Blog Archive 10/2009

Ryan and Dennis Bicycle Across the U.S. for SMA

October 30, 2009 by Bill Strong

Yesterday, we went down to UC-Irvine to meet two remarkable men, Ryan and Dennis, at the end of their 43 day cross-country bicycle trip from New York to California -- yes, BICYCLES! They set out on this incredible journey to raise SMA awareness and funding for Sophia's Cure and Dr. Keirstead's...

Triathlon For A Cure Sunset Cruise Fundraiser was a Blast!

October 29, 2009 by Bill Strong

Last night, our dear friends Mike and Sarah Paskin hosted the inaugural Triathlon For A Cure sunset cruise fundraiser on the Channel Cat catamaran in Santa Barbara. The setting was amazing, the evening was beautiful, the boat was pure luxury, the staff was wonderful, the food was fantastic, and the...

Vaccinated!

October 29, 2009 by Victoria

We are H1N1 vaccinated! We have been waiting for the shot form of the vaccine to come into our county and started to get nervous as more time passed (and as H1N1 deaths begin in our local hospital). Well, today it arrived and Gwendolyn's pediatrician called us bright and early to come and get it....

Strike Down SMA

October 28, 2009 by Victoria

Strike Down SMA was a super fun event and raised $2,325 for the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation with all proceeds going toward Unite For The Cure!!! Incredible! Our longtime friends, Heather and Wade, organized everything at the Bowling Center in the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. They...

KHFR 89.7 FM Interview About SMA and the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation

October 28, 2009 by Victoria

I'm so proud of Bill. He was invited to do a 15 minute radio interview about SMA and he did great! The "Focus on Issues" program aired on Saturday, October 24th on KHFR 89.7 FM at 12:14 am, 6:44 am, 12:44 pm and 5:14 pm. You can listen to it here:

PEP Rockin' Halloween

October 26, 2009 by Victoria

Yesterday was PEP's Rockin' Halloween and we had a rockin' time. I LOVE Halloween and I love that PEP has their yearly event the week before Halloween because wearing a costume just once is just not enough!!! And not only did we get to get Gwendolyn all dressed up in her adorable costume and spend...

Mini Horses & Apple Picking

October 25, 2009 by Victoria

Yesterday we had such a fun adventure. From the moment we moved to Santa Barbara, I have searched for a fun fruit picking place -- especially in the fall. There are so many lovely farms in the wine country, but Web searches had not provided good results on fruit picking. So I gave up. (Farms are...

Golf For A Cure Tournament is Around The Corner

October 24, 2009 by Bill Strong

CALLING ALL GOLFERS!

1st Annual Golf For A Cure tournament is FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009!

WHAT: The First Annual Golf For A Cure tournament; shot gun start; four person scramble -- all proceeds are going directly to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation and headed for a specific SMA research program. Over...

Charity of the Year!

October 22, 2009 by Victoria

We are super excited! GSF was selected by Cold Springs Elementary as their charity of the year! Cold Springs has a yearly charity campaign in which the Student Council members hold student generated fundraising and awareness events throughout the school year. And they chose us!!! How awesome is it...

Warming Up To That Power Chair

October 20, 2009 by Bill Strong

On Monday, Gwendolyn had a big, huge, gigantic personal breakthrough with her demo pink power chair at our weekly therapy appointment. We've been careful not to push her too quickly into the chair, knowing that it was going to be a major step for her and one that she had to make on her own -- at...