Free Wheelchair Mission is always appreciative of our loyal friends and impressed with their heart and ingenuity; recently, one of our marathon fundraisers really threw down the gauntlet with a true sacrifice…to give up her beloved daily cup of coffee for a month. Cindy Biro made the challenge to herself and her friends:  Skip the coffee and buy a wheelchair!

“I do love my coffee,” Cindy said, “but it’s unthinkable that a month without something as simple as coffee can make the difference between a life crawling on the ground and a life of mobility.” 

Cindy and her daughter, Brittney, first learned of Free Wheelchair Mission when they ran in the Disneyland Inaugural Marathon last September.  “We didn’t train nearly enough, so it was more like a slow jog” she said, “ but we had a great time.”  They discovered the FWM booth at the pre-marathon expo where Cindy grabbed a flyer.  It was not until returning home that she read the material and was moved to check out the website. 

“The first thing I did was to go out and rent “Emmanuel’s Gift", she said.  “It made me realize what people go through, and how strong they still can be.”  Cindy had run in marathons before, but now she wanted to run not just for fun, or to receive a medal.  She decided to dedicate her effort to helping others. 

“It makes me sad to think of the millions of people waiting for wheelchairs,” Cindy said, “but I’m happy that my family, my friends and I can help.”  She added, “I may be at the end of the pack in Huntington Beach, but I’ll be proud that I’m there for such a special cause.”

Check out Cindy’s page at www.firstgiving.com/cindybiro.  For more information on setting up your own fundraising page for the Run, Walk and Roll for Mobility 2007, contact Vanessa Ryan, Marathon Coordinator, at (949) 273-8470, x213, or e-mail her at vryan@freewheelchairmission.org.

Half-Marathon Still Available

Pacific Shoreline Marathon Details