Riding towards health and a world free of MS

Hello! I'm Katie Turk - Account Coordinator on site at Dick's Sporting Goods in Pittsburgh, PA. Briana and I are participating in a 150 mile bike ride for 2 days in June. My dad is an avid cyclist which encourages me to think via genetics maybe I will be a great rider too. As seen in the picture above, I'm not too buff, but I know that I'm blessed with a healthy body that will carry me through to the finish line. I'll have the support and encouragement of fellow riders Bri, my boyfriend, dad and brother as well as my mom on the sidelines volunteering and all my buddies at Dick's.

Through "Lunch and Learn" sessions here we've learned more about how devastating it feels for someone with MS to have things we take for granted like walking become painful and challenging. The MS Society is a worthy place to donate to because of their very low overhead costs and dedication to helping people.

I also volunteer for an organization in Pittsburgh that provides health services to women. The great thing about volunteering is that you better yourself while helping others. You feel good once you have done something nice for someone else. When you learn about different people's challenges and circumstances it helps you to reflect on the blessings in your life.

In the case of this bike ride, we will be physically bettering ourselves in addition to emotionally growing. Heck, maybe we'll even cut down on a few carbon emissions (in keeping with Ivie's GREEN initiative) when we're zipping around on our bikes instead of starting up the car for quick trips to the grocery store.

Hello,

My name is Briana Clear and I am an Account Coordinator on the Dick’s Sporting Goods Account. Each year the employees of Dick’s Sporting Goods put together a bike team to ride 150 mile for multiple sclerosis. This year I decided to join the team and help Dick’s with their efforts to be the #1 fundraising team. Somehow I convinced my dad to ride along with me, mostly by telling him he probably could not keep up with me anymore! On June 7th & 8th we will be riding from Cranberry, PA to Lake Erie. It is going to be a very challenging, but rewarding ride. I have spoke to several people who have participated before and all of them say it is a weekend you will remember for the rest of your life. I am looking forward to riding this event with my father, my fellow Ivie employee Katie Turk, my coworkers at DSG, but most importantly I look forward to riding this ride for all of the individuals in this world who are diagnosed with MS!

150-Mile Bike Road in PA

Two of our employees in Pittsburgh are joining the Dick's Sporting Goods team in a 150-mile bike ride for Multiple Sclerosis on June 7th and 8th. Please cheer them on by visiting their websites and making a small donation. They are each trying to raise $200 so every little donation will help.

Briana's Website
Katie's Website

A Visit from Jonathan's Place

This past Friday we had a fun event in Flower Mound for the kids from Jonathan's Place, which is an emergency shelter for children here in the Dallas area. We had 8 kids from Jonathan's Place as well as some of our own employee's children join us for the day. We had a couple of Wii games setup, board games, and bean bag toss. We also had a craft project - mostly for the girls - to design their own tiles with paints, stickers, etc. It was even a nice enough day for the boys to go outside and play a little catch with a football. It seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves and the kids from Jonathan's Place were very appreciative of all of the fun and, of course, the great prizes they got to take back to the shelter with them.

Jonathan's Place is located in Garland, TX. If anyone is interested in additional opportunities they have for volunteering please take a look at their website at http://www.jpkids.org/.