Hello! Welcome to Team ELF! Seems like our captain, Frank Plunkett, was just talking about starting a team and here we are, 6 years later, with 100 riders and even more support people and an honest to goodness website!
A
special thanks to Friends of Frank and captain, Larry Etzel,
who offered their web site as a model for ours. This is so typical
of anyone associated with the MS 150 City to Shore Bike Tour,
from TV newsman, Larry Kane and friend Judy Cohen, who began the
ride in honor of Larry's mother to the crowds cheering on the
riders. We're all in this together. Our collective energies are
sure to help us find a cure!
I'm Eileen L. Flynn, the "ELF, Herself." I'm going to fill you in on who we are and the mission we've accepted. Team ELF, consists of riders, volunteers and contributors who work toward the goal of financing research for the treatment and cure of MS. The MS 150 City to Shore Bike Tour has become a wonderful event in my life and the lives of members of Team ELF. Each September, individuals and teams ride round trip from Cherry Hill to Ocean City, sponsored by family and friends. Last year, over 4,000 bike riders and many more volunteers and contributors helped to raise $1.4 million to be used for treatments and research to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. Team ELF raised over $28,000 in support of this endeavor. In September, 2000, Team ELF, with 100 riders, raised over $50,000.
Multiple Sclerosis has been a part of my life for 24 years. Has it been challenging...oh, yes! However, it has also given me invaluable insight as to what's important in life. The old cliché of, "stopping to smell the roses" works well for me. I have had the privilege of being the recipient of countless acts of kindness, many of them a direct result of my association with Team ELF. Try to imagine my feelings when I see family, colleagues and students from Lenape and Haddon Heights High Schools volunteering to man registration and refreshment booths at Woodcrest Station at 5 AM on Saturday morning. Then watching the riders, decked out in their team jerseys leaving the starting point on the first leg of their 150 mile ride. Or when my husband, Frank, gives me a thumbs up sign as he crosses the finish lines in Ocean City and Cherry Hill. I go through lots of tissues on this weekend!
As a school administrator, I am often invited into classrooms by teachers whose students are curious about, "Why Mrs. Flynn rides in a scooter up and down the hallway." I give them a brief synopsis of MS and my history in dealing with it but focus my talk on overcoming the obstacles that life presents to us. Depending on the age group, I've gotten into everything from doing homework versus playing video games to how playing sports or training to play an instrument builds character. I always offer a question and answer session. The most profound question raised came from a sixth grader who asked, "Is there anything good about MS?" My immediate thought was NO, but as I looked around the room I replied, "Yes, just look at what I'm doing now. I have a chance to talk to you." I tell the students about the people I've met and the wonderful experiences I've had over the past 24 years. I brag about Team ELF and the thousands of volunteers who worked and rode in the MS 150 to raise funds to find a cure. My hope is that I have given these youngsters perspective about meeting challenges in life.
Team ELF and all of the MS150 riders and participants, models of determination, have given all individuals with MS hope and inspiration to remain positive about the future. I will continue to count my blessings of generous family and friends and a wonderfully devoted husband.
If you're looking for a team to join, a team that's committed to the cause and loves to laugh...look no further. Team ELF is ready to welcome you with open arms!
09 Jun 2006 08:26