-based Allyson Tufano garnered 2nd place female overall (and 4th overall).
  • Kristen Hughes Wimmer wins the solo female division in the 9 Hours of Endurance Duathlon (trail running and mountain biking relay) event at the EX2 Day of Endurance.
  • Laura Matt and Erin Wells win the Duo Female Division of the 6 Hours of Mountain Biking event at EX2 Day of Endurance.
  • Tracy Kessler capturing first overall female with a time of 22:51. And, Jen Blandford 3rd overall female with a time of 23:30 at the Harvest Harrier 5K Trail Run

November
  • By now, AFC team members have likely had over 1,000 gallons of CeraSport - our favorite performance-enhancing energy/re-hydration drink.
  • AFC supports the annual World Diabetes Day on November 14th.
  • Keith Rohr captures career first win (and 2nd win and ...) in cyclocross.
  • AFC captures 5th place overall in team standings for the 2009 MABRA Cyclocross Series Championship. Incredible support throughout season from family and friends, thanks!
  • AFC wins "Suitcase full of Sausage" at the Tacchino Ciclocross race (yeah, we're still trying to figure that one out. ;-)
  • Adam Driscoll wins the 2009 Maryland State Cyclocross Championship (Elite Men).
  • Keith Rohr wins the 2009 MABRA Cyclocross Series Championship (Master's Cat. 3/4).
  • Steve Klose wins the 2009 Maryland State Cyclocross Championship (Master's Cat. 3/4).
  • Avy Rohr wins the 2009 MABRA Cyclocross Series Championship, Race Championship and Maryland State Championship (Junior Women U16).
  • AFC begins the Christmas for Kupenda Campaign to raise funds for children with disabilities.
December
  • Conducted "Living with Diabetes" education session with staff at the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service.
  • Adam Driscoll is upgraded to Category 1 Cyclocross by USA Cycling.
  • Patrick Blair is upgraded to Category 2 Cyclocross by USA Cycling.
  • Andrey Doroshenko is upgraded to Category 3 Cyclocross by USA Cycling.
  • AFC documentary film is shown as pre-quel to the DC Bicycle Film Festival.
  • GovLoop members and its AwesomeGov Fund supporters vote AFC as top charity and award more than $1,780.
  • AFC supporters raise more than $3,500 in our Christmas for Kupenda Campaign.

Stay tuned for what's on the horizon in 2010.

Love Life!

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Adventures For The Cure Releases Over $10K In Donations

Sunday, July 19, 2009

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07.19.2009 - Halethorpe, Md. - Adventures For The Cure, the Baltimore-area charitable organization, last week released over $10,000 in supporter's donations to two nonprofit organizations: Kupenda for the Children and Blood:Water Mission.

Kupenda for the Children Donation = $9,000 (initial 2009 campaign)



Kupenda for the Children is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt Christian-based organization that exists to meet the needs of children, with disabilities. Ultimately the goal is that these children will feel that they are loved and accepted.


Kupenda for the Children received an initial $9,000 from donations from Adventures For The Cure and its donors in support of our winning efforts at the 2009 Race Across America (RAAM), where Adam Driscoll and Patrick Blair won the 2009 RAAM 2-man team division with the help of the crew, family, friends and supporters. Cynthia Bauer, Kupenda's founder and president, upon hearing the news said, "Thank you so much for all you have done for Kupenda. I always feel like I can never express my gratitude enough and don’t know where we’d be without you. Thank goodness we don’t have to know." Donations will go towards operating costs for the office/resouce center and staff, transport to the villages, and emergency medical care.


Since 2006, Adventures For The Cure has teamed with Kupenda for the Children to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities as shown in this video (below).





To learn more about Kupenda for the Children, visit http://www.kupenda.org/ and become a fan of its new Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kupenda-for-the-children/103433398469.


Blood:Water Mission Donation = $1,245 (completed 2009 campaign)

The Swiming For Water campaign presented by Adventures For The Cure received $1,245 in donations through the Adventures For The Cure website. Greg Young participated in the 4.4-mile Great Cheseapeake Bay Swim as a fundraising campaign for Blood:Water Mission.

Blood:Water Mission is a nonprofit organization exists to promote clean blood and clean water efforts in Africa, tangibly reducing the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic while addressing the underlying issues of poverty, injustice and oppression. Blood:Water Mission is building clean water wells, supporting medical facilities, and focusing on community and worldview transformation, both here in America and in Africa.

To learn more about Blood:Water Mission, visit http://www.bloodwatermission.com/



About Adventures For The Cure
Adventures For The Cure (AFC), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization and USA Cycling club which exists to raise awareness for diabetes, to show those diagnosed with diabetes and their families how leading a healthy and active lifestyle can move you beyond your perceived limits, and to raise funds for diabetes research. The organization also raises awareness and funds for other causes that the board of directors has selected. For more details, visit http://adventuresforthecure.com.



Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/adventuresforthecure

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/adventures4cure

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Youth Swim Team Conducting Swim-A-Thon for Extreme Weekend Fundraiser

Thursday, July 16, 2009

07.16.2009 - Columbia, Md. - The Phelps Luck Snappers swim team will be raising funds for the Extreme Weekend for Children with Diabetes Camp at this Saturday's Swim-a-thon at the Phelps Luck Pool.

The Snappers participate in the Columbia Neighborhood Swim League (CNSL), which consists of kids ranging in age from 6 through 15. Swim-a-thon is a annual fundraiser by the Phelps Luck Snappers in which participants earn money for a local charity by swimming lengths of the pool. On the evening of July 18th, these young athletes will be swimming laps in the pool and enjoying a sleepover at Phelps Luck!. Volunteers will track their progress. Sponsors will reward the swimmers for the total number of lengths of the pool completed (or with a flat pledge). There will be prizes for children with the most pledges.

Co-founder Patrick Blair stated, "We're excited and humbled to be selected as this year's charity recipient of the Swim-a-thon sponsored by Phelps Luck Swim Team." This year's charity fun event is coordinated by parents Deb Sharkey and Mike West. West added, "The kids are really excited about helping other kids. Many of the swimmers know about Adventures For The Cure through friends, family members and the news."

The AFC Extreme Weekend for Children with Diabetes Camps exist to provide children with diabetes the opportunity to maximize their ability to perform at their highest level in all areas of sports, fitness and life activities while maintaining intensive glucose control as this is necessary for proper diabetes management.

How you can help?
While the event is closed to the general public, Phelps Luck supporters, friends and family along with AFC supporters have been invited to sponsor kids (anonymously if they like). If you know the parents or members of the Snappers swim team, please contact them or visit the Snappers website at http://www.eteamz.com/PhelpsLuckSnappers/ for more information.

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