Additional Costs of the New Boarding Facility (nothing is ever easy)

Date: 3/21/07

Now that the construction on the new boarding facility has begun it has been discovered that Kupenda will need to raise an additional $6,718.75 for the building. The discrepancy is due to bad estimates of the initial cost and because exchange rates of US dollars to shillings has changed over the past year (during the time we did our fundraising).

AFC wants to help as much as possible. The money is needed by June 10th. We are prepared to donate money ourselves and we are working on thinking of creative ways to raise the rest of it.

So far we have come up with the following:

1. Holding a car wash on a Sunday at Grace Fellowship Church and have the Sunday School kids that we teach help us wash the cars.
2. Have a fundraising pancake breakfast.
3. Solicit our smart friends for other ideas and hopefully someone will want to take the reigns on and put on a charity event themselves!! :)

We will also be putting our donation page for Kupenda back up on our site just in case.

In this email from Cindy Bauer (Founder of Kupenda) she explains the exchange rate problem.

The total cost of the boarding facility (twin dormitory and dining hall is Kshs. 5,823,004.30 (Five Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty Three Thousand, Four Shillings and Thirty Cents Kenya Shillings). The dormitory alone is Kshs. 3,568,960.30 (Three Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty and Thirty Cents Kenya Shillings) and that of the dinning hall is Kshs. 2,254,044 (Two Million, Two Hundred and Fifty Four Thousand, and Forty Four Kenya Shillings).

The cost of the single wing under construction is Kshs. 1.83M (One Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand Kenya Shillings). The actual deficit is Kshs. 430,000 (Four Hundred and Thirty Thousand Kenya Shillings).

So if we go with the worst exchange rate (64 Kenya shillings to the US dollar) that Ksh 430,000 is approximately $6718.75 USD. Another problem we had before was I was going with an average exchange rate of Ksh 74 to the US dollar. The issues of dealing with other countries.

-Pattt
LoveLife!

Kupenda's Boarding Facility!!

Date: 3/19/07

We got this email today. It is from Leonard who is a Kenya who works for Kupenda in Kenya! Leonard is totally awesome because his job everyday is just to figure out new and better ways to help people :)

In his email to us he wrote:

Dear Adam & Patrick, Its long since you heard from me. I hope you are fine. Just to update you, the Marafa Project took off two weeks ago. The Contractor is working hard to complete the house by end of May or early June. Here are photos showing the progress of the construction works at the Site. Wishing you all the best and hoping to meet in June for the official opening. Yours Leonard

Attached to his email he gave us three photos of the construction efforts of the new boarding facility!!! I am sooo excited that it is actually happening!

Some of our friends from Kenya working on the plans for the Facility
(second to the right is our friend Reverend Mongie)

Big piles of rocks (supplies)

This is my favorite picture... Looks like the foundation of the facility!!!

On another note due to exchange rates and underestimates of the true cost of the boarding facility it seems that Kupenda needs to raise an additional $7,000.00 to complete the construction of the facility. To help Kupenda in this effort we are planning to hold a car wash at Grace Fellowship Church. We are also trying to think of some other ideas to raise the additional needed money. We are sure we will be able to raise the money. When doing such a good thing as building this facility no doubt that money will be raised in time :)

(We were told that the money is needed sometime early June.)

-Pattt
LoveLife!

AFC becomming official!!!

Date: 2/15/07

Yesterday Adam and I finally finished the paperwork required by the IRS to become an official non-profit organization! It was a lot of work but we did it. We think it will take 6-8 months for the IRS to go over it and sanctify us as a non-profit but at least we are on our way.

When we are official we will be able to write reciepts to companies/businesses that want to sponsor us. That makes us more legit so we can go after the bigger sponsors for our events.

The next even we plan to organize after the RunningWater5k will be a swing-dancing party. We will have that sometime in the Fall details will be posted as we figure them out :)

-Pattt
LoveLife

Trip To Kenya and The Documentary!

