CONGRATULATIONS!

CONGRATULATIONS to all Team Eye and Ear members for completing the 112th Boston Marathon

Be sure to check out the select photos of select Team Eye and Ear members minutes after completing the marathon.

Also, please e-mail me (kristina_sym@meei.harvard.edu) any photos of yourself and team members before, during, or after the marathon. We will be trying to include select photos in our newsletter and I will also be sure to have the photos at the team wrap-up party.

Team member Richard Firth (right) with his proud son, Paul.

Team member, and MEEI OR Nurse, Peggy Kelley.

Rafal Urban


Bill Ramon

Meg Fitzgerald

Jason Emsley

Carlos Herrera knows that Team Eye and Ear is #1.

Alicia Priselac

Fundraising Updates

Congratulations to Team Eye and Ear!

Total Fundraising is now up to $123,732.54!!

Double Your Donations: Ask your donors if their company participates in a matching donation program.
- Most for-profit companies participate. If they do, have them fill out the appropriate form to have their donation matched.
- People who have already donated to sponsor you can still participate. Don’t worry if the check will not be cut until after the May 21st deadline for all donations to be in. As long as we receive verification from the company, we could the matching donation towards your total.
*note*: if your company has a matching donation program, it is not too late to count your $100 non-refundable deposit (which everyone donated to Mass. Eye and Ear) towards your company matching donation program.*
**I encourage you to use these company matching programs – as it is an easy way to double your donations**
Please let me know if you have any questions!

A Fundraising Idea – Mother’s Day: Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 11. A great gift idea! Ask people to donate to Mass. Eye and Ear as a gift to, or in memory of, their mothers.

reminder: All Fundraising Due by noon on Wednesday, May 21. However, I strongly encourage all team members to do most, if not all, of their fundraising before the marathon, as it will be much easier. Remember, all team members are responsible for at least $3,000 fundraising.

Marathon Weekend Updates

John Hancock Sports & Fitness (Marathon) Expo:
- Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, Boston
- Friday, April 18; 10am – 8pm
- Saturday & Sunday, April 18 & 20; 9am – 6pm
- Features more than 200 exhibiters
- Complimentary admission
- Why you need to attend:
- At the Mass. Eye and Ear booth (booth #203) on Sat. & Sun., 12:30pm – 2:00pm: pick up your Team Eye and Ear official singlet, t-shirts for your friends/family to cheer you on during the marathon, and a gift. *If you would like to meet marathon ledgend, Bill Rodgers, and were not able to during the kick-off party (or want to meet him again), make sure to stop by the Mass. Eye and Ear booth on either Saturday or Sunday by 12:45pm and tell one of the people staffing the booth (or look for me) that you’re a member of Team Eye and Ear and you’ll be ushered to the front of the line when Bill Rodgers comes to the booth at 1:00pm.
- At the BAA number pick-up table anytime the Expo is open: Pick up your bib number (remember to bring your “bib number pick-up card” and a photo i.d.), your computer timing chip, Boston Marathon participant t-shirt, and race packet. Learn more about this here: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/WelcomeBooklet.asp#bibnumber1

Pre-Race Dinner:
- City Hall Plaza
- Saturday, April 19; 4:30pm – 8:00pm
- Learn more about the dinner here: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/WelcomeBooklet.asp#preracedinner

Marathon Day (Monday, April 21, 2008):
- Remember to bring: your Team Eye and Ear singlet, your bib number, the computer chip (which you will receive at the expo with your bib number) worn on your shoe.
- 6:45 am – Buses begin loading from the Tremont St. side of the Boston Common in Boston’s Back Bay area. Buses will leave Boston for Hopkinton, the site of the starting line. You are strongly encouraged to take this bus to the starting line, as traffic and parking in Hopkinton will be very difficult. You must show your bib number before getting on the bus. For more information: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/WelcomeBooklet.asp#transportationtostart
- Athletes Village – Near the starting line, at Hopkinton High School, where the BAA buses drop off. Entertainment, light refreshments, bottled water, Gatorade Endurance Formula, PowerBar, bagels, tenting, and portable toilets will all be available. You must show your bib number upon entering.
- 10:30 am – Start time begins for all Team Eye and Ear members.
- During the Race: There will be fluid stations along the course beginning at mile two. There will also a PowerGel Energy Food Station located just prior to the mile 17 fluid station
- After the Race: Be sure to turn in the black ChampionChip to receive your finisher’s medal. Arrange to meet your family or relatives in the designated Family Meeting Area located on St. James Ave and Stuart St from Berkeley St to Clarendon St. beyond the Finish Area exit. For more information about the family meeting area: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/WelcomeBooklet.asp#familymeetingarea
- 5:00 pm – Boston Marathon Awards Ceremony @ Fairmont Copley Plaza Boston, 138 St. James Ave., Boston. For more information: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/WelcomeBooklet.asp#specialevents
- 8:00pm – 12:30am – Post-race Dance Party @ The Roxy and Pure, 279 Tremont St, Boston. Dancing, entertainment and a video of the race will be shown. For more information: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/WelcomeBooklet.asp#specialevents

You're Helping MEEI -- How is MEEI Helping Others?

