As most of you all know, Woody became ill with a rare disease we found out about when he was 20, almost exactly a month before he turned 21. He was diagnosed with Wilson Disease, which is a rare autosomal recessive disease that caused copper to accumulate in his brain. The disease has left him unable to walk, talk or swallow. He’s been tube fed for almost 7 years now and suffers from full body spasms pretty much all day. He has remained positive throughout this time! He is the toughest kid (technically a man now!) and has SO much strength he inspires our entire family. He is always happy, always smiling. (and as you know if you’ve met him, always humming! Haha!)
And we discovered that Woody LOVES racing! Our first race was in Virginia Beach in August. Woody wanted to do a race with me so we drove 2 ½ hours for the Surfer’s Healing 5K. I knew Woody would have fun but I totally underestimated how much fun he would have. He LOVED it! You can see the pure happy in his smile! We immediately signed up for the Rock ‘n Roll Virginia Beach ½ Marathon (as you all probably also know, I love that distance!) and he was pushed by 2 awesome Marines and officially became a half marathoner! (he was also thrilled to beat me by more than an hour!)
It’s more than just racing to Woody and me. We have made some amazing friends and have been welcomed into the Ainsley’s Angels family. They are an incredible community! We’ve loved every second of hanging out with them! Inclusive racing and Ainsley’s Angels have given Woody a super fun activity he loves. And something our entire family has been able to enjoy together. Chip, Sidney and I run with Woody and Bob provides support for us all at the start and finish line of races. Sidney is pushing Woody for the first time at the Surfin’ Santa 5 miler in Virginia Beach on December 15th!
Which brings me to the purpose of this fundraiser! Woody turns 28 on December 20 this year. We are doing a fundraiser with Ainsley’s Angels to hopefully be able to get Woody a racing chair of his own for his birthday and Christmas. This is a dedicated racing chair will fit Woody and his 6’5” height. (There aren’t many chairs that can accommodate his height. Lol) It’s an expensive chair and our goal is $4800. The chair would allow Woody to participate in LOTS more local races! Right now, we drive to Virginia Beach or Fredericksburg so we can borrow a chair from Ainsley’s Angels for Woody.
If you would like to donate towards a racing chair for “Team Woody”, your donation will go directly to Ainsley’s Angels, and is tax deductible. It would be awesome to be able to meet our fundraising goal for both Woody and Ainsley’s Angels. They are a fantastic organization and they mean a lot to our family.
Together, WE Shall ensure this becomes a reality! Click the button in the upper right of this page or email: Info@AinsleysAngels.org for a link to make a donation using PayPal and/or for a mailing address should you prefer to donate by check. We will ensure all donations appear on this page as off-line donations and any funds that exceed the goal, will go to aid in execution of the Ainsley's Angels of America mission!
Another way to help, is to spread our message and efforts:
1. Visit www.AinsleysAngels.org to purchase the children’s book, Born an Angel, written by Ainsley’s then 11-year old sister and donate it to a local elementary school library!
2. Follow us on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter: @ainsleys_angels
3. Lastly, we invite you to enjoy this amazing video and subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Additionally, all contributions to are TAX DEDUCTIBLE under section 170 of the IRS Code, as Ainsley’s Angels is qualified to receive tax-deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Code. Our tax ID is EIN 45-3576353 and our IRS tax exemption ID (DLN) is 17053067330003. Of note, all donations through this page will receive a Donation Receipt from Crowdrise for upon donating and all goal overages will aid Ainsley’s Angels in mission execution!
