2009 SVGS Success!

Thank you so much to everyone who volunteered, walked, sponsored and supported the 2009 Snoqualmie Valley Great Strides! Saturday's walk was a huge success -- we had about 150 people coming from all over the state to participate. Mother Nature cooperated, giving us a crisp morning with NO RAIN! And despite the tough economic times, we raised $33,600 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation... and the money is still coming in!

I've posted photographs, courtesy of our official walk photography Keith Dolge, on facebook (you don't have to have a facebook account to look at them: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=115259&id=693156269&l=5c74873811

And MARK YOUR CALENDARS for next year's walk: September 25, 2010!

Volunteers, Ahoy!

If you've volunteered for the upcoming Snoqualmie Valley Great Strides Walk, we thank you enormously!

IT'S TIME TO MAKE GREAT STRIDES

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Centennial Park

Check-in begins: 10am / Walk begins: 11am

When you arrive:
1. Check-in at registration to receive your assignment
2. All volunteers will receive event t-shirts. (If you'd like to pick up your t-shirt ahead of time, contact Cathy at SnoValleyGreatStrides@gmail.com.)
3. After volunteering at your designated location and time, please stay to enjoy lunch and our afternoon activities!

Volunteer positions and check-in times:
Set-up, rose garden, route set: 8:30am arrival
Registration, greeters, t-shirts: 9:30am
Cone guards, halfway point, crossing guards: 10:00am
Lunch: 11:00am

DIRECTIONS:

From I-90 Eastbound:
Take exit 27 to Snoqualmie/North Bend, and turn left onto SE North Bend Way. Take another left on Meadowbrook Way SE (first left turn lane off of North Bend Way) followed by a right on SE Park Street . Centennial Park will be on your right past Snoqualmie Elementary School.

From I-90 Westbound:
Take the WA-202 West exit (#31) to North Bend/Snoqualmie. Turn right on Bendigo Blvd and continue north on WA-202. Follow WA-202 with a sharp left at West 4th Street. Take a right on Boalch Ave NW and follow this to SE Park Street. Centennial Park will be on your left-hand side.

Parking is available on-site.

Valley Dolls to Perform at SV Great Strides

Shannon McEldowney, Danielle Tomlinson and Ashley Whiteley of the Valley Dolls will be singing at the Snoqualmie Valley Great Strides following the walk. These talented local girls (ages 10-14) are all past winners of the Sno-Valley Idol, Jr. contest and perform a variety of jazz, country, pop and broadway favorites throughout the area.

Creative Ventures Raising Money for CF Research

Twelve-year-old Kaitie Gallagher, of Kaitie's Kingdom Great Strides Team, is making Ropes of Hope for sale at the SVGS walk for donations of $5 to the CF Foundation. These hand-made lanyards are purple (repesenting Cystic Fibrosis) and yellow (representing hope) and come in x-small, small, medium, large and x-large sizes to be used as bracelets, anklets, keychain decorations, hair ties, shoe laces... whatever you can dream up!

Printmaker Leslie Moon, also of Kaitie's Kingdom, has made original pins for sale at the walk for $5 donations to the CF Foundation.

Caching for a Cure with Compass Outdoor Adventures

I'm so excited to announce that Compass Outdoor Adventures will be hosting a Geocaching 101 event from 1-3 pm on Saturday, September 26th, following the Snoqualmie Valley Great Strides walk. Come spend a few hours learning the basics of geocaching, a family friendly adventure that you can have fun with anywhere in the world. Plan on smiles, fun and plenty of adventue! All donations will go towards the SVGS campaign to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Research.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

* Saturday, August 29th, 9 am - 3 pm -- Kaitie's Kingdom Great Strides Team Rummage Sale at the Gallagher's home, 39151 SE Delta St. in Snoqualmie ***POSTPONED***

* Thursday, Sept. 3rd, 6:30 pm -- Planning Meeting at the Snoqualmie Library meeting room

* Thursday, Sept. 17th, 6:30 pm -- Final Logistics Meeting at Centennial Park in Snoqualmie

Make a Difference in Just 15 Minutes

"Making a difference" can sound like an overwhelming task in today's hectic world -- but you can make a huge difference in the life of a person living with Cystic Fibrosis by taking just 15 mintues out of your day.

1.) For Kaitie's Kingdom, go to http://www.cff.org/great_strides/CathyGallagher/ to see our fundraising letter (or click on the name of the team you support in the right-hand column).

2.) Copy and paste the letter (don't forget the picture) into the body of an email with a quick note -- something like, "Please help me make a difference by donating $20 through the link in the following letter from my friend/coworker/neighbor/relative who's daughter, Kaitie, has Cystic Fibrosis."

3.) Send the email to everyone in your personal, work, clubs, etc. contact lists.

If you send out the email to 10 people and they each donate $20, that's $200 -- send it to 50 people and it could mean $1,000! Every dollar counts and you never know which dollar it will be that funds the cure!

Sponsorship Deadlines

The deadlines for business sponsorships to have their logo included on t-shirts and/or kilometer markers is coming up on September 2nd.

A donation of $500 or more earns a spot on the back of the walker t-shirts -- on-going advertising for your business on the backs of hundreds of walkers!

A donation of $300 or more can be used to have a kilometer marker sign featuring a special message, along with your business name, posted along the walk route -- and since our walk follows a busy hiking trail, it will be seen not only by the walkers but anyone who is on the trail that day.

Contact Alison at the CF Foundation for more sponsorship opportunities!

Walk Route Along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail

2009 SVGS Underway!

Join us for the

2009 Snoqualmie Valley Great Strides

to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Saturday, September 26th at 11 am (check-in at 10)

Centennial Park in Snoqualmie

GREAT STRIDES is the CF Foundation's largest and fastest growing event, involving more than 95 Foundation chapters and branch offices nationwide. In 2008, GREAT STRIDES brought in more than $37 million dollars for CF research and the patient-care programs that are bringing us closer to a cure.

This community event is centered around a local walk. In addition to the walk, the event includes food, entertainment and activities for the entire community. It provides the perfect occasion for families, local businesses, community organizations, school and clubs to gather as a community and make a valuable contribution by raising funds for a cure for cystic fibrosis.

This year, we are hosting the fourth annual GREAT STRIDES event in the Snoqualmie Valley area. We are gathering the communities of Snoqualmie, North Bend, Fall City, Carnation, Duvall, Issaquah, Redmond and Cle Elum to participate in this fun and worthwhile event. Participants will enjoy a scenic Autumn stroll along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail while raising important funds for life-saving research.

Since 1955, the mission of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to assure the development of the means to cure and control cystic fibrosis (CF) and to improve the quality of life for those with the disease. The CF Foundation tirelessly pursues its mission by supporting scientific research, which is dedicated to the discovery and development of new therapies. At the same time, it funds and accredits a network of specialized treatment centers that provide state-of-the-art care for people with CF. By applying the same principles that a "for-profit company" follows - efficiency, innovation, and a results-driven approach - the CF Foundation is making a profound difference in the lives of those with CF.

Although the outlook for a child born with CF today has improved tremendously over the years, it is not good enough. Your partnership with the CF Foundation is critical to ensuring that the momentum in CF research continues. Working together, we can add tomorrows everyday to the lives of all people with CF.