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While life goes on for us, everything has changed for the victims of Monday's Boston Marathon bombing which left more than 150 people injured. A significant number of these individuals lost limbs while others face a long road of recovery due to soft tissue and bone damage. Many will never walk again. A prostetic leg, in some instances, costs $50,000. Add on the surgeries, rehabilitation, loss of work, and countless other issues, their medical bills will exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As someone who has grown up in Greater Boston, Patriots Day is one of the greatest days in our state. This civic holiday celebrates the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the American Revolutionary War. We have an early Red Sox game at old Fenway while the world's oldest annual marathon takes place down the street. There is no work; both public and private schools are closed. This day is supposed to be a celebration of one's self for the Marathon runners, achieving a goal that only a very small few are capable of doing. A good chunk of the 20,000 plus runners are running for a cause, often in memory of a loved one who died too early. It was these individuals who were still on the course when the attack occurred. Many of their family members would drive from location to location to cheer them on. Whether it was at Hopkinton, Heartbreak Hill, or Boston College, friends and family were there. And it was many of their family members that were among the injured who made it to the finish line in order to see them reach their goal.
I was supposed to be there. As fate would have it, my girlfriend's mother hurt her knee and could not participate in the race. I had too much work to do so I stayed home. When I do go to the Marathon, there is no better place than the finish line. Being able to see these individuals finish is amazing. Yelling and cheering them on, the feeling is incredible (usually aided by an adult soda or four).
I am fortunate that none of my friends nor acquaintances were physically injured. A friend's brother was between the two bombs when they went off. Two friends were right around 25.5 when the attacks happened and could not finish. Most people around here know someone who was affected in some significant way.
A local family was in the vicinity of the first blast. The daughter, Sydney, remains in critical condition. Two years earlier, when she was 16, Sydney was hit by a car and nearly died of a fractured skull. The world can be quite cruel sometimes. The mother, Celeste, lost both of her legs below the knee.
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Celeste, center with Sydney, right.
I wasn't satisfied with idle talk, "shame on whoever did it!" So yesterday, I began organizing with a few friends from my old ultimate frisbee team. As an avid ultimate frisbee player, I know how these ultimate aficionados can come together for a cause. So I figured, what better way than a charity ultimate frisbee hat tournament? (e/n: A hat tournament is when individuals sign up by themselves and are randomly placed on a team while trying to keep the teams as even as possible with a similar gender ratio; ultimate hat tournaments are often co-ed). We decided to name it Seven On The Green Line, an ode to the Boston T line and ultimate frisbee. Within the day, we received confirmation from 11 different ultimate frisbee related companies and organizations who are donating products or gear. The Tyngsboro Sports Center donated their field, personnel, and time for free. We're reaching out to local companies to donate gift certificates or money to help our out of pocket expenses (thank you cards to donors, jerseys). The reception this event has received has been amazing and is only getting bigger each passing hour.
Our goal is $10,000. We reach that, at the event, my former college team will shave my 9 1/2 month old beard. I love beards. I hate shaving. But for this, it's the least I could do.
+ Show Spoiler [The Beard] +
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Please feel free to donate and help not only reach our goal but exceed it. Every dollar counts. We set up a GoFundMe page for anyone interested. From the bottom of my heart, everyone involved, and the family impacted by this, thank you.
Links
Lowell Sun article on the affected family
GoFundMe - Donation page
UltiWorld Article
A huge shoutout to the awesome TLer shiroiusagi who is helping us with our design, jerseys, and flyers.
If you like Ultimate or are interested in supporting any of the organizations/teams, here is a list of donors. Many more to come:
SpikeBall
UltiCards
Ultimate Disc Store
NexGen Tour
UltiWorld
AUDL
Boston Ironside
PoNY (Pride of New York)
Chasing Sarasota/Rhino
Boston Whitecaps
Innova
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