So, we had a great time on Sunday at the Pittsburgh Food Allergy Walk! I was honored to receive a certificate for being a top individual fundraiser, and glad I could help. I was also asked to perhaps take part in getting the word out next year, and maybe be in on some of the planning. My online chatter was picked up by this year’s volunteer chair Uwe Winzen, as well as the founder of EpiMoms (I’m a terrible person, I forgot her name already). How cool is that?
(I say next year, we get the 501st Legion out there! – Looks like they appeared at some other cities’ food allergy walks!)
As of right now, the site states that we raised $39,333.05 toward the $50k goal. I head a number in the $40 range on Sunday, but perhaps they’re still tallying cash & check donations made the day of the walk. With online & offline donations, I raised $560.55 and Bethany raised $106.85… so we raised a total of $667.40. We quite literally could not have done it without the support of our friends & family.
I did notice that I was in the minority… all the walkers received a ribbon: Blue for people with food allergies, green for friends & family supporters. I didn’t see too many people my age or older with blue ribbons. It seemed to be a core of families who had small children & young teens with food allergies.
It was fun to finally meet & see a performance from Kyle Dine after talking via Twitter & Facebook. After all, we do represent the #FoodAllergyDudeArmy. Kyle does great work educating kids on what to do regarding not taking food from just anyone, getting an adult to read labels, and speaking out right away about reactions… as well as letting them know they’re not alone. I also got to personally thank local celebrity Sally Wiggin for her generous donation! She called me a sweetheart. ❤
I have some photos up on Facebook, and hope to send them to FAAN so they can be placed in their Flickr photostream. Hopefully others will comment on the day’s events at the Pittsburgh Food Allergy Walk Facebook Page.
Got a nice little video thank-you from FAAN too:
One of the coolest things I took away from the day was talking to Chef Regis Holden from Eat ‘n Park about their food allergy policies & procedures. He told us how he worked with Bill Moore, their Director of Safety and Security, to develop practices from marking the order, to looking up all of the ingredients with possible cross-contaminants, to this awesome little purple kit with a sterile sanitary contaminant-free cutting board, knife, tongs, and other tools. Chef Holden also spoke of yearly allergen training video refreshers, and of how he had just recently heard good things about the Eat ‘n Park on Banksville Road which is nearby. I may just have to go see for myself, and blog about their process and my adventure!
Thanks again to everyone who gave us donations, and to the walk organizers. I think we did some good work for FAAN!
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- Still taking donations for the Food Allergy Walk (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- Thanks to everyone who donated for the Food Allergy Walk! (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- Crazy weekend. (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- Food Allergy Walk Pittsburgh – Sept. 18th, 2011! (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- Sponsor me for FAAN’s Pittsburgh Food Allergy Walk 2011? (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- Celebrity Endorsement? (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- New AllergyEats App (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- OK, sponsor me or Bethany for the 2011 Food Allergy Walk in Pittsburgh! (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- This won’t REALLY kill you, will it? Let’s see… (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
- The Story Of That Girl, The One I Almost Killed (via Blurt) (aixelsyd13.wordpress.com)
Awww… shucks…
http://twitter.com/#!/AllergyTrails/status/116941230616756226
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We’re walking October 1st, my kids and husband have FAs. I liked reading your recap, I hope to connect with others with multiple food allergies in their family but am unsure how much time there is to just chat. Thanks for sharing!
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Glad you liked the recap, hope there’s lots of opportunity for you to connect with others at the walk! I know both before & after the actual walking, we had plenty of time to walk around & check out booths from various food allergy vendors. There may be a great support system there in your area, just waiting to find you!
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Eric, great job fundraising! Those Walk organizers are smart to enlist you for next year’s committee. Your ongoing activism and efforts to raise awareness are outstanding. I’m glad to have connected with you on Twitter.
Our Walk for Food Allergy in Northern Virginia took place today! It was very successful! I tweeted some pictures and comments, but if you missed them, I’d be glad to share them with you via Facebook. I’ll try to figure out how to friend you, or perhaps change my setting on that album to “public.”
Again, thank you for all you do as a member of the Twitter #FoodAllergyDudeArmy. (from a member of the #FoodAllergyMomArmy)
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Thank you, Allergy Bird, for such a resounding endorsement! Ha ha.
Got your photo link, I’ll be checking them out!
Mine are up at Photobucket now too: http://photobucket.com/FoodAllergyWalk2011Pgh
Glad your walk went well, looks like a lot of your Twitter friends were also in attendance?
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Wearing my orange Ernie and the Berts shirt, it was in the mail when I got home today. Better that advertised, man. A fashion statement for the ages.
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Awesome man! Sorry it took so long to get there! It is certainly a statement.
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