Crew for the Cure Message Board

Washington DC Walk 2008 Walk Pictures

July 2008

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Wig Shopping

  • Christy63
    Today, August 16th, I went with one of Christy's good friend wig shopping. We had a BLAST. Christy looked amazing!!!

July 23, 2008

Crew for a Cure Social

quote

Did you walk in Washington, DC with Christy's Crew in 2008?  GREAT!!

Are you thinking about walking or crewing in 2009 with us?   DO IT!!

Are you crewing with us in October in NYC?   GARBAGE ANYONE??

Don't want to walk but just want to come and find out what our group is all about?   WE WOULD LOVE TO MEET YOU!!

Next Thursday, July 31st at 6:00 PM in the bar at Pizzera Uno's, Crew for a Cure will be hosting our first social of the year.   This is a great opportunity to come and meet members who walked last year, ask questions, find out what is up our sleeve for 2009, and just get a night out!  

Our group is filled with amazing men and women who have been touched personally by breast cancer and want to do something about it!   

Did you know that in 2008, Christy's Crew (our walk team name in 2008) raised over $45,000 and funded an entire grant that was distributed at closing ceremonies in DC all by ourselves???  

Please e-mail Kristin Williams at kdwilliams@rochester.rr.com if you are interested in attending or if you have any questions. 

We would love to have you!! 

Go Crew!

July 11, 2008

Thank you Raw Fuel!

A very special thank you to Raw Fuel for their $350.00 donation to Crew for the Cure.  

Raw Fuel is a healthy snack mix filled with granola, nuts and other healthy goodies sold right here in the Rochester area.  

Thank you very much for your support of Crew for a Cure! 

June 30, 2008

Crew for a Cure at the Buffalo Bills Futures Tennis Tournament

Buffalo Bills Futures Tournament
Front Row (L to R) - Ruth, Christy, Shannon and Margo
Back Row (L to R) - Karen, Erin, Carrie and Kristin

Last week Crew for a Cure ran a concession stand at the Buffalo Bills Futures Tennis Tournament to benefit our group and Highland Hospital’s Breast Imaging Center’s Community Outreach program.

It was a beautiful night and it was great to have some of the Crew together again. 

Thank you to Crew for a Cure member, Carrie Irvine, for putting this all together and to Ruth for working so
 hard all week!

Here is Margo running the grill -

   Buffalo Bills Futures Tournament

Carrie and Ruth -

Buffalo Bills Futures Tournament

June 26, 2008

Boston is Open for Registration!!

I walk...

Ready for 2009??  Walk...because you can't walk away!   We need a cure!

You can now register to be a part of the Crew for a Cure experience in Boston on May 17th-18th, 2009! 

We would love to have you join us!  

To register, click HERE.

May 21, 2008

$45,301.22

I am very excited to announce our final amount raised by Christy’s Crew in Washington, DC 2008!

 

$45,301.22!

 
Amazing!!   We funded an entire grant that was distributed during closing ceremonies in DC at the end of walk weekend and I am sure with the help of the money we raised we will educate so many on breast cancer and save lives in the process!!  

THANK YOU to each and every one of you that made a donation, attended a fundraiser, or supported our cause in any way.       

Here is to even more walkers, crew and money raised in 2009! 

May 20, 2008

.firstpitch.


.firstpitch., originally uploaded by {kristin W.}.

Christy was honored on Mother's Day at the Rochester Red Wings Game.

Christy threw out the first pitch for Pluta Cancer Center, the cancer center where she received all of her treatments.

All of the players wore pink jerseys for Breast Cancer and they were all auctioned off at the game for Pluta Cancer Center.

Christy threw a PERFECT strike! Of course!

Here is the link to the article that appeared in the Democrat and Chronicle today.

Victor woman throws first pitch for Red Wings.