Peters' Anomaly is a congenital disease that results in bilateral opacity of the corneas; cataracts and glaucoma can also be present, resulting in impaired vision. Four years ago, on the small Caribbean island of Barbados, Nathan Lewis was born with the disease. His vision was near 20/2000 in both eyes; he could only see light.

Nathan’s lack of vision affected his development and he used a walker to move around. Desperate to find help, his family first visited MEEI about a year and a half ago for medical treatment. An unfortunate fact is that cornea transplants often fail with this disease, and the first attempts to correct Nathan’s vision in the left eye were less than successful.

But his devoted parents, ever holding out hope that MEEI ophthalmologists could help Nathan, urged another attempt at giving him sight. His father left his job to travel to Boston so that Nathan could receive medical treatment.

With the support of the hospital’s International Office and Social Work Department, along with financial assistance from the Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation, Dr. Shizuo Mukai placed a scleral buckle in Nathan’s right eye in September 2007 to reduce his risk of a retinal detachment. In later surgeries, Dr. Kathryn Colby removed the cataract from this eye, surgically implanted a Boston Keratoprosthesis (KPro), also known as an “artificial cornea,” and replaced the lens in the eye.

After the operation, Nathan began to walk on his own for the first time. The MEEI Optical Shop has donated eyeglasses to Nathan, whose vision is now 20/89. After several months in Boston, his mother and father will return to Barbados with Nathan, who will now be able to see his home for the first time, thanks to help provided by Ray Tye and a team of dedicated professionals at MEEI. “It is very difficult to restore vision in children with corneal scarring using traditional corneal transplantation techniques,” Dr. Colby said. “The Boston KPro offers hope for rapid visual recovery in these patients. Our entire team is thrilled with Nathan’s progress. This is truly a major advance in the care of children with corneal diseases such as Peters’ Anomaly.”

Dr. Kathy Colby, one of the many professionals at MEEI that helped Nathan see again,

in the clinic with Nathan and his parents, Kery-Ann and Mark.

MEEI Social Worker Lynda Ketcham gives Nathan a “Perkins Panda”
donated by the Lions Clubs International and the Perkins School for the Blind.

Money makes you happy - if you spend it on others

An article in today's Boston Globe states that new research proves that money can make you happy - if you spend it on someone else. Therefore you are helping others by asking them to donate to a good cause, which helps others -- Mass. Eye and Ear -- for your sponsorship for the Boston Marathon.

From the article: "There's so much benefit to the person who contributes to others that I often think that there is no more selfish act than a generous act," said Tal Ben-Shahar, author of the book "Happier" and teacher of the positive psychology course on happiness that is Harvard's most popular class.

It's a very interesting article. See the whole article here: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/03/21/money_makes_you_happy___if_you_spend_it_on_others/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Massachusetts+news

$63,958.72

Team Eye and Ear's 60 members have currently collectively raised $63,958.72 for the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary to help fund hope for those individuals suffering from eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck disorders.

Way to go team!!! Our goal is $200,000. There are 3 months left for fundraising (you have until May 21, 2008 to get all of your fundraising money in)!!

Kick-Off Party!

Thank you to those who made it out to the kick-off party last night!

Here are some select photos from the evening.

Team Eye and Ear members with Bill Rodgers

Teammates Suzi Reynolds, Matt Benvenuti, and Peggy Kelley with Bill Rodgers

Team Eye and Ear member and MEEI OR Nurse, Peggy Kelley, with Bill Rodgers

Teammates Helen Drown and Mary Grzybinski

Teammates Emily Stear, Dana Brundage, and Danielle Dreger

Teammates Alexandria Papa and Alex Pierson

A few ways your sponsors can have a MAJOR impact...

