Love Lives On

A few weeks ago at our Team in Training practice, each of the runners was given the opportunity to write the name of the person that they run in memory/honor of.  I wrote down Tyler's name because my love for him is what inspired me to first start fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

On the anniversary of our wedding (February 24, 2007), I am proud to be able to say that with your generous support I have raised over $31,000 to fight cancer.  Together, we can make a difference in the battle for lives. I can also share that Tyler has helped to inspire several others to raise funds through Light the Night, Team in Training, or the Big Climb, so his life continues to provide inspiration to the people that hear his story.

I was blessed to find a husband who taught me how to love and how to fight for what I believe in.  While our time together was far shorter than I would have wished, I would not trade that time for anything.  May you be as blessed in your lives.

For more information about my latest efforts with Team in Training, or to make a donation to fight cancer, please visit my fundraising site at http://bledsoebattle.com.  My battle isn't over until I see that leukemia isn't affecting the lives of the people around me.  Thanks for your help!

Gratitude from the Bledsoe Battle

As I reflect on the things I am grateful for, I realized that I wanted to thank you to each of you for your participation in this year’s Light the Night walk.  Team Firefly was again the top Friends and Family team for the Seattle walk.  This is the 4^th year in a row that we have claimed that honor and I thank each and every one of you for your help in raising over $22,000 to fight blood cancers.

We were the 2^nd place team overall, chasing the incredibly impressive Seattle Genetics team who raised over $49,000 with 157 team members.  As I talked to their team at the awards ceremony, each of them was incredibly impressed with all that our team has been able to do without the backing of any corporate sponsor. 

Did you know?  When LLS was founded in 1949, a blood cancer diagnosis was almost always fatal.  Thanks in part to innovative research funded by LLS, survival rates have improved dramatically. Today, an estimated 274,930 people are living with or are in remission from leukemia. 

FUNDRAISING CLUBS:

This is the first year that we have had 6 team members joining the Bright Lights club.  Do you think we can break that record again next year??

TEAM FIREFLY BRIGHT LIGHTS (Raised over $1000)

•    Christine Watson - $1691.46 
•    Carrie Numata - $1472.46
•    Ken Mock - $1121.46
•    Andrea Coughlin - $1079.51
•    Becky McLellan - $1053.71 

 

TEAM FIREFLY CHAMPIONS – THE 100 CLUB!

• Vivian Oehler - $936.71
• Ceci Rozendaal - $806.46
• Celeste McArthur - $521.46
• Bonnie Rydman - $506.46
• Carol Bonenko - $491.46
• Scott Bledsoe - $453.71
• Paul Giering - $426.46
• Thelma Westberg - $371.46
• Mackenzie Martin - $366.46
• Debbie Carroll - $252.46
• Erin Aten - $205.46
• Hans Loland - $203.71
• LeAnn Miller - $201.60
• Zea Carter - $123.71
• Dorothy Gorman - $106.46
• Benjamin Bonenko - $103.90 
• Aleksandra Bonenko - $103.71
• David Bonenko - $103.71 
• Jacque Bonenko - $103.71
• Laura Mitchell - $103.71
• Steve Mitchell - $103.71
• Jennifer Hugill - $103.71
• Libby Dermenstein - $103.71
• Bethanie Roddy – $103.71
• Amy Donlan - $103.71 
• Cynthia Loland - $103.71 
• Michele Bleser - $103.71
• Dave Carroll - $101.60
• Lauren Schepman - $100
• Lynn Roediger - $100

Thank you for all that you have done to help fight cancer.  I’m deeply touched by the fact that family and friends continue to join me each September in my current version of the Bledsoe Battle – my efforts to fund a cure for blood cancers.

