New England Classic

My family lives in Kokomo, Indiana, which has the distinction of having been named one of the 10 most rapidly dying cities in the US, by USA today. Our current unemployment rate is 17% and climbing, thanks to the auto industry.

I felt very nervous asking people for money when I know they are either unemployed or sitting on the edge expecting a layoff notice. I put these paragraphs at the start of my fundraising letter:

“I always find it difficult to ask family and friends for money, even when it is for a cause that is a critical as finding new treatments for the millions of Americans with diabetes. This year I feel particularly awkward because I know that many of you are experiencing personal challenges due to the current economic and employment crises. I have considered not asking some of you for your support this year but have decided instead to send you my annual appeal. Please be assured, however, that I understand if you choose to reduce the amount you contribute or defer your contribution until a time when your circumstances have improved.

For those of you who have not been too adversely affected by the economic downturn, please consider increasing your contribution. The American Diabetes Association has already undertaken strong measures to reduce overhead costs (reducing staff, cutting back on some activities, etc.) but the need for the association’s education, advocacy and research efforts has not declined. The need for your generosity is greater than ever. My goal is to match, or exceed, the $5000 that I raised last year.”

I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of my supporters. A number of them have increased their contributions significantly, and even those who are at risk of layoff, or already out of work, have still made sizable contributions. This is a testimony to the good people of Kokomo, but also to the importance of continuing our efforts to improve the lives of those affected by diabetes.

Feel free to the text of my “give if you can, give more if you can” paragraphs in your fundraising emails or letters.

I look forward to seeing all of my New England Classic friends in July. Until then – tailwinds to all!

Barbara Sehr

Feel free to check out Day 1 of our New England Classic Tour de Cure route and share it with your friends/family/teammates! Days 2-7 are sure to follow! Keep checking this site for more news.

In tribute to the Boston EXPO THIS Saturday – all of our New England Tour de Cure events are holding a Reduced Tour Registration Special Rate of $20.00!

Lindsay

You can visit us at the Diabetes EXPO (it’s free!) THIS Saturday, March 14, 2009 at Boston Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Blvd, Boston, MA 10am – 4pm to meet cyclists already training for the upcoming Tours! We’ve got long-time rider, Lindsay, from the NEC Tour de Cure spinning for the entire event, a total of 6 hrs!

She’s peddling with a purpose and hoping to re-recruit YOU! Stop by the Tour de Cure booth at the EXPO and chat it up with other veteran riders as well.

If you can’t make it out this weekend – you can still take advantage of the great EXPO rate!

• Simply visit: http://tour.diabetes.org/site/R?i=BfjMo1j1kf6kjW96DwhRYw..
• Click the “Register as an Individual (or if you’d rather: “Create a Team”, or “Join a Team”)
• At the Registration page use the Promotional Code  EXPO (all caps) to utilize this ONE TIME $20 registration fee.
• Then, well – you know the drill! Fill out the necessary contact info and registration info we need in order to set you back on track to ride in the NEC Tour de Cure!

http://tour.diabetes.org/site/R?i=1MXf2eDudgMICik7suj0wg..

This offer is valid ONLY from Friday, 3/12/09, at 6am through Sunday, 3/15/09, until 11:45pm.

Register today & tell your teammates!

If you are a returning Team Captain:

• ( re)recruit at least 5 other riders for your team
• raise $5,000 as a team

You will get our new ADA Tour de Cure arm warmers! These slick sleeves will keep you comfortable while blazing trails in near-blizzard conditions!

Hope to see you this weekend – or hear from you soon!

Warm regards,
~Ryan, your-Friendly-Neighborhood-ADA-Guy
Associate Manager, New England Classic Tour de Cure
American Diabetes Association
80 Elm Street
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (888) 342-2383 x3456
Fax: (207) 774-7714
rwilliams@diabetes.org

JOIN OUR FIGHT AGAINST DIABETES:
http://tour.diabetes.org/site/R?i=KEak01kVjDvNseqSaScrJA..
Who Are YOU Fighting For?
American Diabetes Association
Cure. Care. Commitment.

On the New England Classic uphill climbs are an everyday occurrence. Now some people say we are facing one of our steepest climbs before we even get in the saddle.

These days there’s no getting away from conversations about the economy whether it’s referred to as the downturn, the meltdown or the crisis. When fund-raisers are having the conversations, today’s economic mess is called something else – an obstacle. But just like those mountain roads we must conquer on our bicycles, this obstacle can be overcome if we pick up our effort.

Some of the people who made pledges last year may not be able to match them this year. And some may not be able to pledge at all. But the one thing we can count on not declining is the toll of diabetes. Diabetes remains a silent killer with no cure. It affects children and adults of all ages. Diabetes can cause life-threatening complications that can result in blindness, heart disease, stroke, amputation and premature death.

There is no downturn in this disease for the 23.6 million people with diabetes and their families.

That is why when we do our fund-raising we can’t accept bringing in a little less. We have to work harder to bring in a little more. With other sources of funding strained, the American Diabetes Association is counting on cyclists to pick up the slack. We have to think of the NEC as an economic stimulus package for the fight against diabetes. The people living with this disease and the researchers working to cure it need us.

So if it took 100 pledges to raise $2,000 last year we have to be willing to go after 200 pledges to raise that much or more. When you ask for pledges and people hesitate, remind them that every dollar counts. If they talk about what they’ve lost in investments point out that getting an hour of diabetes research for $50 is a great return on investment. And if a business owner talks about how tough the economy has been, explain how tough diabetes can be on business. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average economic cost (lost workdays, lost productivity, increased health insurance claims, etc) to a company of 50-100 employees is $57,090. For a company of 1,000 employees the cost is $523,325.

