February is here and my heart is filled with so much happiness. The first of the month is so important here at It’s Just Life because it is the day each month that I reveal how much your comments have raised for the cause of the month and reveal the new Comments for a Cause. Chris and I have pledged to donate 50 cents per comment (cap of $500) each month to the cause.
This past month we have been learning about ectodermal dysplasias. It is an inherited disorder that involves defects in the hair, nails, sweat glands and teeth. When a person has at least two types of abnormal ectodermal features—for example, malformed teeth and extremely sparse hair—the individual is identified as being affected by ectodermal dysplasia. This month all of our focus has been on the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias and their efforts. Chris and I will be making a donation of $1 per comment this month instead of the usual 50 cents so $233 will be going to NFED and I am thrilled to have learned a little bit more about this great organization. Thank you to all who have commented throughout the month on all my posts.
Have you ever heard of Cupid’s Undie Run? Well, I hadn’t until I met my North Iowa Blogger friend Loni who blogs at Lifestyles of the Pantsless last year. She has Neurofibromatosis and this is a fundraiser that she has spearheaded in Mason City, Iowa in an effort to raise awareness and funds to help with research and more. Loni is a pretty amazing gal, let me tell you, and her efforts to make the Cupid’s Undie Run in Mason City a “fun”-draiser have been amazing and surpassed a lot of expectations. I know it has a lot to do with Loni being such a fun person.
I asked Loni to give me a little bit of info about what Cupid’s is and what Neurofibromatosis is all about and she happily sent me the following:
Cupid’s is the #1 donor of the Children’s Tumor Foundation, and the purpose of the foundation is to research and find a cure for Neurofibromatosis (a Genetic Disorder I have) where tumors grow along your nerves all over your body. It has the potential to cause someone to be blind, deaf, or have learning disabilities. Tumors are known to become cancerous. There are thousands of different mutations of NF and tons of other medical conditions that stem from the disorder, no two cases are the same.
Cupid’s has raised over $8 million Nation Wide since it’s inception in 2010, with Mason City contributing over $100,000 in the past two years. Mason City is the smallest city by far to host the event but we are literally neck and neck with some of the largest cities who partake (in terms of fundraising and # of participants.)
Just this month CTF was able to grant the University of Iowa Children’s hospital $1.7 Million to their NF clinic (the only NF clinic in Iowa) to research and understand more about NF. I believe that Cupid’s was a large contributor in that, and thanks to new clinical trials that just began last fall, patients participating have reported a decrease in size of their tumors from 22%-27%.
Cupids was started in 2010 in Washington DC by Chad Leather and Bobby Gill, Chad’s brother had Schwanomatosis (the 3rd and worst form of NF) and unfortunately passed away this summer. It started because they wanted to raise awareness about NF and thought it would really raise eyebrowns to run past the White House in their undies. They thought they would have 50 participants but 600 showed up that day and Cupid’s Undie Run was born.
That’s my friend Amy Hild in the white shirt in the picture above. Amy had a zest for life and ran the Cupid’s Undie Run last year for the first time. Tragically Amy was killed in an automobile accident a few short weeks after this event and a team has been formed to run in her memory this year. #AmysGift has 6 team members at this point and will be running in the Mason City event on February 13th at Music Man Square in Mason City, Iowa. While I won’t be there in person ( I would be running panting walking) you can bet I will be there in spirit and lending my support. That is why I decided this month would be the perfect month to support Cupid’s Undie Run and their support of the Children’s Tumor Foundation.
For each and every comment made on any post during the month of February we will make a 50 cent donation to help with research and awareness of Neurofibromatosis through Cupid’s Undie Run. Your comments matter. Thank you in advance for your comments. If you would like to make your own contribution please feel free to click on #AmysGift and support one of these participants.
35 Comments
Leave a commentThis is such a wonderful thing you do, Beth Anne! Once again, a disease that I’m not familiar with. That’s sad about Amy; a young person taken so soon.
