The following is an essay written by a young lady and her friend who came from Trumbull, Connecticut to join in with the ALS patients on the last day of Ride 2002. It shows her commitment and dedication. They are remarkable young people.
My name is Susan and I am a 16 (almost) year old Junior at Trumbull HS. My mom saw a special on TV about ALS and the Heywood brothers. It got our family interested in the disease. Then, we heard about the Ride for Life. We had only two weeks before the Ride, but we knew it was for us. I asked my Friend Lynette to help too.
I had the opportunity to participate in a once in a lifetime event. With people gathering together, we were able to raise a lot of money to help people with this disease. First, we painted clay pots and planted violas in them. This was our symbol of hope for finding a cure. Since violas come back a year later in greater quantity, we hoped it would help us spread the message about ALS the same way. We sold them for a dollar each. Next, we met with a local reporter who wrote a story about the Ride for Life and featured the tag sale which was our next plan. We gathered lots of things from our bedrooms and asked our moms to find more. We put up signs all along the road near my house. We didn't put prices on anything. We just asked people to make a donation. We raised $700 from the tag sale. We also asked a few people to sponsor us in the Ride. We had information on ALS at the tag sale, too, so that people could learn how important it is to get involved. Altogether my friend and I raised $1,000.
Obviously, I will not attract the whole world with this story, but maybe there will be one young person who reads it. Maybe they will be touched and will decide to help find a cure for A.L.S., too. When we try to do something alone, sometimes the burden is too heavy to carry. But when we work together, sometimes we can do more than we ever imagined.
I challenge everyone who is 25 years old or younger who reads this to raise more money and get more people involved for the upcoming 2003 Ride for Life!
Please e-mail me at my mom's email diannpeterson@earthlink.net and let me hear your ideas.
Susan