Date: 02/02/07

Cindy, president of Kupenda, is organizing a trip to Kenya this summer. I am definitely going and Adam is 70% sure he is going. We will be going there to visit with the kids, check on the status of the boarding facility construction, and possibly even help with the construction! Kenya is so beautiful and I can't wait to see those kids again. This time since we are going in the 'summer' it is actually cooler in Kenya because it is their winter time. Temps should be in teh 70s or so where we will be staying.

PhillyK is still hard at work on The AFC Documentary of our cross country trip. Check his videe-o's website for updates! I promise this doc is going to be amazing. PhillyK has so much talent it is ridiculous!

-Pattt
Love Life!

Diabetes Support Groups!

Date: 1/19/07

Adam and I have given 2 talks at 2 separate diabetes support groups since we have been back. We are making out way into being guest speakers at quite a few diabetes related organizations! It is soooo good for other diabetics and especially the parents of children recently diagnosed with the disease to see Adam and how he is able to do things that most people only dream of. Really you can do anything you set your mind to. We are schedule to make a few more talks in the coming months.

Currently we are working on organizing the RunningWater 5k, and charity bike ride for a group on the C&O Canal over 2-3 days that will be auctioned off at a JDRF Gala in June.

PhillyK is still working super hard on the AFC Documentary!!! Check his videe-o's site for updates and other works.

-Pattt
Love Life!

Running Water 5k!

Date: 1/10/07

Donation to Kupenda. My Aunt Katy and Uncle Ted donated $50.00!! Thanks soo much!

Hi everyone!! Adam and I with the help of some of our friends are organizing a 5k to benefit Blood:Water Mission. Blood:Water Mission is an organization that is building drinking wells for underprivileged communities in Africa. We thought it was a good and noble cause so we are going to help them out! All of the money made at the 5k will go directly to the charity. There will also be a 1 mile fun run :)


We have named the event 'Running Water 5k'.

Please sign up, join us for a nice race, and help a good cause!!!

-Pattt
Love Life!

Breaking The Curse

Date: 12/09/06

Kupenda is the other organization that we raised money for as we cycled across the country this year. We were able to raise $20,000+ for this organization. That money will go towards building a boarding facility at a school in Kenya for children who are disabled.

Andy Buaer, who is the vice president of Kupenda, makes awesome video's just like our AFC driver PhillyK. His latest video is called Breaking the Curse. Video's like this can really help to move people to action and make a difference in our world.




-Pattt
LoveLife

Speeches, Speeches, Speeches

Date: 12/7/06

Adam and I have been giving tons of motivational/informative talks lately!

On November 21st we gave a talk at Howard County Community College. Our friend Maura, who we met through our Mid Maryland Triathlon Club, teaches there and she wanted us to come to her class room to talk to the kids about managing your finances, helping others, and getting out there in the world to make a difference! We met lots of cool people there and we even found one guy who is interested in joining AFC in our future events. We suggested he go to Princeton Sports, buy a bike, start training, and keep in touch.

(At Howard County Community College talking to the kids)

On November 27th we spoke at Northrop Grumman, where I work. It was a speech mainly focused on living a healthy life and combating diabetes! It is sooo good for other diabetics to see Adam being so active and doing so many cool things despite his disease. It is especially good for parents of children who have recently been diagnosed to talk to Adam. They can see that their child will never be limited by their disease and Adam can give them some excellent advice on how to manage diabetes while being active.

Last night we traveled to Frederick, MD to give a talk at the newly formed Frederick Triathlon Club. The talk mostly focused on the biking/endurance aspects of out trip and the charity work that we did for ADA and Kupenda. We met tons of new friends and hopefully we will see them all again. We hope to work with the club and they may be interested in helping us in the future! The meeting was held at Fix Frederick Bike Shop. It was one of the coolest shops we have seen yet! They had more fixies and single speed bikes than any shop I have ever been to. The owner, Stacey, was super nice and gave us free T-Shirts :). We hope to work with that shop more in the future and she might want us to return to give a talk to the fixed gear riders who frequent her store.

(at FixFrederick Bikes with the Frederick Triathlon Club!)

-Pattt
Love Life!

Talk at Adam's work!

Date: 11/01

We gave a speech at a meeting at Adam's work this past Monday. It was a Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) meeting. The CFC is a great organization withing the government that works with tons and tons of charity/non-profit organizations contributing funds to all of them!


