Fellow tribal member down- help by purchasing coffee.

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My friends at Doma Coffee Roaster and Vertical Earth bike shop in CDA, Idaho have a mutual friend down and are asking for help. If you need to spend money on coffee and you support bike culture, read this and thank you.

Dear  friends,

As with many of you, cycling has provided me with countless joys, opportunities, memories, and great lifelong friends.

One of these friends, a teammate from the Motofish Racing Team that sponsored my 2012/2013 cyclocross season, needs help. Mark and Sarah Bender were spending last week in Hawaii to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. They left their 4 boys home. On their last day, Mark suffered a catastrophic injury, a C6/7 complete spinal cord injury. He had emergency surgery, and is recovering in a Hawaii ICU for what they think will be at least 2 weeks before he is stable enough to return home.

For those of you that know Mark, you know that he and Sarah lived and breathed cycling, as well as family and community. My heart aches for what they are going through now, and for what they will face in the future.

I felt helpless when I first heard the news. I can’t take them a bunch of meals to fill their freezer, or offer to watch the boys, or clean the house or do laundry or go grocery shopping. What do I do???

Some of you on the team have heard me say, at more than one team meeting, “We, as women, possess an enormous amount of power to organize, mobilize, and get shit done.”

What I can do is mobilize the troops.

From today until the end of April, Team REP, along with the generous support of our team sponsors Doma Coffee Roasting and Vertical Earth, is holding a La Bicicletta coffee fundraiser.

All proceeds from every $12.50 (plus 6% Idaho sales tax) bag of coffee we (Team REP and VE) sell will go directly to the Bender family.

Doma is a local roaster here in Coeur D Alene that has been supporting women’s cycling since our team inception in 2008. Rebecca and Terry firmly believe in women and our power to positively affect our families, our workplaces, and our communities. It’s a perfect partnership. For those of you unfamiliar with them, check out www.domacoffee.com.

Come to the shop to pick some up, or email or call or text me directly to order some and I will deliver (see below).

Sell it to your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers. Ask them to do the same. Forward this email. Forward the Facebook event invite. Put on a crazy costume and sell it on the corner. Whatever floats your boat (although I assume no responsibility for the corner scenario).

I know, I know…. Another fundraiser???? But this one is win-win-win-win: 
you have to buy coffee anyway, since you drink it everyday 
your friends and neighbors and coworkers drink coffee, so they can be part of the effort without any real effort
we get to reach out in our cycling community and wrap a hug around a great family
and your morning coffee will taste even better with that sweet dose of Karma you added.

For out-of-towners: head to Doma Coffee online athttp://www.domacoffee.com/product_listing.php?id=11

For local (50 mile radius): I will deliver to you, or I will have it for you at the shop (and will notify you when it arrives)
For Seattle peeps: I will make a weekend (or two) to bring it over, or I will ship 6# orders, or I may ship to Motofish headquarters….. still working this one out.

Checks can be mailed to Vertical Earth, 2175 N Main Ave, Coeur D Alene ID 83814. Please mark attn: Jenni/Bender sale
If you prefer to paypal, send it to jmgaertner@hotmail.com

Thanks, all. Let’s reach out.

Jenni Gaertner, MPT, M.Ed.
Associate Coach, Wenzel Coaching
www.wenzelcoaching.com

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart” 
– Confucius

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