Registration for next year’s walk begins in February.  I hope that you will consider joining Team Firefly again.  Invite your friends and neighbors and coworkers to join us in fundraising.  Let’s give those corporate teams a run for their (research) money again next year!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart,

Mandy Bledsoe

http://bledsoebattle.com

Light the Night

We have only two weeks until this week's Light the Night walk and I'm excited to see friends and family there!  Team Firefly is currently in second place in the team fundraising, so we need to have a good push this week to catch up with Seattle Genetics.  I'd hate to have another team win the Tyler Bledsoe Memorial Award for the top fundraising team... :)

If you are coming to walk with us, you can register for Team Firefly (please note that a second team with a similar name signed up for the Seattle walk, so you will want to be careful to join the correct team).  The top team as of Wednesday 9/26 will be announced at the walk.  The top 10 teams at that time will be awarded a tent on the night of the walk and get to skip the check in lines, etc.  You can mail your donations in to the LLS office, or drop it off at their upcoming bank nights, or deposit it online at your website.

In the meantime, I have been keeping busy watching our online fundraising auction.  If you haven't checked out the wonderful items available for bidding, please visit the auction at http://www.facebook.com/events/266809260097392/ or our auction photo album at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.117076831774654&type=1.  I'm shocked to see that a guitar signed by Blake Shelton is only at $100...  Isn't a guitar alone worth at least that much?  You can also help us out by forwarding these links on to your other friends.

See you on walk night!

Shop for a Cause

It's time to shop; but this time, shop for a cause.

I am happy to tell you that Macy's is partnering with LLS by offering 25% off for shoppers with the $5.00 purchase of a Macy's shopping pass for Saturday, August 25, 2012.

Anyone with a $5.00 Macy's pass can shop at any Macy's and get 25% off all purchases including regular, sale and clearance items (10% off electronics, watches, furniture and mattresses).

Not a bad way to shop especially with back to school coming up!

100% of the shopping pass proceeds will help fund lifesaving cancer research plus you get a chance to win a $500 Macy's Gift Card!

I might suggest not waiting until the last minute. Go online now and purchase a $5.00 pass ($5.00 is the minimum donation but feel free to donate more)! The passes can only be used in-store and not online.

It's programs like this, people like you and the generosity of companies like Macy's that enable LLS to be able to fund the cancer research that saves lives every day.

You can purchase your passes here.

Happy Shopping!

Meeting Goals

What a great weekend for my Team in Training adventure!  I met my fundraising minimum for Team in Training (so I get to focus on running for the final month) and I set a new distance record for myself in the same amount of time as it took me to run the half marathon.  I'm feeling good about being able to run an additional mile in the same amount of time.  I'm up to 14.1 miles in the bank.

This week is a "rest week" so I only have to run for 2 hours in my long run and I get to skip my Wednesday run.  It's amazing what things make you excited when you are training for a marathon.  I "only" have to run for 2 hours.  How many of you think that sounds like an easy day?  This marathon thing seems to mess with my brain.  Maybe that is why so many of my teammates are addicted enough to be competing in their 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or higher marathons.  After we finished last week's run, several of them laughed when I told them that I plan to retire from marathons after I finish the Madrid marathon next month.  They are convinced that I'll be back for more.

Thanks to the fundraising events over the last week (and a great pin I got from my participation on the Light the Night board), I have had the opportunity to share my personal mission (fundraising for a cure to blood cancers) with many people over the last week and have been richly rewarded by peoples' generosity.

Now I am able to focus on getting better at running and learning about Spain. At least for the next month...

TNT Auction

Just a few days left on our Team in Training auction...  If you haven't checked out the great stuff for sale yet, you can visit https://www.facebook.com/events/280572435294096/ to bid on bottles of wine, personal trainers, stamp sets, video games, gift cards, an iPod, a T-mobile cell phone, and MORE!

Whatever you bid will be a donation to the Team in Training participant that posted the item you bid on, so you get great stuff at a great price and you help us fight cancer at the same time!

Thanks so much to the supporters who have already gone out to bid -- we appreciate all of your help!