May 06, 2008

Slide Show of all Pictures

If you would like to look at all of the pictures I took over the weekend you can do so by clicking here -

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Washington, DC

If you want to look at the pictures out of the slide show, just click on "Continue to Gallery" above the pictures...but listen to the song just once. :)

39 miles...2 days!!

We did it!!!   It was the most amazing thing we have ever every done!!!   I don't even know how to put into words just how amazing the whole experience was, but here are some details. 

Christy's Crew

We watched 3500 women and men walk together for a cause we all believed in so much!!  We watched frail, hurting breast cancer patients fight their way through the miles because they "had" to finish.  We watched an entire city unite.   Kids were sitting out on their front year handing out lemonade and feeding walkers.  Men were dressed like women, college students cheered with bra's on.  Believe we, we saw it all!

avonwalkdc-160

We got to spend the weekend with 24 of the most amazing group of men and women, Christy's Crew.  I wish I had the whole thing on tape so that I could remember it forever...we laughed so hard.   We cried.   We cheered.  We bitched (bad).   We hurt.   We did it TOGETHER!!!

Renting this bus was the best decision we made the entire weekend!   We made it to Washington in just over 7 hours and had a complete blast the entire way down there.   I have not laughed that much ever!!     Here was the crew before we got on the bus at 6:30 am!

avonwalkdc-4

We had more comments the entire weekend on our shirts.  Christy's Crew does travel in style that is for sure!   We wore our black shirts on Friday and it was so cool because when we got there we had so many people say that they knew who we were from the web site!   On Friday night we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner and on the way there we stopped at the site of the opening ceremonies and meet Molly who is a part of the Avon Staff.   She lead my introduction meeting and was a big fan of our web site!!   It was great to meet you Molly!  Here she is with us

avonwalkdc-22

We did some site seeing on Friday night and I really forgot what an awesome city Washington is.

avonwalkdc-49avonwalkdc-46

Friday night we stayed at the hotel and were up early to get ready for our big day!     Opening ceremonies were amazing.  They have two of this big towers there where you can write who you are walking for on them next to your city.   They go from city to city and really are amazing -

towers

The second best decision we made was getting GREEN shirts (Thank you Jamie!)!!  We wished we would have had them for both days because really, it was SO easy to find us!!  Everyone is in pink, so everyone would see the green and know exactly who we were!

Crew at Opening Ceremonies

Again, the ceremony was amazing...full of tears and a great way to start the day.

avonwalkdc-111

Aunt Sharon was on the crew and one of our biggest cheerleaders.  She was there for all of the big moments including being on the starting line sending us off -

Aunt Sharon

It is a SEA of pink and walkers at the beginning.  Because of all of the people it took us 40 minute to do the first mile and that really put us back with our time.  The secret is to get at the front of the line!  :)
sea of pink.

I tried to take pictures at each mile marker of the whole walk.  I missed 2 on Saturday and a bunch on Sunday, but it was fun to watch our faces change as the walk went on.   At 5 we were still smiling!

 

mile marker

Not only did we have local cheerleaders, we brought some of our own too!  The Ballard family, the husband and kids of walker Karen, came down to DC to cheer all of us on.  I can't tell you how awesome it was to go around a corner and have someone there with a "Christy's Crew" sign.   Next time we will bring more of our family and friends!!  It really is an experience for them too!

our cheerleaders.

The route was really the best.  We went by EVERYTHING including the Capital, National Mall, Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery, Iwo Jima, Embassy Row (this hill was the WORST!!), National Cathedral, the White House...  Iwo Jima always is so amazing to see -

avonwalkdc-167

Team California put these signs all over the place throughout the walk.  They were awesome.  I loved this one especially -

avonwalkdc-168

Janelle, one of our walkers, walked the entire 39 miles 15 weeks pregnant!  Amazing!

future crew.