So when you think people might not be able to afford to make a pledge think again. We can’t afford not to ask.

Don’t forget, Rider Roundup tomorrow, Saturday February 28 at Clark University.

See here for the scoop

The Amgen Tour of California begins today in Sacramento.  Many of the heavy hitters will be there with 17 teams in total including 8 pro tour teams. Astana (with Lance) is, of course, generating lots of interest as is last year’s Tour de France winner, Carlos Sastre (ESP, Cervélo).

Really, lots of big names are there: Armstrong, Leipheimer, Horner, Sastre, Hushovd, Danielson, Zabriski, Popovch, Vande Velde, Basso, Boonen, Schleck,  Cancellara, O’Grady, Voight, Cavendish, Landis, Hamilton, Rodriquez, Pena, and the list goes on.

Also among the teams is Team Type 1 (team number 12). If you don’t know them, Team Type 1 was “founded in 2004 [and]  fulfilled the dream of two collegiate cyclists living with Type 1 diabetes, Phil Southerland and Joe Eldridge.”

So join us in wishing good luck to Phil and Team Type 1

• 121 Moises Aldape Chavez (MEX)
• 122 * Fabio Calabria (AUS)
• 124 Christopher Jones (USA)
• 125 Valeriy Kobzarenko (UKR)
• 126 Darren Lill (RSA)
• 123 Ian Macgregor (USA)
• 127 * Phil Southerland (USA)
• 128 Matthew Wilson (AUS)

You can watch the Tour of California with Phil Ligget on Versus TV or online at http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/

* Riders with Type 1

Meet Team Type 1, below

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Dear New England Classic Rider:

Planning is already well underway for the 2009 New England Classic and your American Diabetes Association and the planning committee is committed to making this the best year ever.

The websites are open, you can copy and paste the following link into your web browser to register for the 2009 New England Classic.

http://tour.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC005008030?pg=entry&fr_id=5560

I also have some other news to report.  Faith Linsky, the long-time staff partner on the New England Classic is no longer with the American Diabetes Association.  The American Diabetes Association, like many other organizations both for profit and not-for-profit, had to undergo staffing reductions in order to protect our ability to deliver our mission during these tough economic times.  Faith was instrumental in bringing the Classic to where it is today.  I know many of you looked forward to seeing her each year in Woburn and communicating with her as you registered and raised your contributions.

Faith’s knowledge is hard to replace but I want you to know we are committed to maintaining the Classic’s reputation as a fun, safe and well-produced ride.  That said, I am pleased to announce that Ryan Williams has accepted the position as the new Tour de Cure Manager for the New England Classic.  Ryan has worked for the ADA for the past year on the Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes events in Maine and has done a great job recruiting teams and getting participants invested in the Mission.  Ryan will be based out of the Portland, Maine office.  He can be reached at rwilliams{at}diabetes.org or at (207) 774-7717 x3456. Feel free to contact Ryan with any questions.  His first day will be Monday, February 2nd.

In the meantime,  please register now!  We are excited for another great year and look forward to seeing you there.

Chris Boynton
Executive Director

Do you have a hankering to roll out for a long ride on sun-baked asphalt with a flock of fun-loving cyclists?

Unfortunately for New Englanders the ride on the sun-baked asphalt will probably have to wait at least until May. But your best cycling buddies are hoping you’ll join them Feb. 28 at Clark University in Worcester for the American Diabetes Association’s 2^nd Annual New England Classic Rider Roundup. Follow this link for directions to Clark where we’ll be meeting in the Grace Conference Room of the Higgins University Center: www.clarku.edu/admissions/visit/directions.cfm

We’ll be hanging out from 1 to 4 p.m. to share a few memories, and laughs, from last year’s ride and to talk about plans for the 2009 New England Classic, July 11-17.

Be sure to bring along any fun photos you may have from last year and more importantly bring along any cyclists you think might want to join us in having a great time on a great ride for a great cause. We’ll answer any questions they have about the route, training or fund-raising. And this year we hope to have someone available to tell us about diabetes research and the great work being done by the American Diabetes Association.

Haven’t registered for this year’s ride yet? Well go to www.newenglandclassic.org

and sign up now to join us for another adventure!

Until then we’re looking forward to seeing you at the roundup.

Tim Wilson

New England Classic Organizing Committee

Registration is now open for the 2009 Tour de Cure!

Thank you for being one of the extraordinary riders in the Tour de Cure. Thanks to you we raised over $15 million in 2008 to support the critical efforts of the ADA to fund research, education, advocacy programs. But we have even more to do. The CDC recently announced the number of Americans with diabetes increased from 20.8 million to 23.6 million and another 57 million have pre-diabetes. This growth is astonishing and we need your help–please sign up to ride today!
http://tour.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC005008030?pg=entry&fr_id=5560

To register online, go to the Tour Web site and LOG IN with your previous year’s user name and password BEFORE registering for this year’s event. That way you will have instant access to your user profile and e-mail address book from your last online fund-raising campaign. If you need your user name and password again, you can request a reminder by clicking “Forgot your Password?” in the upper right hand corner of the Tour Web site.

By registering now, you take advantage of the discounted “early bird” registration fee. There are 2.8 million more reasons to ride. All you need is one.

Sign up today

Sincerely,
The American Diabetes Association

New England Classic dates for 2009:
150 : July 11-12
550: July 11-17

2009 Minimum Fundraising requirements:
150: $600
550: $2000

Do you remember someone’s number, but not their name? Here’s a list of rider numbers and volunteers. You should have gotten everyone’s e-mail addresses in the final newsletter, but if you need someone’s e-mail address, contact Faith.
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