Current Focus Project/Centers of Excellence:

• Hearing Preservation and Restoration: to preserve and to restore hearing using stem cells/new drugs and delivering them safely to the inner ear.
• Glaucoma Center of Excellence: to preserve vision of glaucoma patients through developing methods for earlier detection as well as new treatments, specific to each, individual and patient, and new patient programs for genetic screening and early diagnosis.
• Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgical Oncology Center of Excellence: to transform surgical care of patients with thyroid/parathyroid cancers by developing safer, better surgical techniques and devices, disseminating their adoption globally, and training future global leaders.
• Balance Center: to develop comprehensive, ame day diagnostic capabilities as well as treatment programs for each kind of balance problem, and new devices to help patients maintain stability.
• Tinnitus Center: to clinically characterize the different kinds of tinnitus and develop safe, effective treatments for them.

Here are a few ways your sponsors/donors can have a major impact in directly improving the lives of others. Invest in.....

• Hearing Research and hearing can be restored for millions within 20 years.
• Glaucoma Center of Excellence and functional vision can be preserved for millions of patients within 10-25 years.
• Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Center of Excellence and functional vision can be improved for millions of patients within 5 - 20 years.
• Balance Center of Excellence and dizzy patients can get accurate diagnosis quickly and will get targeted treatment; new devices will help millions maintain balance, avoid falls, injuries.

You might be interested to know....

Some very interesting distinctions that Mass. Eye and Ear holds.
(Share some of these with your sponsors to help increase your fundraising efforts!)

Distinctions:

• The Eaton-Peabody Laboratory at MEEI is the largest basic hearing research center in the world.
• Discovery of the first heritable cancer gene, most of the genese idenrified in retinitis pigmentosa, and some glaucoma genes.
• Primary teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology.
• MEEI's residency training programs in Orolaryngology and Opthalmology are among the most selective in the U.S.
• Discovery of the role of VEGF in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), leading to the first two FDA-approved drugs for treating AMD.
• Discovery of stem cells in the adult inner ear, which increases the potential of hearing restoration.
• First diagnosis of retinopathy or prematurity.
• First eye pathology laboratory in the U.S.
• First use of isolation to segregate patients with infectious diseases.

For those of you in the Boston area..

I just found this on the Boston Marathon website. For those around the Boston area, the B.A.A. and Adidas offers monthly runs in and around Boston for anyone training for the 2008 Boston Marathon. The group runs feature presentations, guest appearances by adidas athletes, product give-aways, and refreshments.

Group Run #1: Thursday, January 31st
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel (655 Boylston Street)
Group Run #2: Thursday, February 28th
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel (655 Boylston Street)
Group Run #3: Thursday, March 27th
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel(655 Boylston Street)
Group Run #4: Thursday, April 10th
Time: 6:00 p.m., with refreshments from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Boston Marathon Finish Line & CharlesMark Hotel(655 Boylston Street)

For more information, click here.

If anyone has done this in the past and has reviews of the program, feel free to leave comments for your fellow team mates.

Need a hotel room the weekend of the Boston Marathon?

Are you coming from out-of-town and need a hotel room the weekend of the Boston Marathon?

Team Eye and Ear has a hold on 14 room at the Westin Waterfront hotel until February 15th, through marathon tours. Since the weekend of the Boston Marathon is a busy one in Boston (not only the marathon, but also the Olympic trials), it may be hard to find a hotel room otherwise.

The hotel is about 2 miles away from the Boston Marathon finish line and is accessible by public trans

To reserve one of these rooms, please e-mail Cliff Jennings of Marathon Tours at cliff@marathontours.com, tell him that you are part of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary team block and give him the following information:
● arrival and departure dates (2 night minimum)
● complete mailing address, and daytime phone
● room type (one or two beds)
● credit card with expiry to guarantee the room (must expire after 4/08)
● number of persons (adults and/or kids) in the room with all adults names
Westin Waterfront $219 per person double occupancy
● tax of 12.45% is additional

If interested in this option, I would suggest emailing Cliff ASAP, as we were only able to get a block of 15 rooms and they are only on hold until February 15th.

Team Eye and Ear Kick-Off Party

WHO: 2008 Team Eye and Ear Members.
WHERE: 7th Floor Cafe Dining Room @ the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (243 Charles Street, Boston)
WHEN: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
WHY: To meet fellow team members, enjoy pizza from Upper Crust and listen to, and meet, famed running legend, Bill Rodgers.

RSVP: Please RSVP to Kristina Sym by Wednesday, February 20, 2008.

Welcome to Team Eye and Ear!

Welcome team members to the official blog website for Team Eye and Ear!

I will be updated this blog with official Team Eye and Ear Members updates and news and useful links and stories for your training and fundraising.

Please feel free to leave comments on any of the posts to communicate with your fellow Team Eye and Ear members.

Also, don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns that you have!

-----
Kristina Sym
Special Events Coordinator
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
(617) 573-6364
Kristina_Sym@meei.harvard.edu