Thanksgiving and My Bar Mitzvah

My Bar Mitzvah was on Sunday and I had an amazing time. Kevin was so happy to be there with me, and most of the time, he was dancing and showing off his moves. I was thankful for him to be there with me and the Kearney family because of what they have done for me. I was so happy that Kevin enjoyed my party because I want the best for him.

In my favor bags, I gave out the bracelets my project. The next day in school, my friend walked up to me and said," I wonder where I got this. It's a nice thing your doing Thomas". I was so thankful and laughed at the first thing she said.

Everyone is thankful for something, right? Well, I'm thankful for everyone in my life and who makes me smile or laugh. I want everyone to have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Collage I gave to the Kearney's to show how people who supported Duchenne.

My Day with my Cousins

Me on the Ropes

Me and My Cousins

This past weekend, I went to the Palisades Mall to meet with my cousins. We went on the Ropes and had a great time. Then we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. When we were done, my cousins bought bracelets. Jack,15, and Riley,10, each used their own money and made donations. Their mom Allison did also. They were being very generous. I was very grateful and happy at the same time.


My cousins lived in Japan for three years, including during the time of the earthquake. With so much devastation, they wanted to do something to help, so they made bracelets that said "Hope for Japan" and sold them. This relates to my project because we each used bracelets to raise awareness for a cause.






Japan Bracelet

The Generosity of Strangers

Earlier in the week, Kevin's mom posted my blog on her Facebook page and her friend Helene commented that she'd like to buy bracelets. My mom private messaged her asking her how many bracelets she wanted. Helene said she wanted 20 and my mom mailed them to her.

When Helene got the bracelets, she posted a picture of the bracelets and asked her friends if anyone wanted.Many said yes! Helene called my mom and asked to buy 50 more bracelets! That got me excited. And then, Helene called my mom again and told her that the booster club at the local high school wanted to sell bracelets at the football game and asked for 100 more.

If you are keeping count, that is 170 bracelets! I just got 300 in the mail. I think we are going to have to order more.What is amazing to me is that so many bracelets are being sold and the awareness is being spread so quickly. I want to thank Helene and the booster club for their generosity. Bracelets anyone?

The picture Helene posted

New Order

My mom reposted my blog onto her Facebook page. I was surprised because a ton of people asked to buy bracelets. I had to do some hard work writing notes and packing more bracelets. I started to run out of bracelets so I asked my mom to order more and we ordered 300! The reason was that I decided to continue my project after my Bar Mitzvah. I am very happy that I am doing this.

If you want to buy a bracelet or two or three..., please contact me at projectendduchenne@gmail.com. Please tell people about my project. We have plenty of     
                                                                                    bracelets so everyone can buy!

My Goal Before My Bar Mitzvah

I can't believe that my Bar Mitzvah is only 7 weeks away! I am in the final stretch. I have a big goal to finish out the Bar Mitzvah part of the project. I have sold 150 bracelets and my goal is to sell 200 in total or more before my Bar Mitzvah on November 23. It's a big goal but I think I can do it.

Also, I don't really want my project to stop after my Bar Mitzvah. I think that everybody has something that they want to fight or raise awareness for. For me, that's Duchenne. I want to help the Kearney's in any way possible.

Keep spreading the word about Duchenne and if anyone wants to buy a bracelet tell them to contact me at projectendduchenne@gmail.com. Bracelets are $2 if anyone asks.

Coach for Cure MD

Today was Coach for Cure Day in college football. Kevin was asked to go to the Marist College- San Diego game. Before the game, Kevin said to his mom, "I'm so excited to go to the football game. At the game, he got an autographed ball and a jersey. Kevin was honored because he was helping bring awareness to Duchenne through the popularity of college football.

At every televised game in the country, coaches are wearing Coach to Cure MD armbands to support the MD fight.

 

If you would like to contribute to the Coach for Cure foundation, click the link below.

 

http://www.parentprojectmd.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Fundraise_coach2cure

World Duchenne Awareness Day

Today is the first World Duchenne Awareness day. Pope Francis said "September 7, 2014 will be celebrated for the first time, all around the world, the international Duchenne Awareness Day." This is a very joyous day for all Duchenne families because the world can now recognize and see how destructive this disease can be. I hope now that because the Pope has made this declaration, it will bring that much more awareness to the situation and as a result, generate more money in terms of donations for research. That give doctors and scientists more resources at their disposal and hopefully bring them one step closer to a cure.

Also, in response to the Pope's declaration, Parent Project began sharing virtual balloons today. When you visit the Parent Project page, be sure to share it on your own personal social media pages, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

I wonder how many people sent out balloons today? I hope there were many. The virtual balloon project is like my Bar Mitzvah project in that is raising awareness for Duchenne. Let me know if you shared a balloon. I know I'm going to be sharing one.