Bonnie and Dave's Ceboride 2013

 

Ceboride 2013 – It's that time again!

 

Hi, Friends and Family, Colleagues, and Friends of Harvard Tennis:

For new readers, Ceboride is a very small charity ride of 100 miles (in a day) for Sarnelli House, an orphanage in Thailand for orphaned and/or abandoned AIDS children, run by Father Mike Shea.  This will be my wife Bonnie and my 8th time making the 100+ mile trek, either in spirit or in person with the other Ceboriders in Wisconsin.

Those of you who have so kindly donated in the past to our Ceboride probably received a letter about this summer's Ceboride, which took place in Wisconsin in July.  Our summer was so busy that we had to postpone our portion of the ride until next Wednesday, August 21.

So many of you have kindly responded to this appeal over the last seven years.  We would be grateful for your support again.  (N.B. for potential recruits: please do not respond to this appeal, no matter how much you would like to help, for obvious reasons.) This year we will again do our own Ceboride near Hanover, NH.  As usual, in addition to our usual gift, we will send Sarnelli House what we would have spent on airfare, car rental, accommodations, and meals traveling to Wisconsin.

At this point, as the reality of not having trained enough this summer sets in, Bonnie and I are looking for anything we can find to get us through next week's ride!  What will again most sustain us is the hope that we, in a very modest way (and with your help if you are so inclined), might lessen the suffering of kids incomparably less fortunate than us.

 

• For additional information on Sarnelli House or on the CeboRide visit www.ceboride.com.  100% of the donations are transferred to Friends of Sarnelli House UA c/o Fr. Mike Shea. All donations are tax deductible. 
• Checks should be made out to :  Friends of Sarnelli House UA and sent to: Ceboride, c/o Maggie Shea, N5350 Ledgetop Dr., Fond du Lac, WI 54935

 Here's a little recap for those who are new and for our veteran "donors" who might like a refresher.

Each year since the CeboRide was started in 2002, the treatment for AIDS infected kids has gotten better, but also has become more expensive.  The ride is named after Cebo, a little girl who stole the hearts of Molly (Molly is Katie's sister…Katie is Michael Masland's wife…Michael is my wife Bonnie's youngest son) had volunteered to help their Uncle Mike (Father Mike) at Sarnelli House in Thailand, which he has run for 30+ years.  The first bike ride raised over $17,000 and gave Father Mike the ability to buy antiretroviral AIDS drugs (Father Mike has been running the orphanage for the last 30+ years).  Before the ride, children were dying of TB and AIDS.  Since that date, Sarnelli House has not lost another child (until last week).  The strength Cebo demonstrates as she battles the complications from living with AIDS continues to be the inspiration of the ride. Due to the success of the CeboRide, Fr. Mike has been able to continue to buy the AIDS medication in addition to cover the cost of food, daily living supplies, and costly hospital trips.  The successful efforts of CeboRiders have literally saved the lives of hundreds of children! Since 2002 the CeboRide has raised more then $600,000.

There are currently 145 children who live in five different homes at Sarnelli house and another 57 kids in their Outreach Program.  Times are very rough and the need has never been greater.  Sarnelli House receives no help from the Thai government and relies on the CeboRide and its faithful coterie of riders and sponsors (YOU!).  The kids and Father Mike can only repay you with their prayers, gratitude and love.

Riders in Wisconsin will bike from dawn to dusk, riding for Cebo and all of the other children who can't bike the distance.  It is a wonderful experience for all the riders, who treat one another as Cebo would… and laugh a lot as Cebo does (I do give Bonnie some good laughs…).  We all bike for a better life for the children at Sarnelli House and a few more birthday parties in their lives.   We already know that all of us together have literally made a difference in their lives.  Please don't wait for a better world or a better day.

Wish it were easy to donate online, but every dollar goes straight to the care of the children, so all the accounting is done by Maggie Shea, Katie's mother.

Thanks for anything that you can contribute.

Bonnie & Dave Fish

 

Dave Fish

Scott Mead Family Head Coach of Men's Tennis
Harvard University Dept of Athletics
Murr Center
65 N. Harvard St.
Boston, MA 02163
fish@fas.harvard.edu
GoCrimson Men's Tennis website
Harvard Men's Tennis blog