Thank You 2008 Team Shelby!

We had a fantastic walk on Saturday! 

It was a beautiful day in a beautiful setting with tremendous team support and enthusiasm.

We had some terrific first-time walkers with Team Shelby, and lots and lots of long-time friends. For those who couldn't be there with us in person, we've got photos of the walk posted up already for everyone to enjoy.

We hope to have our fund-raising totals within a few weeks, and some news about next year's walk soon.  If you still want to make an online donation, please do so using the links on this page.  

We plan for you to hear from us more often during the year, including a new online group to help you stay connected.

Thanks again to everyone from the bottom of our hearts!  None of this would be possible without the love and support you show us each and every day!

Simply Amazing

In the final days before the Walk to Cure Diabetes each year, an incredible sense of gratitude and humility rolls over us here at Team Shelby HQ (which, as I hope all of you know, is most often our computer desk in the laundry room).

The amazing generosity of complete strangers who 'get it' is overwhelming!  You all have some tremendous friends!

We got an envelope in the mail the other day from our good friend and Team Shelby member Mary Reiley.  She and her husband Dan are retired and live in Nevada just the other side of Lake Tahoe; Mary used to work with Scott at the West County Times.  Inside the envelope was a nice note expressing her regrets for not being able to come to the walk this year, and a pile of checks from family friends and more than a couple car club members, judging from the check designs.

Mary had organized them nicely with a roster of names, addresses and amounts with a total at the bottom.  Most of the checks were for $25 from people none of us her at the HQ knows. But the total was several hundred dollars all in support of the mission of the JDRF!

These people are Mary's friends (some of them might be her husband Dan's friends too).  They don't know us.  They don't know Shelby.  But they know Mary and that the work the JDRF is doing is important.  They also know they can afford a $25 gift. When a pile of mostly small donations like that - people just doing their little bit to help - shows up in the mail, it really makes you stop and think.  It's particularly interesting to see the kids' faces now that they are old enough to really understand what several hundred dollars means in terms of what's in their piggy banks!

Mary's is just the latest example.  There are hundreds of these types of stories and incidents we get to see.  It's an outward showing of just how many people are out there supporting this vital cause on behalf of Team Shelby.

There is no way of adequately saying 'Thank You' to all of you. Just know that every time you see the JDRF logo someplace, you are a part of that effort and really making a difference in the lives of real people, like Shelby.

Team Shelby Warm-Up Tour 2008 Hits Silicon Valley

JDRF bigwigs were on hand Sunday when the Team Shelby Warm-Up Tour blew into Sunnyvale's Bayside Park!  They were delighted Liz was on hand to provide the top quality warm-up the Napa walk veterans have come to know & love.

Liz made friends with Sharkie, the San Jose Sharks mascot!

Here are the pictures of the day taken by Alex and Scott.  (Shelby was chief photographer in San Francisco.)

We've even got a short video!

Next stop on the Tour: St. Supery Vineyards, Napa County.

See you there!

Liz Takes SF Walk by Storm!

The San Francisco JDRF Walk will never be the same!  Now that they know what a real warm-up is all about, they'll have no choice but to have Team Shelby's very own queen of Jazzercise Liz back next year!

Aside from being chilly (mid-50s on the water under fog), the SF Walk this morning was great! Liz got the crowd all pumped and ready for their trek around Crissy Field.  The emcee - who apparently tried to do the warm-up himself last year - said this year's warm-up was tons better.

The JDRF likes to incorporate the best from each walk to strengthen the other walks it does in the region.  Liz's warm-up was part of that this year!

Tomorrow, the Silicon Valley walk in Sunnyvale!

Enjoy the pictures!

10 Days & Counting!

The Shingles are just about beaten into submission!

The shirts are ordered!

Walk season is ready to start!

Liz was asked by the Greater Bay Area Chapter of the JDRF to do the warm-ups for nearly every walk the chapter puts on this year!  The first one is Saturday at Crissy Field in San Francisco.  Our very own Queen of Jazzercise spreading the love!

Great time for a last round of requests for your fund-raising.  We know financial times are really tough.  Remember to focus first on education about Type I Diabetes and Shelby, sharing why this is important to you, then offering an opportunity to support the effort.  Seriously, small donations from the heart are tremendously powerful!

See you in Napa on Oct. 25 (or maybe in SF Saturday!)

First the Economy......Now, Shingles!

The economy is in apparent free-fall.  Unless you were wise when buying your house, your mortgage may be in trouble.  The house next door might be vacant and bank-owned.  Hopefully, your job and insurance are secure and your health is intact!

While we here at the Team Shelby HQ are doing fine financially, an unexpected demon has visited us: The Shingles!

For those of you who don't know, the shingles are an adult form of the chicken pox virus that impacts the nervous system.  Aside from some pretty nasty looking sores, the key feature is a potpourri - or buffet, if you like - of every known variety of pain from the dull ache to the shooting & stabbing variety.

The shingles have put Liz nearly totally out of commission for almost two weeks now! She is slowly getting back to her college & Jazzercise schedule (she subbed out all her classes and cancelled juniors at the elementary school!  So you know this is bad, bad stuff!). 

But our Team Shelby organizing schedule was derailed there for a while during the critical month of September.  We are relying on each and every one of you more than ever to do what you can to sign up walkers & raise donations this year!

We love you guys and know you are there pulling for us with your support and prayers.  Use the online tools to reach your friends and family with requests for $20 donations - a little bit from lots of people adds up in a big, big hurry!