We had the honor of meeting Monica's husband.   Monica lost her battle to breast cancer in 1997 and her husband did the walk with her when we was alive and he still does it.  It was very emotional to meet him.  He leaves pennies with pink ribbons on them all over the route in honor of his wife.  Our crew found a few of them!   You can read about his wife here.  Get some tissues first.

.monica's husband.

Teams had the best shirts (of course ours was the best!).   I loved this one -

quote

On Saturday night we stayed in the Wellness Village.  It was really awesome and all of us wished we had more time there to enjoy it.  We started walking at 7:00 am on Saturday and didn't get to the Wellness Village until around 6:30 I think?

26.1 finish line.

We were SO lucky to have the best Crew there because when we got there Jamie (Christy's husband) and their friend Bill had set up all of our tents and put our bags in them already!!!   This was a life saver.  Really.  I don't know how we would have done it. Anyway, the Wellness Village is filled with all sorts of cool stuff like a Spa Zone with foot and back massager's, medical staff, massage therapists, food, showers, porta potties...you name it.  It also has over 1000 tents!

PodiatryPhysical Therapywellness village

There were two fields this size filled with tents.  Really it was quite a site!

1000's of tents

The next day we got up for our 1/2 marathon.  The route was filled with both bikers like this and a bunch of motorcyclists as well who worked getting us across roads safely.   They were amazing.   

biker chick

How about this motorcycle guy?  He was awesome, a ton of fun, and always had great music playing to keep you going!

crossing guard

Right.

Monday.

The finish line was just amazing.  There were literally 100's of people there cheering you on.  You cry.  Hard.  You feel such a sense of accomplishment for a cause that you have worked so hard for.  I don't know I can put into words just how awesome it was, but to hold hands with Christy's Crew and to have her walk US over the finish line was amazing.

Almost there! .the finish line.

Here we are all after we finished and after we dried all of our tears!

Christy's Crew

They give all of the walkers the pink shirts.  They give all of the survivors the light pink shirts in preparation for closing ceremonies.  The walkers walk in together and the survivors walk in after together.  Christy was in the wrong place so in order to get her where she needed to be we yelled for people to let the survivor through.   I am sure Christy was embarrassed a bit, but it was awesome.  Everyone was cheering for her and it was hard not to get all teared up.

.christy.

The survivors marching in -

Survivor March
This lady was amazing -

the best.

Here were our survivors Anne and Christy marching past (Christy is hiding behind Anne).

Anne

You have also probably seen these ribbons.  They represent the fact that every 3 minutes someone is diagnosed with breast cancer.   Over the weekend they hand out one every 3 minutes and my Aunt Sharon was given one to hand out.  At closing ceremonies she gave it to me.  It was quite an emotional moment in so many ways.

.every three minutes.

Did I tell you Reese Witherspoon was there?   Christy actually had her picture taken with her!  She is Avon's ambassador for the walks and really seems into the whole cause.

Reese Witherspoon!!

She announced all of the grants that Avon distributed from the 8.1 MILLION dollars we raised at the DC walk.  The best part was the first one was given to Friends of Cancer Research in the amount of $45,000.00 and that was EXACTLY what we raised.  So, with all of your donations, Christy's Crew funded that whole entire grant!  AMAZING!!

$45,000.00

On the way home we celebrated.  We had so much to celebrate.  We celebrated two survivors.  We celebrated walking 39 miles.  We celebrated all that we raised.  We celebrated the friendships we have made.

Anne and Christy

And...we started planning the 2009 walk. Most of us can't WAIT to do this again.   It was the most amazing weekend ever and we are forever changed because of everything we experienced over those 48 hours.

We need to find a cure. 

We need to raise awareness. 

1 in 7 of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. 

We don't have time to wait.

Are you interested in joining us in 2009?   We are in the beginning stage of planning the 2009 walk, so e-mail me at kdwilliams@rochester.rr.com if you would like more information.  We would love to have you!   