Thanks for stopping by, Dianna. You know how excited I get about my Comments for a Cause recipients and there are so many worthy ones . I am always keeping my eyes and ears open for new ones and a lot of times my readers help me out with ideas. Thank YOU for being so present here on the blog and taking the time to comment.
What a great thing you are doing. How could I not comment!
Thanks so much, Judy! It is truly the best thing I do here on the blog!
Thanks for supporting Cupids Undie Run Beth Ann! Wish you were here, miss you so much!
Miss you too but will be there with you in spirit!!!! Have a good run!!!
Great cause like always!
Thanks, Jeni!
Beth Ann! Chris says THANK YOU! And we say THANK YOU! And, I’ll be so happy to comment throughout February in order to help another friend of yours! I remember you told me about Amy – such a tragic shame!
So happy to make a donation to this organization and hope that every small donation can work towards making a huge difference in the lives of those who are affected. Thank you for your support and your comments which really do make me smile!
Love it!
Thanks for stopping by!
Wonderful Beth Ann!
Thanks so much! I think so as well!
I can’t express enough how well you raise awareness… Most of your causes, I’ve never heard of before. Thank you for your diligence!
You both have such a great heart to showcase and support these causes.
Thanks, Audrey. It is easy to showcase things that are really worthy, isn’t it? This one is close to my heart because of Loni and of course, Amy. Thanks for stopping by so faithfully and commenting. It means a lot.
Outstanding cause. And I am sure Amy’s family is lifted out of despair knowing that her giving heart and memory continues to inspires people. One year. Goodness.
I know—it is so hard to believe it has been one year. Her mom and dad are really amazing people and I have stayed in touch with them over the past year. They are dealing with her death very gracefully but it does not diminish how much she is missed. Thanks for stopping by!
I LOVE this… It’s hard to believe this has been a year already!
Thanks, Sara. I just saw Amy’s dad posted about the #AmysGift team—I hope they can make a great donation as well. Thank YOU for stopping by.
I have never heard of this disease either… You are amazing how you do this every month!
Thank you for stopping by, Hilary. I love finding causes that are new to so many people and this one is really special.
I love this cause for numerous reasons 🙂
Thank you!
Thank you for featuring the NFED in January! Sounds like you have another great organization lined up for February! Love organizations that help kids. This is such a great idea. Best of luck!
You are so welcome. That you so much for all the work that your organization does. Hopefully our small donation will help somehow.
[…] How about you? If you enjoy tea on a regular basis what do you prefer? Do you stay true to only drinking loose leaf tea offerings or are you happy with a tea bag? There are so many options out there now and some of the tea bags are really able to produce a fine cup to enjoy. Let me know in the comments what you love most and remember all comments go to help support our Comments for a Cause this month – Cupid’s Undie Run. […]
[…] again but there will be more fun things coming up on the blog this week. Don’t forget to Comment for a Cause. The Cupid’s Undie Run was a huge success this past weekend but the fundraising goes […]
A friend of our family has a daughter with NF, and I have a FB friend whose son does, too. She flashed her undies for the run recently! LOL I’m glad you mentioned it so I can try to get caught up on my comments this month!
Oh wow—so you understand the whole Undies thing! Loni is such an incredible lady and her enthusiasm and motivation for raising funds for NF is pretty amazing. Thanks so much for your support.
[…] Don’t forget that every comment this month nets a 50 cents donation to Cupid’s Undie Run. […]
[…] Don’t forget that each comment this month will net a 50 cent donation to Cupid’s Undie Run. You can read more about our latest Comments for a Cause here. […]
[…] How do you face challenges? Head on or do you skirt around them and hope that the problem will just disappear along the way somehow? Don’t forget to comment for Comments for a Cause. […]
Thank you for supporting Special Olympics of Transylvania County. We have a very active, vital program here!
Thank you for stopping by, Marian. I know this is a very important group for you and your family and I love wha the local chapter does for the participants. Thank YOU!