My Longest Run

I am continuing my training and am amazed by the fact that I still go out and run each week.  I don't really like running (and still haven't hit that fabled "runner's high") but I went out again for a long run today and covered 8.3 miles.  I think this might have been my longest run ever.  As a high schooler, I ran a 12K and decided that the experience was far too painful to repeat!

But, as I have discovered over the last few months, everything becomes easier when you have a powerful cause and friends to help you along the way.  Most weeks, I join other Team in Training participants that are training for either the Madrid marathon on April 22nd or the Vancouver marathon on May 6th for our long run.  About 25-30 of us meet at 8am every Saturday morning at locations all around the city and go on increasingly longer runs.  I think that is my favorite part of participating in the Team in Training program.  Every Saturday morning, I have coaches and mentors to help me get better at running and stay inspired.

I truly appreciate all of the support that I have received so far -- both personal and financial support!  With a generous donation this weekend, I just hit the 50% mark in my fundraising.  Together we are funding the kinds of research that will help eradicate cancer deaths.  In fact, I was moved by a statement made by a relative who was offering a donation to my run.  She said that one of the reasons that she was contributing was because cancer and deaths from cancer seems like something we should be able to prevent.  I completely agreed with her!  Thanks for helping me support that dream.

Putting one foot in front of the other...

Mandy
To Make a Donation:  http://bledsoebattle.com

Why I Run

When people ask why I am running away to Madrid, I have to share my story about the Bledsoe Battle and the amazing man that I shared the battle with. While I couldn't fight the cancer myself, I can certainly do something to make a difference.

--> I'm running 26.2 miles to honor my husband and the courageous battle he fought against leukemia. When it gets hard and my body hurts, I will remember watching Tyler decide to fight each and every day.

--> I'm training up to 5 days a week to inspire others to help fight cancer with me. The dollars we raise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society are used to aid patients in their battle and to fund promising new research for blood cancers. I pray that each new discovery helps keep another patient from suffering and helps somebody reach remission.

--> I'm punishing my body with 5-6 hours of running in April in hopes that new research helps some other wife to keep her husband for a long and happy life. No one should lose a loved one to cancer and a happy marriage should get to last longer than 4 years.

--> I'm pushing myself further than I ever thought I could run because I have discovered that each of us has a wellspring of strength inside us. If my strength can be a weapon to help protect my loved ones, both those lost and those that are currently fighting, I will use it in any way I can.

--> I will ask each and every person I know if they will help me in this battle. I can do the run, but I need your help to raise the money to fight against blood cancers. Will you donate? Will you share this message with everyone you know to help me remember Tyler in the best way I can?

To donate, please visit http://bledsoebattle.com
To read the story of our battle, please visit http://bledsoebattle.blogspot.com

Thank you for joining me in this battle!

In loving memory of Tyler Bledsoe...

Upcoming Fundraising Swap -- Everyone is invited!

I'm hosting my next Fundraising Swap on January 14th and wanted to invite you to join me!  If you've never been to a Swap, here is how it goes:

1) You bring a minimum donation of $15 payable to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or pay online in advance at http://bledsoebattle.com

2) Bring a bag (or two, or three) of all the media items that you don't know what to do with.  Please bring your items in good condition to share. Suggested items are: books, magazines, CD's, DVD's tapes, video games, records, computer games, etc.

3) We set out our goodies for everyone to shop through... one person's trash is another one's treasure. Take what you want, leave what you don't.

4) Show off your great bargains!  A $15 donation is a great deal for all of the great new items I have collected at previous swaps.

All of the proceeds are going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Any items unclaimed at the end of the swap will be consigned to raise money for LLS or donated.

If you can not attend but still want to help, please feel free to make a donation of any media items or cash!  If you are able to attend, contact me for the rest of the details!  I hope to see you there.

Huskies or Cougars?

I was invited to participate in a Team in Training (TNT) fundraiser over the long weekend and decided that it would be a great way to kick off my newest round of fundraising.  Now that I have reached my goal of raising $10,000 for the 2011 Light the Night walk, I have turned my attention to the work needed to get to the Madrid Marathon.

