Gales Creek Camp Sunday, November 19, 2006

About 21 million Americans have diabetes. Maddie Ehl developed Type 1 diabetes at the age of three. Now 9 years old, Maddie is the inspiration for one of the largest teams in the Summit to Surf ride. (The ride is a part of the nationwide Tour de Cure, organized by the American Diabetes Association to raise money for diabetes research.) Maddie's Riders raised so much money—nearly $16,000 last year—that they won a $1,100 indoor cycling bike.

But rather than share the bike among the 60 team members, they donated it to the charity auction for Gales Creek Camp. Gales Creek, about 30 miles west of Portland, runs summer camps for children, teens and families affected by diabetes.

My friend Stacey volunteers with a number of different organizations. She came to Portland more recently than I did, but she's already connected with the camp. On Saturday night, they held a spaghetti dinner and auction to raise money for the camp, and she asked me to help with it. We sold raffle tickets for $1 each, and raised several hundred dollars. Together with the dinner and auction, the event raised several thousand dollars for the camp.

[Sorry, no pictures for this post. I didn't bring my camera with me. Maybe something tomorrow ...]