Greetings,

Many of you know that last year I decided to commit myself to my family and stay home. What a wonderful experience this has been. I love devoting my every last minute to my family, and in doing so, I’ve realized with each day, I don’t want to miss out on a single moment. What many of you do NOT know is another big commitment I’ve made:

The days of August 2-4th, 2002, I’ll join about 3500 others in an awesome event in the fight against breast cancer. It’s called the Avon Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. Basically we’ll walk from Boulder to Denver (approximately 60 miles) over three days to raise money to support medical research and awareness of breast cancer.

The second part of this challenge is to raise funds. In order to participate, one must commit to raising $1,900 by July 5th. I hope you will join me in this fundraising effort. Would you please consider making a fully tax-deductible pledge to help me meet my goal? Please keep in mind how far I’m walking, how hard I will train between now and July, and how much money I hope to raise for this cause.

To make a donation online, go to www.bethepeople.com and use my participant number 9141. Or email me at patscustomtrikes@msn.com and I will mail you a donation form. My training program has now started in earnest. By the end of July I have to be ready and able to walk 20 miles a day for three days in a row! Now that’s a challenge!
Ask another friend or family member to contribute to this very important cause and send their contribution along with yours.

1,000,000 women in America are living with undetected breast cancer. This year a new case will be diagnosed every 3 minutes. Every 13 minutes, the disease will claim another life. 1 out of every 9 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. The five year survival rate for patients treated for early stage breast cancer is 96%. Breast cancer incidence increases with age, rising sharply after age 40. Over 2,000,000 survivors are alive in America today.

Breast Cancer touched my family over 19 years ago. Nineteen years later my mother is a Survivor, and my family is lucky, this is not always the case. This is BIG, and I am walking 60 miles with the hope that one day very soon, there will be a cure and our daughters won’t face this disease the way our sisters, mothers and friends have.

I hope you can find it in your heart to give towards a good cause. I will be thinking of each of you as I walk for twenty miles a day for three days in August.

The word “impossible” only looks scary because you’re looking at it the wrong way:

I’mPossible

Sincerely,

Misha Smithwick