While my running practice is important (and I just started my 3rd week of regular training), Team in Training sets goals for us to make certain that the costs to send us to our event is never more than 25% of the amount I earn for LLS.  When I was invited to sell beads at the Apple Cup pregame, I decided to join in with 6 other ladies from this season's marathon group and sell my little heart out.

When all was said and done, we had raised almost $2500 from the generous Cougar and Husky fans in downtown Seattle.  Apparently, they could all agree that fighting cancer was a good cause (even if they couldn't agree on which team deserved to win more that day).

Each of us earned $325 for our races in one afternoon.  Thanks to the many supporters who helped us hit such a lofty amount and to the survivors I met during the day who reminded me of why I decided to keep fighting against cancers.

If you want to donate to my marathon fundraising, you can find my marathon page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/madrid12/abledsomp0

Also, keep your eyes out for announcements of upcoming fundraisers.  I have a couple of swaps planned for January and February and would love to have both donations and shoppers!

Light the Night Awards ceremony

I was invited to a lovely evening at Theo Chocolates for the 2011 Light the Night awards ceremony.  Several members of Tyler's family were able to join me there, enjoying appetizers and wine and delicious chocolate.

After mingling for a while, they finally announced the individual and team totals for the year.  They started at the 10th place team and worked their way up to the top team for the year.

Drum roll please...

We won the first Tyler Bledsoe Memorial Award and will have our name forever engraved on a plaque honoring him.

 

Team Firefly had some amazing fundraising this year! We had double the next highest team with over $26,000 raised to fight cancer.   Thank you so much to everyone on the team that helped us capture this honor.  Despite the fact that Tyler wasn't there in person this year, I truly believe that a legacy has been created to honor him.

Way to go, from everyone who walked and helped with fundraising to the many donors that helped us get here! I certainly couldn't have done this on my own and I am so very thankful to everyone who helped me along the way.

Thank you all!!!

 

8GB iPod push

I'm ALMOST at my personal goal for the 2011 Light the Night walk, so I decided to see if I can get there with a little mini auction.  I was going to put an 8GB iPod Touch up for auction on eBay, but figured I should toss it out to my friends first.  Is anyone looking to purchase an iPod before the upcoming holidays?  This one is brand new and still in the unopened plastic case.  The SKU at Best Buy is 9225377 if you want to look it up.  It retails for $199.99 right now, but I will be donating the money from this sale to the LLS to try to hit my goal of $10,000 by the end of the month.

If you are interested, contact me.  I will consider all offers received between now and October 29th.

Also, purchases made at Amazon.com using the link to the left help us to raise money for the Bledsoe Battle as well.

Thanks for your continued support!



iPod details:
-----------------------------------
The most popular Apple iPod is now even better. Along with the revolutionary Multi-Touch interface and Wi-Fi Web browsing, the 8GB iPod touch now includes HD video recording, FaceTime camera and the highest resolution iPod screen ever. Plus, the new 8GB iPod touch Game Center enhances your game play. The 8GB iPod touch has a lithium-ion battery that lasts up to 40 hours with up to 7 hours of video playback. Store over 1,750 songs with your 8GB iPod touch and up to 10,000 digital photos or ten hours of video. The 8GB iPod touch also allows you to watch your favorite movies over and over again. Take your 8GB iPod touch to the gym or to the park. You'll never leave home without it.

Current 3rd- and 4th-generation iPod touch owners can receive a free software update to iOS 5 available through iTunes beginning October 12, 2011.

Product Features

• 8GB* internal flash memory stores up to 1,750 songs, up to 10,000 digital photos (iPod viewable photos transferred from iTunes), or up to 10 hours of video
• Multi-Touch interface, 3.5" widescreen display
• Built-in Wi-Fi lets you surf the Web, send e-mail, update your Facebook status, chat using AIM, and so much more (internet connection required)
• HD video recording
• Retina display - 4x pixels, 326 ppi, 24-bit color, LED

• Apple, the Apple logo and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPod is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
• *Formatted capacity may vary. Results will vary based on file size and format, settings, features, software and other factors.

