Darrell and Simone - fighting Cystic Fibrosis

Team AFC members Simone Jowett and Darrell Cook held a fundraiser at Lures Bar & Grille in Crownsville, MD on April 27th to generate money for Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

Darrell's 8-year daughter Celia Grace has CF, a fatal genetic condition that affects the lungs and pancreas and often leads to CF-related diabetes at a young age.

The event was a success, and the turnout, including fellow AFC members Adam Driscoll and Mike Caputi, was fantastic. Based on the restaurant's donation of a portion of its proceeds, the sale of blue "Breathe" bracelets, and the 50/50 raffle, Darrell and Simone brought in over $700.00!!

They are hoping that this is just the start, as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's major annual fundraiser, Great Strides, is coming up in the next few weeks. Darrell and Simone both have websites, at which donations for Great Strides can be made on his daughter's behalf: http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/DarrellCook and http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/SimoneJowett. Thanks to all of you who support this worthy cause!

Wednesday Night Worlds - Training Ride

Wed Night Worlds ride is a road bike training ride.

It will start at 6:00pm every Wednesday at the Park 'n Ride located at the intersection of I-195 and Rolling Road in Catonsville, MD. Look for us at the top of the Patapsco trail head across the street from the Park 'n Ride.

Here are the details on the ride:

Normally this ride will be very fast but these first few weeks we will be going a little slower to make sure everyone knows the route. Most likely there will be two groups tomorrow and anyone is invited to come!

Here is the route:http://bit.ly/aOhEYI

Sprint/King Of Mountain (KOM) points on the ride:

1 - Sprint at Church Ln on Race Rd in Elkridge (about mile 10)

2 - KOM at top of Illchester @Beechwood (about mile 18.5)

3 - KOM at Bonnie Branch and 103. (about mile 26)

AFC helps at Helping Up Mission

Yesterday, Saturday May 1st, ten AFC Team Members led by teammate Paul Patarini and newly appointed AFC Community Events Coordinator Stacey Rohr went to downtown Baltimore to help at Helping Up Mission (HUM).

HUM is a Christian based organization that has created a long-term residential Spiritual Recovery Program for men struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.

(The AFC Team at HUM)

Tracy Driscoll was one of the AFC Team Members who went to HUM yesterday. Here is her account of how it went:

Yesterday I had the opportunity to serve for the first time at the Helping Up Mission or "HUM". A spiritually based recovery program for men struggling with addiction. Myself and a few other AFC team members got to take a tour of the HUM facility, meet some folks in the recovery process, and serve dinner.

We were introduced to HUM by Barry, one of the graduates from the Mission and now a full time staff member. I was humbled by how honest so many of the men we met were. Several of the men we met shared their testimonies with us and their stories.

One of the reoccurring themes I saw with the men we met was their level of transparency. The HUM was a huge facility with several newer buildings. One of newer buildings we toured was the church sanctuary where worship and bible studies were held. On display in the hall were pictures painted and drawn by men in the mission.

At HUM men struggling with addiction and homelessness can seek refuge and recovery. HUM was able to provided medical, dental, and vision appointments to men in the program as well as an opportunity to further their education with GED classes available and tutoring. HUM also offered many of the men a strong support network to help them during their recovery. Program participants attended a series of addiction recovery classes, bible studies, and support groups. Each man participating in the program was assigned a different work responsibility at the mission. Their were men who helped cook/prepare meals, peace keepers who maintained an eye on the grounds, maintenance men and more.

Perhaps what I found to be most impressionable was that many of the men who graduated from the program remained at HUM to intern and serve as staff in helping others through the recovery phase.