We showed our AFC-Kupenda video and we talked about how awesome it is to give to others and how much we got back in return! It was a total success and we met lots of very nice people. They want us to come back and give some more talks!! We can't wait!

-Pattt
Love Life

VIDEE-O's

Date: 10/24/2006

PhillyK (support driver/documentary mastermind) has just put together a website for his company called VIDEE-O'S. His first featured film will be the AFC Documentary.

Check it out!! its really cool!

-Pattt

AFC Charity Party in South Carolina!?

Date: 10/16/2006

Or friend Grace E Lou, who goes to grad school in South Carolina, organized and held a Charity Party to help us raise money for Kupenda!! She raised $123.00!! We are so lucky to have so many supportive friends :)

In other news... Our AFC Jersey Auction is still going strong. We have had 3 people place bids for jerseys. The ending date for the auction is December 9th. Email me at pblair12@gmail.com to place a bid.

-Pattt
Love Life

Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations - Starting a Nonprofit

Date: 10/12/06

Today Adam and I went to a class given by The Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. The class was on 'Starting a nonprofit organization' and it was great! We found that it won't be very hard at all to start a nonprofit and if we become members of this association they will help us and guide us through the process of becoming a nonprofit! It is even easier for us to fill out the paperwork because we don't have to worry about paying any salaries since AFC has no employees and we don't expect to make any money off this.

Being a nonprofit will enable us to get the big sponsors since we will have 501(c)(3) status and we will be able to write tax deductible receipts. Being a nonprofit also gives us a lot of credibility that what we are doing has been approved by the IRS so people who donate, that don't know us well, will be more comfortable that we are really doing a good thing and not just trying to make a profit or something :)

This will be a big step for us! We are really really excited about it! Hopefully we will be able to grow into something bigger by gaining this status! Along those lines if you have any ideas for raising funds or for making AFC even cooler or bigger we would love to have you join with us and help make a difference!!

-Pattt
Love Life

Disabilities Awareness Expo

Date: 10/04/06

Today Adam and I attended a Disabilities Awareness Expo with Cindy Bauer (founder of Kupenda) and our friend Kate Schuit. We were there to talk about our experiences in Africa with the Children of Kupenda. It was a good opportunity for us to focus on how we want to help those kids :)

(Adam is on the left, Cindy, and me...
with all of our poster boards and a laptop showing the Kupenda Video)

-Pattt

The New Pump!!

The new pump arrived on Wednesday with the REAL-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring Starter Kit. I got the training from Kim Loman on Thursday and started the pump with the sensors!!! Thank you Medtronic Minimed for this pump. It was my dream when we started the trip to have this pump and now I am living it!
http://www.minimed.com/products/insulinpumps/



This kit is amazing! It caught my first low over the weekend when I was sleeping. I woke up to the alarm and was able to eat some food:)! when I get back on my bike for long bike rides its going to be so awesome to have this pump:)

Some really great things about the sensor with the pump:
1) Able to get good readings on your basal rates which in turn will lead to better overall glucose readings.
2) Catches low sugars before it gets critical
3) Dont have to worry about low sugars while sleeping(my alarm is set to warn me when sugar gets to 60)
4) If your sugar is on its way up or down it will show you an up or down arrow next to your glucose level.

Some negatives:
1) short 5-10 minute delay on glucose readings.
2) Still have to test sugar twice a day.



If anyone has any other questions about the pump you can contact me at adrisc1@gmail.com

Adam

AFC Trailer

Date: 9/26/06

Here is the trailer for the AFC Documentary that PhillyK put together!!

Enjoy!



-Pattt

Howard Co. Type 1 Support Group Meeting

Date: 9/26/06

Last night Adam, Jesse, and I gave a speech at the first meeting of the Howard County Type 1 Support Group. The group is for children with type 1 diabetes and their parents. It was so good for those parents to see how much Adam has accomplished and that having diabetes has only brought good things to his life. They can see how happy and uninhibited his life is and know that their kids can do everything he can. They don't have to be limited because they have diabetes!!