Keep in mind that you don't have to walk all 39 miles.  A lot of our walkers this year are already talking about just walking the 13.1 miles each day and enjoying the experience that much more next year.   There is a $1800.00 fundraising commitment as a walker. 

We also brought along the best crew.  Crew makes the whole weekend happen.   We had crew in food services feeding us (thanks Christine and Joanne!), we had Aunt Sharon cheering us one, and we had Jamie and Bill in Security.   They also look for medical staff, PT's, drivers, etc.   Crew is not required to raise any money, but our crew ended up raising a ton for DC!

April 30, 2008

What if?

This was posted on one of the Avon Walk Message Boards this morning...many of these "what if?" thoughts have been on our minds all week, but this Crew member is right in the end.   

What If?

For those about to walk for the first time, I thought this just might help address those nagging questions:

I am so nervous! – Ok, you’re nervous. So what?

What if I can’t walk all the way? – Who cares? No one is keeping track but you.

What if I get a blister? – What if you do?

What if I don’t know anyone? – You’ll meet hundreds of nice people.

What if I packed too much? – You did.

What if I didn’t pack something? – You’ll live.

What if it rains? – You’ll get wet; you won’t drown.

What if is it cold? - You won't freeze to death.

What if it is hot? – You’ll sweat.

What if I don’t like the food? – You’ll pass 472 supermarkets and convenience stores; you’ll manage.

What if I don’t like the porta-potties? – No one LIKES the porta-potties. You’ll survive.

What if I don’t like the showers? – Ok, don’t shower. But you should check with your tent mate first.

What if I can’t sleep in a tent? – You’ll be tired; you’ll sleep.

What if…?

Enough already with the “What if’s?” You’ll do fine. Relax and enjoy the experience. Because of the money you’ve raised, money is going to go towards early detection programs. In a few months, a woman (or a man) is going to take advantage of one of those programs, and is going to find out that they have breast cancer. But because of you, they will have found out early enough to get treatment, and to survive.

They are going to get to watch their kids grow up, and to be there at their concerts and their games. They are going to go to their graduations and to their weddings. They are going to get to see their grandchildren. And their kids will never have to face growing up without them. All because of you. And while they will never know it, you will know it. Any more questions? No?

April 29, 2008

$UPDATE$


$UPDATE$, originally uploaded by {kristin W.}.

Keep the donations coming!

We raised over $2,000.00 in the last 24 hours!!!! THANK YOU!!

Want to make a donation?

Click HERE and then pick your favorite walker to donate to!

April 28, 2008

I know...I know...

We have asked for donations so many times...but really, if you have not donated and can, NOW is the time.   

Christy's Crew has been in the top 10 in Washington, DC for fundraising since we started the group in August.   Most of the time we were in fact #1!   Well, in the last couple of weeks we got pushed out of the top 10.  We didn't think we could make up the ground, but we are SOOOOO close!!

$40,483.22

If you can help with a donation...please DO SO NOW!!   Since all walkers are at goal, please feel free to make your donation to any of the walkers.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts...really. :)

To make a donation, click HERE.

5 days!!!

Can you believe we leave in 5 days????  Everyone is so busy packing and getting ready and trying to get those last minute donations!!   Check out this awesome video Jamie made as we get ready for our trip!   

April 22, 2008

Planning Dinner

crewdinner-8

We had the most members of Christy's Crew together all in one place last Saturday night for our planning dinner and walker, Michelle Carusones, house.    It was an awesome dinner and plenty of laughs were shared over wine and some awesome pasta!   

I am not sure how much planning was done, but we leave for DC in 10 days and all of us are getting so excited!!   

April 07, 2008

Still Training!


.mile 13 of 14., originally uploaded by {kristin W.}.

I am sure if you drive at all around the Rochester, NY area in the weekends you should have passed us. Or at least it feels like you should have passed us. :)

We had a "light" weekend this weekend. Only 14 miles on Saturday and 9 on Sunday. Once again, we had a great time walking together.

have you seen us?

