OK,
so you're on a Sunday morning training walk with your Walk-for-the-Cure
fundraising team, and suddenly a headful of colorful braids jogs
by you. "Hey," you yell out, "I know those braids!
They belong to that hip-harpist, Deborah Henson-Conant!"
Deborah stops to chat for a minute and then she jogs on.
As
Deborah runs up the path, one of the other walkers starts talking
about Deborah's performances and how fabulous they are - and then
she starts ribbing you: "So why don't you run up there and
ask her to do a benefit concert for us?"
That's
exactly what happened to Lynn Ostberg on Oct. 25, 2003, and while
Lynn didn't quite have the -- uh -- ovaries -- at that very moment
to run up to Deborah, she did write an email later that night,
asking if Deborah would ever consider doing a small fundraiser
for the "Team Wild Women Outfitters" walk-for-the-cure
team.
When
Lynn got home from work on Monday night, there was a return email
from Deborah. A little fundraiser isn't really her style, she
said, but how about a BIG fundraiser. In fact, how about a BIG
fundraiser REALLY SOON?
Turns
out, Deborah was performing her annual "Birthday Bash"
concert exactly one month later. Normally the theater's completely
booked out that time of year but there'd been a sudden cancellation,
so the theatre was, miraculously, free that night. "So,"
said Deborah in her email, "if you can get 450 people to
come to a show in about three weeks, then together we could raise
more than ten thousand dollars for this cause."
And
so they put on the show, a funny, moving event full of spirit
and music. OK, so they didn't completely fill the house, but they
raised some money and a lot of consciousness, added members to
their team - and at the end of the night they all hugged and said,
"Hey, let's do this again sometime."
Fast
Forward 16 months ...
Deborah's
presenting a Mother's Day Weekend show at the Regent Theatre,
Lynn sends over an email and boom -- the Wild Women are uniting
again.
So
who ARE these Wild Women?
Team
Wild Women Outfitters is
a team of inspired women, training together to participate in
walks to raise funds for BOTH of the most prominent breast cancer
research fundraising walks (the "Avon Walk for Breast Cancer"
and the Susan G. Komen "Breast Cancer 3-Day" walk).
Bypassing the politics of "which walk should we support,"
"Team Wild Women Outfitters" decided
to support BOTH walks and to split the proceeds of the concert
50/50 between both organizations.
Karen
Rudnick and Lynn Ostberg, now the team co-captains, met two years
ago during training walks for their first 60 mile 3-day walk for
Breast Cancer. They both set out to dedicate themselves to the
cause of finding a cure for and raising awareness of breast cancer,
having no idea what a dramatic benefit the walks would be to their
own lives. During the course of her first training, Karen's life
outlook changed completely ... a fact that was underscored by
her losing 50 pounds during the training – just a little
side-benefit of her commitment to the cause.
The next year Lynn and Karen became training leaders to help other
walkers prepare for the Avon 2-day walk. With the support of Wild
Women Outfitters (a retail store in Arlington), the Team Wild
Women Outfitters took off. Lisa and Terry (the store owners),
as dedicated as the walkers themselves, would make sure that their
store was open to the walkers at 8 am every Sunday before they
began their training walks. The team of 35
trained all winter, walking
in the rain and snow. Since then, just those two women have raised
over $10,000 each year. Even more dedicated now, the Team Wildwomen
Outfitters 2004 fundraising goal is $100,000. (To email for more
info about joining the team, donating money, or just more info:
teamWWO@aol.com).
Wild
Women Outfitters is a far-from-average
retail store in Arlington, specializing in clothing, gear and
workshops aimed at empowering women through sports on every level
of ability. The store is co-owned by sisters Lisa and Terry Austin.
Their personal mission is to inspire women to live their lives
more fully, and both their store and the teams they support are
part of fulfilling that mission.
They
long ago decided to focus their philanthropic energy towards the
Boston-area cancer-cure walks -- and, among other things, they
provide clinics, support, and a 'home' to the Team Wild Women
Outfitters. They are helping the team make a difference. (www.WildWomenOutfitters.com)
Wild
Woman of the Harp, Deborah
Henson-Conant, was given that title by veteran band-leader Doc
Severinsen. For those who've come to this page from outside Deborah's
site, here's a thumbnail sketch of her work: Deborah plays the
harp – the electric harp – the solid-body, electric
strap-on harp. And she sings and tells stories. Her stage manner
is half-virtuosic-showman and half-intimate-chate. Her songs range
from intricate love songs, through playful interaction with the
audience to ferocious electric-harp workouts that could make Eddie
Van Halen jealous. "A
cross between Leonard Bernstein, Steven Tyler and Xena, the Warrior
Princess" (Ed Siegel, The Boston Globe) "She dresses
like a showgirl, plays the pants off the harp and tells tall tales
with the ease of a standup comic" (Donald Rosenberg, The
Plain Dealer) For
more info on her performances, see her Publicity
Page.
And
then there's you ...
Come on down and join the other "Wild Women" (and remember,
guys can be Wild Women, too!). For ticket info click
here and it will take you back to our main concert info page
where you'll find a variety of ways to buy tix for this show.
For more information, read on…
How
much of the ticket money goes to the cause?
When
you buy a $30 ticket for this show, 90% ($27) goes to the Team
Wild Women Outfitters to split between the Avon & Susan G.
Komen cancer-research-funds – and 10% ($3) goes to offset
theater costs. If you decide to pay, say, $50 for your ticket,
operating costs are still just $3, which means that $47 goes to
the cancer-research-funds. Cool, eh? It also means that if you
can't come to the concert, you can still support the event - just
make out a check for any amount to "Breast Cancer Walk"
and send it to Karen Rudnick, 39 Sanderson Rd., Lexington, MA
02420 – or give it to a friend to bring to the show.
What
are we raising money for?
Funds
from this concert will be split equally between two cancer-research-funding
organizations (links to their web-pages below). Each organization
has an annual 2-Day or 3-Day fundraising walk in Boston. For those
of you who (like Deborah) didn't or don't know much about these
fundraising walks, here's what the Susan G. Komen website has
to say:
What
is the [Susan G. Komen] Breast Cancer 3-Day walk?
It's an incredibly special event. Thousands
of women and men will unite for three days, [from July 30 -
Aug. 1, 2004 to walk 60 miles into the heart of Boston] in a
bold display of courage and commitment. It's a weekend of hope,
as we honor lives lost, celebrate survivors, promote breast
cancer research, and help bring breast cancer care to those
who so desperately need it. Every year in the United States,
breast cancer claims nearly 40,000 lives. Who has been affected
in your life? A mother, sister, daughter, friend? The Breast
Cancer 3-Day is your chance to go the distance in the fight
against this disease.
Net proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation to fund breast cancer research, education,
screening and treatment programs, as well as the National Philanthropic
Trust, to provide a special field of interest fund for breast
cancer initiatives.
Which
organizations actually get the money?
Both
Avon Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Foundation are used for
research grants and also direct services (many here in the Boston
area) as well as raising awareness of and information about
Breast Cancer. Avon, in particular, focuses on medically underserved
women for their mammography, translation and case work funding.
For more info on these organizations:
SUSAN
G. KOMEN:
• About the walks:
www.The3Day.org
•
About the foundation: Susan
G. Komen Website
• About where the funding goes: Komen
Funding
AVON: Avon
Walk for Breast Cancer (www.avonwalk.org)
Help!
Get me back to the page where I can find out about tickets!
