Struggles, Setbacks & Triumphs

Well, it sure has been a while since my last blog post about planning Free to Breathe Chelmsford. Almost three months, to be exact.

I have been buried in piles of things to do and get done before we all hit the pavement for Free to Breathe Chelmsford on September 30. As my to-do-list continued to grow, I also hit more than my share of struggles and setbacks when trying to acquire and confirm sponsors.  

But by far the hardest struggle I had to overcome came on July 21, 2012. On that day, my mom, my inspiration for putting this event together, passed away after a long and courageous battle with lung cancer. For obvious reasons, planning Free to Breathe Chelmsford took the back burner for a few weeks as my family and I struggled to cope with this.

Many people have commented to me how surprised they are that I am continuing to plan the event. My response? How could I just stop? This event has been an incredible way to help me cope. I met an amazing group of people from across the country in Madison, Wisconsin at the Free to Breathe Forum, who were all so inspiring and encouraging, and many of them have been through what I am going through now. By planning this event not only am I helping others, I am helping myself as well. This event means so much to me, and I know it means so much to many others as well, who are all there for similar reasons. We have all been affected in some way by lung cancer, and we all want to do something about it. We all want to raise money to put an end to this horrible disease.

However, despite all of the setbacks I’ve come across in the last few weeks and months, I am proud to say that Free to Breathe Chelmsford is shaping up to be a GREAT event! So far we have more registered participants than we had at this time last year and our donations are way up from this time last year as well. It is such a great and rewarding feeling to see the event continue to grow! We have also decided to add a silent auction this year, and we have some great items so far! Some of the items people will be able to bid on at the event include:  

• 2 roundtrip Southwest Airline tickets
• A 2 night overnight stay at the Boston Copley Marriott Hotel
• Dinner for 2 onboard any Spirit of Boston Cruise
• A Stampin’ Up! basket valued at $300
• A $100 gift voucher to Canvas On Demand
• An autographed baseball from Boston Red Sox player Clay Buchholz
• An autographed football from New England Patriots player Wes Welker
• Various gift certificates and admission passes to many local area attractions and restaurants!

I hope you will all consider joining us on September 30 at the Harrington Elementary School for the 3^rd Annual Free to Breathe Chelmsford 5K. This event it so crucial in helping us raise much needed funds for the National Lung Cancer Partnership’s research, awareness and education programs. Lung cancer claims more lives each year than breast, prostate and colon cancers combined yet doesn’t receive nearly as much funding and awareness. Please join us in the fight against lung cancer to help change what a diagnosis of lung cancer means for a patient and to give hope to those fighting and their families. Together we can make a difference!

To get more information about our event, sign up or donate please visit: www.freetobreathe.org/chelmsford.