2 Weeks to the Light the Night walk!

It is hard to believe that we are less than 2 weeks away from this year's Light the Night walk.  As of this morning we had 71 team members on Team Firefly, which is SO exciting!  If you haven't gotten signed up yet, you can join the team at http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL11/mbledsoe_LTN and click on "Walk with Us" at the top of the screen.

Our team has already raised over $12,000 which is fast approaching our total for last year ($16,602).  If we can stay in the top position, we will be the first team to earn the Tyler Bledsoe award for the top fundraising team.  I wonder if we can break last year's barrier before walk night...?

To meet my own fundraising goals, I am hosting another clothing swap on October 2nd at 2:00pm.  This one will feature women's clothing and accessories.  If you would like to join us at the swap, just let me know.  I'll make sure you get all of the details!  Other ways to participate (if you can't join us for the fun):
- Donate your own clothing and accessories
- Make a Yummy Dessert to share
- Invite your Friends to join us
- Donate to our team at http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL11/mbledsoe_LTN

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the Light the Night walk on Saturday, September 24th.  The remembrance ceremony will start at 5pm, so I plan to be there by then to honor Tyler's memory.  Will you join me?

Another Fundraising Swap - Next Sunday!

Next Sunday (August 28th) I am hosting another one of my fundraising swaps!  Anyone who wants to join in is welcome to attend, just contact me for complete details.  This one is swapping out kid's clothing and toys, with the hopes of helping each of you finish out your back to school shopping.

If you can't attend, but want to donate outgrown clothes or toys, I would be happy to connect with you during this next week to take any boxes or bags of stuff.

If you can't attend, but want to support the cause by making a monetary donation, please go to http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL11/mbledsoe_LTN to contribute.  I am almost halfway to my goal of raising $10,000 this year to fight cancer and appreciate the generosity of friends and family (and a few strangers) who are helping me to meet the goal.

Light the Night Kick Off Cruise

Because Tyler is one of the honored patients this year, I was invited to share our story at the Light the Night kickoff cruise on Saturday, July 23rd.  It has been special to share our story with others who may not know the path we have taken, and hopefully my words have had an impact on someone and Tyler's spirit will continue to live on.

The cruise was scheduled for a day that turned out to be one of the most beautiful of the year!  We sailed around the Puget Sound on one of the Argosy ships.  I was joined by some other Team Firefly members who wanted to join in the fun and we all enjoyed the trip.

Our team was honored as the top fundraising team so far this year.  We've raised over $5000!  They actually read off the names of all of the Seattle area participants that have already raised over $100 and I was so thrilled to hear that 9 of our 45 team members have already become Champions for the Cure this year!  In fact, at dinner tonight, one of my friends said that she couldn't believe how easy it was to hit the $100 mark. She donated a little bit herself and then sent out one e-mail to a few friends.

Congratulations to our $100 Plus club members:
- Glenna and Jeff Stone: $377.98
- Charlotte Frank: $287.98
- Bonnie Rydman: $202.98
- Kirstine Whisler: $202.98
- Cabryn Taylor: $102.98
- Ceci Rozendaal: $102.98
- Pam Smith-Graham: $102.98
- Celeste McArthur: $102.98
- Kari Laib: $102.98
 
Thanks so much to each of you that have joined the team and started your fundraising!  I look forward to seeing as many people as I can at this year's walk.

Giving Back

Earlier this spring, I was invited to participate in the Light the Night Executive Committee for the Seattle walk.  I was very honored to be invited to join with the LLS team in making this year's walk the best yet!

