Hike for Discovery introduction

This is the first of many posts I wish to share with you regarding my upcoming Hike in the Grand Canyon.

Right now I am busy training for a spring hike in the Grand Canyon. Over the next few months, through rain or shine, I’ll be hiking many, many miles – and steep miles at that – to prepare for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Hike for Discovery,” a Grand Canyon adventure set for June 3, 2006.

Hike for Discovery is a nonprofit adventure fundraising program that benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I’ve set my sights higher than just training to hike into the canyon. I also aim to raise at least $5,000 to help find a cure for blood cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and Hodgkin’s disease.

The money I raise will pay for support groups, educational programs and financial planning for afflicted families. It will also fund grants for local researchers at the University of Michigan and Children’s Hospital of Michigan whom are working toward better treatments and a cure. Their efforts are critical, because blood cancers kill more children in the Untied States than any other cancer and strike even more adults. An estimated 110,960 new cases of blood cancers will be diagnosed nationwide this year alone; some 55,100 patients will die.

I am not only looking to raise funds, I am participating in honor of a leukemia patient. Her name is Jan Fallat and is the wife of my doctor as well as a fellow parishioner at my church. Her story is very moving in that during her remission of breast cancer she was diagnosed with leukemia. As she progresses in her disease the need for a bone marrow transplant is her only hope to survival. By hiking in her honor and raising funds I hope to make a difference for her as well as other current and future leukemia patients.

Though I can do training, I need your help to reach me fundraising goal. Every dollar you donate is tax deductible, and at least 75 cents of it goes directly toward research and patient services in Michigan.

Please go to the following Web page – www.active.com/donate/hfdmi/hfdSRedding – and you can make a credit card donation. If you could donate $40 that would be great, however any amount you are able to donate is welcome. Please feel free to share with your friends, family or colleagues. Thank you in advance for your support. The patients, families and I appreciate your efforts in helping to find a cure for blood cancers.

Please check back often to this site and I will start posting pictures, thoughts and updates on my training.