If you would like to know more about the Howard County Type 1 Support Group you can email Paula Bisacre at Paulaannbiz@aol.com.

I also want to thank Heather and weekly for comming to the meeting with us last night to support us and help us setup for the talk :)

-Pattt

AFC Documentary - Greg Lemond

Date: 9/22/06

This morning Adam and I met with Shawn McIntosh, who is our good friend who works at the Baltimore Chapter of ADA. She told us the Greg Lemond is now on board with ADA as an official represenative and that she has been tasked to come up with a 'Wish List' of things that she could use his star power for. One of the top five things on her list is to have Greg Lemond do a voice over, narrarate, or be a part of our documentary in any way possible. This would be hugeeeee!!

For those of you who don't know Greg Lemond is one of the greatest cyclists of all time, right up there with Lance Armstrong. Here is his official website. He also has his own brand of bikes. Actually, my first road bike ever was a Lemond!!

-Pattt

AFC Documentary - Teaser

Here is PhillyK's rough draft of a trailer for the AFC Documentary!



-Pattt

Silent Auction - AFC Jerseys

Date: 9/12/06

Funds Raised:
(Donate Here)

$20,00.00 for Kupenda (Wednesday night we will have exact numbers)
Donation from Richard Kirkley
$20,000 is the goal for Kupenda. That is the amount needed to build a boarding facility so that 30+ children, who have disabilities, will get to go to school!!! It is a chance to really make a difference in a lot of people's lives!!!

$10,150.00 for American Diabetes Association
Donation from Joshua Kulp
Battling diabetes is something that is close to our hearts since Adam has Type I Diabetes. AFC's mission at it's core is to raise awareness, show other diabetics that anything is possible, and to do anything to combat diabetes!

At the Mid Maryland Triathlon Club meeting last night we decided that we will be holding a silent auction for our spare AFC Jerseys.

(AFC Jersey Front)

(AFC Jersey Back)

So here is the deal:

1. They are used jerseys. We traveled through the country with 2 jerseys each for the bikers and 1 jersey each for the drivers. The biker's jerseys have been through a lot but they are in excellent condition thanks to my MomMom who sewed them and washed them to almost as white as new :)

2. Sizes: 3 Large and 1 Medium

3. This will be a silent auction so if you are interested in winning one of these jerseys you have to send me an email at pblair12@gmail.com. Tell me what size you want and how much money you will donate to Kupenda and/or ADA for the jersey. The people with the highest bids will win.

4. The auction ends on December 9th, which happens to be the day of the Mid Maryland Triathlon Club's holiday party. Note: You do not have to be a member of MMTC or be present at the party to win. If you live far away we will mail you your jersey :)

Thanks for playing!

(You can look this cool too in an AFC jersey!)

-Pattt

AFC Talks at Mid Maryland Triathlon Club

Date: 9/12/06

Funds Raised:
(Donate Here)

$20,00.00 for Kupenda (Wednesday night we will have exact numbers)
Donation from Dave Chaffee (hugeee donation! thanks so much)
Donation from Mid Maryland Triathlon Club
$20,000 is the goal for Kupenda. That is the amount needed to build a boarding facility so that 30+ children, who have disabilities, will get to go to school!!! It is a chance to really make a difference in a lot of people's lives!!!

$10,150.00 for
Battling diabetes is something that is close to our hearts since Adam has Type I Diabetes. AFC's mission at it's core is to raise awareness, show other diabetics that anything is possible, and to do anything to combat diabetes!

Last night we gave a talk at our Mid Maryland Triathlon Club!. I love this club! They have supported us so much on the trip. Like everyone on that club is just amazing! I love those people :)

(Weezal doing AV support!!)

We were even able to show a trailer for our Documentary that PhillyK is working on. I hope to have the trailer on this site ASAP, so that everyone can see it!

(PhillyK filming for the documentary)

(Giving our talk)

Also!!! Thanks to some final donations we got yesterday we have succeeded in hitting our goal of $20,000.00 for Kupenda!!! We will have the exact amount counted on Wednesday night when we meet with Cindy Bauer, president of Kupenda.

(Mid Maryland Triathlon Club and AFC)

-Pattt