Healing Path

Hello everyone,

Last year, Angela and I signed up for A Free to Breathe 5K Walk/Run in Chelmsford, MA. These events help to fundraise for research into lung cancer, and are approved/sponsored by the National Lung Cancer Partnership. We’re both running the race again this year, and we wanted to let you know about it!

The race is on September 22nd, which is next Sunday! We’ll be running with a small team of friends and family, some of whom ran the race with us last year. We call ourselves Sherri’s Stompers, in honor of my Mom, Sherri Walters.

You can find some more details about the race, about our team, and a link for donations on this website:

Sherri’s Stompers

We’d like to try and raise $500 dollars by the day of the race, and any help you can give would be much appreciated! Donations can be made securely through the above website via credit card. I believe they also accept mailed checks.

If you’re interested in running with us, or walking (there is a walking course that corresponds to the running course), there’s still time to sign up! You can click Register To Join Team in the middle of the above page, right next to where it lists our current team members.

Thanks for your support!

Love,
Andrew Codispoti

P.S. Please pass this on to anyone you think would be interested.

Hello Everyone!

As you know, the celebration of life for Sherri Walters will be this coming Sunday, August 21st. I’m looking forward to seeing you all there and sharing this special time with you.

Thanks for RSVPing on the website and for letting me know what you’re bringing for potluck! If you haven’t done this, please do here:

RSVP Form

As of now, here’s the plan for Sunday:

You’re welcome to arrive anytime after 2pm, and we’ll begin the ceremony at 4pm. Just a reminder, if you would like to share something (a reading, a memory, a song) during the ceremony, please let me know. After the ceremony (probably around 5pm) we’ll have dinner, and then we’ll have music and visiting time as long as we like.

Attire is casual, no need to dress up!

We have about seventy people coming, so I have a request: if you have any folding chairs or tables, please bring them if convenient! I’m pretty sure we have plenty, but if you have a favorite folding lawn chair, for instance, you might bring it.

We will be providing corn on the cob, hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, and veggies from the grill, as well as strawberry shortcake for dessert. We’ll also provide lemonade and sweet iced tea, as well as plenty of water. Please BYOB if you’d like something in addition to the above! We’ll provide plates, napkins, utensils, etc, though you may want to bring a serving utensil for your potluck dish.

I’m still looking for pictures for the slideshow, so if you have any, please contact me so I can include them!

You may receive more emails from me as the week goes by and I remember details I’ve forgotten to pass along, but otherwise, I will plan to see you all on Sunday!

Love,
Andrew Codispoti

P.S. I’ll be sending directions out to those who have RSVPed on Wednesday, so that you know how to get here.

Hello Everyone,

The date (Sunday, August 21) of the Celebration of Life for Sherri Walters (Mom) is quickly approaching. I’ve received RSVPs from about 30 people so far. There are a few more who I know are coming who haven’t RSVPed! If you are one of those please take a minute to fill out the form, here, so that I can add you to the official count:

http://www.sherriwalters.com/healingpath/rsvpmaker/celebration/

The basic program for the event will be:

You’re welcome to arrive around 3pm. We’ll have appetizers, snacks and beverages while we allow time for everyone to arrive. At 4pm we’ll gather for a short ceremony (more on this in a moment). After the ceremony we’ll enjoy a Potluck dinner. Following dinner, there will be music, games, hopefully a bonfire, and plenty of together-time.

If you are going to be here for dinner, please indicate on your RSVP what you’d like to bring to the Potluck. We’ll be providing hamburgers, chicken, and vegetables for the grill, as well as copious amounts of corn-on-the-cob. Just let me know what side-dish, salad, appetizer, or dessert item you’d like to bring, so that I can keep track of what sorts of items we’ll have.

We’re going to be displaying a slideshow of pictures from Mom’s life during the celebration, and it will also be available on the web after the event for those who can’t make it. Whether you’re going to be at the celebration or not you can help me with this slideshow.

First, if you have photos of Mom please send them to me. The best way to do this is digitally, either by email, or preferably via Dropbox (dropbox.com), where my username is andrew@stage-pages.com (if you need help with Dropbox email or call me). If you don’t have digital copies or scanning equipment, you can send photos to me via regular mail. I promise to take good care of them, and I’ll try to scan them all and include them in the slideshow.

And the second way you could help out with the slideshow: does anyone have portable projector equipment that could hook up to a PC?