We were at Mendon Ponds park on Saturday - it is beautiful there in the morning!

.early morning walk.

March 19, 2008

.$26,133.61.


.$26,133.61., originally uploaded by {kristin W.}.

Okay everyone! We are SO close!! It has been a while since I have updated anything here, but that isn't because we have not been busy!

Our training schedule is up to 15 mile walks on Saturdays, usually another 10 on Sunday and then training during the week as well.

Our walk is only 45 days away and things are really starting to roll! The donations are still coming in and as each day goes by we get closer and closer to our goal of $32,000.00!!

Thank you to everyone who has made this amazing amount we have raised possible. It really has been a life changing experience for EACH of us and we could not have done it without you!!

Go CREW!

February 28, 2008

Another Successful Uno's Fundraiser!!

First of all I would like to take a minute to thank EVERYONE who braved the weather on Tuesday and came out to Uno's for our second fundraiser there.   It was great to see everyone, and it meant a lot to all of the crew members to have our family and friends with us there!

I am please to report that the weather didn't stop us from raising money for breast cancer!   

Congratulations to the winner of our 50/50 raffle, Kiran Chava!   Kiren won $186.00 and then generously donated all of his winnings back to Christy's Crew!   Again, day after day since we started Christy's Crew in August we have meet and been touched by people like Kiran.   Thank you!!!

We also raised just under $100.00 in donations from bracelets, pink ribbons, and Chocolate Castle Chocolate bars!   Thank you!!

And finally, a very special thank you to the entire management and staff of Uno's in Victor.  We could have asked for a better group of people to work with.   At both of our fundraisers there, their entire staff went above and beyond what they needed to do by buying t-shirts to wear, putting on their pink ribbons, and just going all out to make it a fun and successful night for everyone! 

I am VERY pleased to report that again we raised $600.00!!!   

Thank you for another $1000.00 day!!  We couldn't have done it without you!!!

Here are some pictures from the event -

Here is a bunch of our Jr. Crew showing off their new Jr. Crew t-shirts!

.jr crew.

Information table -

.info table.

Shannon and Carrie working the 50/50 table -

.50/50 table.

Erin, recruiting future Christy's Crew members -

.recruiting.

Jamie, Christy, Jackie and her daughter enjoying the night -

.crew.

Now, we could get a lot for him in a 50/50 couldn't we?   

50/50?

Ruth and her friends -

.ruth and her friends.

Christy calling the 50/50 winner -

.calling the 50/50 winner.

Christy's daughter, Celia -

.celia.

Christy's son, CJ -

.cj.

.celebrating $21,000 raised!.


.celebrating $21,000 raised!., originally uploaded by {kristin W.}.  From left to right - Christy, Carrie, Jackie, Kristin, Ruth, Michelle, and Erin.

Last Sunday after training we celebrated $21,000 raised and crew member Karen Ballards birthday with this pink ribbon cake!  Happy Birthday Karen!! 

pink ribbon cake

February 22, 2008

UNOS COUPON


UNOS COUPON, originally uploaded by {kristin W.}.

Just a reminder that our UNO's fundraiser is this Tuesday, February 26th here at Uno's here in Victor.

We are VERY excited to announce that the Christy's Crew t-shirts are HERE and look great! Make sure you get to Uno's so you can get your shirt!

February 13, 2008

.I hope.


.I hope., originally uploaded by .kristin W..

Happy Valentines Day from Christy's Crew!

These hearts say so many different things now then they used to when I was a kid. This one, "I HOPE", I just loved.

"WE HOPE." Our hope is that all of the efforts of the members of Christy's Crew will help find a cure for breast cancer in 2008!!

February 12, 2008

$19,000.00!!!

With the help of so many people, Christy's Crew went over $19,000.00 in money raised today! 

THANK YOU!!!   We still need about $16,000.00 more, so keep the donations coming!