To kick off the 2011 Light the Night season, I was asked to speak at a Light the Night breakfast that they sponsored last Thursday.  I shared a little bit about our story and the battle that Tyler fought, along with why I am passionate about walking again this year.  LLS uses the money we raise to fund the best and brightest researchers in the world to FIND A CURE TO CANCER, so this year I am walking in the hopes that I can save someone else from losing their husband to a blood cancer. 

If you haven't had the opportunity to join us at a Light the Night walk, I hope you will think about it this year.  The walk is a truly beautiful and uplifting event.  You see both survivors and supporters joining together to fight cancer and honor the battles that are being fought every day.  People of all ages have made it around Greenlake with us.  In fact, last year we had team members aged 1 - 91!

Mark your calendars now for September 24th!  Tyler's is one of this year's honored patients, so it will be an extra special walk for everyone on our team.  If we are one of the top fundraising teams again this year, we will have an even bigger tent for our team and other extra perks!

In addition, I have some exciting news to share that will make you want to help me in making Team Firefly the #1 team for the second year in a row.  I've got plenty of ideas for how to raise money through donations and events, and just need a few good people to help carry out the ideas!  Stay tuned for my exciting news in a future post...

To join our team, you can go to http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL11/mbledsoe_LTN and click on "Walk with Us" at the top of the page.  We had 29 team members at last count, so I am hoping that we get a few more friends and family members to join us.

Feeling Crafty?

Next Sunday is the next in my series of fundraising swaps.  We will be raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society while trading around crafting supplies.  The swaps are fun and a great way to either clean out your house or pick up some great new supplies.  If you would like to participate, just contact me for complete details. 

Any craft supplies can be donated this week and anyone that wants to shop for new craft supplies can stop by next Sunday to see what is available.

See you then!

Swapped Out!

The home decor swap on Sunday was wonderful! There were many people that were excited about the opportunity to clean out their house, as well as find some great new treasures. I think that a few of the first timers were amazed at how quickly the stuff disappeared into "taken" piles. I got a great shelving unit and some holiday decorations, but I was trying really hard not to shop!

We also raised a couple hundred dollars for the leukemia and lymphoma Society and Team Firefly, so thanks to everyone who helped with that effort as well.

Our next swap is for craft items (on June 12th). It will be a great opportunity to clean out unused crafting supplies or find new items or a new hobby. If you would like to join us at the craft swap, please let me know.

Swap for a Cause

I'm going to continue my Swap for a Cause theme this year and wanted to encourage each of you to join in.  I'll be hosting 4 swaps, with the proceeds going to the Light the Night walk.  Mark your calendar and start gathering stuff for each of the dates below:

• May 1st: Home Decor (artwork, kitchen gadgets, table linens, candles, etc)
• June 12th: Crafts (supplies for scrapbooking, jewelry making, stamping, knitting, quilting, etc)
• August 21st: Kids clothing (bring any clothing that your kids have outgrown and look for new things in the next larger size)
• October 2nd: Women's clothing and accessories (clothing, jewelry, gloves, hats, lotions, etc)

The more people that we can get participating, the better the selections will be, so use your spring cleaning time to set aside items that you can donate to the swaps above! 

If the dates above don't work for you, but you think that you and your friends might enjoy a fundraising swap like this, contact me.  I might be able to assist you in hosting the same swap on another day.

Also, I would love to find a BIGGER venue to host the swaps, so I would love to hear from you if you know of a warehouse or restaurant or community center that might be willing to host one of our swaps.

Thanks to all who supported the swaps last year.

Stairway to Heaven

This Sunday, I will be participating in the Big Climb at the Columbia Tower.  This is another one of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's great fundraising events and involves 6000 people climbing 69 flights of stairs in one of Seattle's tallest buildings.  It's the first time that I have participated in this particular event, so I am a little bit nervous about how much my legs will hurt after climbing 1,311 stairs.  They say that the top racers can finish in as little as 8 minutes, but I am pretty sure I will be way, way after that mark!

I'll start climbing around 12:45, so please send me a little virtual strength around that time if you can!