Regarding the ceremony, it is going to be simple and personal. It will mainly consist of personal remembrances of Mom (funny stories, sad stories, beautiful stories), poems, songs, or whatever else anyone would like to contribute. If you’re not going to be there at the celebration but have something short you’d like to have read, please send it to me!

Anybody who can’t make it to the celebration for whatever reason, but who is local and would like us prepare could help out in an important area: cleaning up the yard and house in Fitzwilliam so that we can fit all the guests for the celebration! If you have a weekend or any day free between now and the 21st, and would like to spend a little time mowing, raking, pruning, or whatever-your-pleasure, please get in touch with Andrew Walters or Matthew Codispoti (they’re in charge of the big task of getting the house and yard ready for the celebration).

I think that’s it for now. Please remind family and friends to RSVP on the website, here:

http://www.sherriwalters.com/healingpath/rsvpmaker/celebration/

Just a quick recap of all the info above:

* when you RSVP, let me know what side-dish, salad, appetizer, or dessert you can bring for dinner
* send me any pictures of Mom that you’d like to include in the slideshow
* let me know if you wish to participate in the ceremony (or if you have something you’d like someone else to read)
* get in touch with Matthew or Andrew W if you have some time to help out in Fitzwilliam before the celebration

I am really looking forward to seeing those who will be at the celebration and to sharing pictures of our event with everyone! Take care, and I’ll be in touch.

With love,
Andrew Codispoti

Hello Everyone,

As you know, on August 21st we will be celebrating Mom’s life in Fitzwilliam, NH. In order to continue our planning for the event, we’ve set up a page on this site where you can let us know if you plan to attend or not.

Please head over to the RSVP page and let us know whether you’ll be attending!

With love and healing,
Andrew Codispoti

Hello Everyone!

The Ice Cream Social was a big success last night! Thank you everyone for making this event possible. Thanks to the planners, the ice cream scoopers, all the folk who helped set up, run the activities, thanks to Run Gazelle Run for amazing entertainment, and special thanks to Robyn for being lead organizer of the whole event!

Counting the donations from last night and from Mom’s registry on heifer.org, we’ve collected a total of $1570!

That’s three heifers worth! Visit the gift catalog to imagine other combinations of critters we have provided!

Thank you all again, so much!

Love,
Andrew C

Hello Everyone,

I know the forecast looks ominous for this afternoon, so I want to assure you that the Ice Cream Social today will continue RAIN or SHINE!

Our rain location is the Town Hall in Fitzwilliam, which is right off the town common on the south east side.

So if you arrive and don’t see any tents or tables set up on the common, come on down to the Town Hall (there’s a parking lot). We’ll be inside!

The bands are going to be great, as will the ice cream (donated by Connelly Brothers of Temple), so don’t miss it! See you around 6pm!

—
Andrew Codispoti

Dear Friends and Family,

Plans are plunging ahead for the Ice Cream Social on July 8th in Fitzwilliam to benefit Heifer Project. We’ve received a donation of ice cream (very important!), as well as many other shows of support.

We’re trying to get a handle on how many people will be attending, so if you haven’t already, please RSVP on the Facebook Event. Also, please invite your friends! There will be great music (Run Gazelle Run!) and lots of ice cream.

If you haven’t any Facebook, leave a comment here to let us know you’re attending!

Thanks!

Love,
Andrew Codispoti and the Ice Cream Social Planners

Dear Friends and Family,

I’d like to invite you all to a Celebration of Life for my mom, Sherri Walters, on August 21st, 2011. The celebration will be held in Fitzwilliam, NH. With music, words, good food, and the company of friends and family we will celebrate Mom’s life and give thanks for the great inspiration she offers to all of us and the kindness and good works she nourished throughout her life.

Please treat this as a save-the-date! I’ll publish another notice on this blog late July with details on how to RSVP.

Meanwhile, if you want to help with planning the event please email me and let me know.

I hope to see you all in August if not before.

Love,
Andrew Codispoti

Hello friends and family of Sherri Walters,

Plans are moving along for Mom’s Celebration of Life, to be held in August (we’ll announce the date very soon).

Meanwhile, Robyn Hannett is organizing a related event. On Friday, July 8th, from 6:00pm till 7:30pm on the Town Green in Fitzwilliam, we will have an Ice-Cream Social with live music. Proceeds will be donated to Heifer Project in Mom’s name.

Tickets will be $5/person or $20/family.

Live music will be provided by my brothers, Dan and Matt Codispoti, and by Run Gazelle Run.

We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please contact Robyn Hannett at rahannett@gmail.com.

With love,
Andrew Codispoti