Unbelieveably, The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is THIS WEEKEND!
The "We Walk" team is 10 people strong and has been training for several months now... and we're ready to get going bright and early Saturday morning!
If you'd like to make a donation and help me reach this year's fundraising goal of $20,000, you can do so at http://donate.lisawalks.com. If I make that goal, I'll have raised $100,000 since I started walking 2002!
I've also launched a big batch of 50+ teddy bear and boxing glove auctions to support our fundraising... many of them featuring people in some of our favorite TV shows: Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Joe Flanigan (Stargate: Atlantis), the cast of NUMB3RS, American Ferrera (Ugly Betty), Zach Braff (Scrubs), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Eric Millegan (Bones), T.R. Knight (Grey's Anatomy) and MANY more!
We've also got some great people who have nothing to do with new TV... like Ian McKellen, Henry Winkler, Simon Pegg and a bunch of comic and Buffy/Angel/Firefly folks.
Bid early, bid often... and please help spread the word to anybody you think would be interested! (I'm putting my bets on Ian McKellen to give Viggo a run for his money!)
Another great way to give money if you're in the NYC area... we've got "Breast Cancer's a Drag!" coming up on 10/8. Team Member Chris Tuttle has decided to celebrate his birthday with a fundraiser that promises to be an *amazing* time! We've got Madame and Joe Kovacs, drag queens, DJ Brenda Black... all for a donation of just $20! The event is Monday, 10/8, at 8:00. It will be at Vlada (51st between 8th and 9th).
Note: Your $20 donation for the cover can be made through any member of the team... if you are friends with Chris or anybody else on the team in addition to me, I encourage you to make your donation through them rather than me (especially Chris since it's his birthday and his fundraiser and we want to get him to his minimum by the Walk!). Thanks. :)
Last but so very not least, the walk this weekend is a long one and it's always nice to see some friendly faces along the way. If you're local and want to come out say "hey" we'd love to see you!
Saturday Cheering Stations
Union Square (Mile 2.5) 14th and Union Sq. West. Peak viewing times: 7:30 am - 8:30 am Directions: By subway - N,R,Q,W and 4,5,6 trains to Union Square station. Walk to southeast corner of square.
Washington Square Park (Mile 3.3) W. 4th Street between MacDougal Street and University Place Peak viewing times: 8:00 am - 9:00 am Directions: By subway - B,C,D,E, F, V trains to W 4th St. Follow W 4th Street. Park is one block East.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory (Mile 6.25) Corner of Water Street and Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn Heights Peak viewing times: 9:00 am - 11:00 am Directions: By subway - A train to High Street (first stop in Brooklyn). Follow Cadman Plaza West down the hill about 4 blocks, veering left under the Brooklyn Bridge as it becomes Old Fulton Street, all the way to the river. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is on small pier at the river.
Covenant House (Mile 12.4) Corner of 40th Street and 10th Avenue Peak viewing times: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm Directions: By subway - A, C, E trains to 42nd Street Port Authority. Walk West on 42nd Street to 10th Avenue and then South to 40th Street.
Booker T. Washington Junior High School (Mile 16.1) 108th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenue Peak viewing times: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm Directions: By subway - B, C trains to 110th St Cathedral Parkway. Walk West on Cathedral Parkway for 2 blocks to Columbus Avenue and walk south to 107th Street.
Cathedral of St. John the Divine (Mile 16.4) Amsterdam at 112th Street Peak viewing times: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm Directions: By subway - 1 train to 116th Street or C to 110th.
New-York Presbyterian Hospital (Mile 19.9) 165th and Ft. Washington Avenue Peak viewing times: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Directions: By subway - 1 train to 168th Street.
George Washington Bridge Pedestrian Path (Mile 21.5) Hudson Terrace at Bridge Plaza South/Bruce Reynolds Blvd., Fort Lee, NJ Peak viewing times: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Directions: By car - from Manhattan, take GW Bridge and exit at Hudson Terrace. From New Jersey, take 95 North to Ft. Lee, last exit before GW Bridge
Leonia Middle School (Mile 23.35) Corner of Broad Avenue and Christie Heights Street, Leonia, NJ Peak viewing times: 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Directions: By car - From GW Bridge, take 4W
Sunday Cheering Stations
First Presbyterian Church (Mile 0.6) East Palisades Ave between Lydecket Street and Dwight Place, Englewood, NJ Peak viewing times: 7:30 am- 8:30 am Directions: By car - Palisades Parkway to Palisades Avenue Exit (Englewood) - follow Palisades Avenue downhill about 1.5 miles.
Plaza Lafayette (Mile 5.5) 181st Street & Cabrini Boulevard Peak viewing times: 9:00 am - 10:30 am Directions: By subway - A train to 181st Street. Walk west two blocks to Cabrini (down hill, towards water). By car - Easily accessible via the George Washington Bridge; exit off bridge at West 181stStreet.
Riverside Park (Mile 8.6) Riverside Drive at 116th Street Peak viewing times: 10:00 am - 11:30 am Directions: By subway - 1 train to 116th Street. Walk West on 116th Street to Riverside Drive.
Soldiers & Sailors Monument (Mile 11) Riverside Drive & 89th Street Peak viewing times: 11:00 am - 1:00 pm Directions: By subway - 1/9 train to 86th Street. Walk north 3 blocks and west 2 blocks to Riverside Drive
The end! Mile 13.1... 43rd Street and the Hudson River.
As always, thank you all for your ongoing support... I'm closing in on my $100,000 total fundraising goal and I could never have done it without all of you!!
xo, lisa
(One last note: I'm postponing this year's fundraiser at Fred's. It was originally set for October, but, I'm pushing it back to November... sorry for any inconvenience!)
So, we've gotten some depressing news the last few weeks... no more Veronica Mars, no more Gilmore Girls. *sigh* So, to cheer myself up, I decided to launch some new auctions! ;) The theme is "canceled before their time"... check them out!
Gerard Butler, BSG, Anthony Stewart Head, Nathan Fillion, Jonathan Crombie and More!
I've just launched a quick batch of auctions... it may seem random, but, there is *some* method to my madness!
*I figured with the Battlestar Galactica season just wrapping up a few weeks ago, now was a good time to launch the bears and pink boxing glove signed by most of the cast.
*Some beginnings and endings... to celebrate Nathan Fillion's new series "Drive" starting on FOX... and Jonathan Crombie's great stint as the Man in Chair in "The Drowsy Chaperone" ending, I've got their signed gloves.
*Because Gerard Butler has garnered what seems like the most requests for an auction to get going, I've thrown his bear in there.
*Last but not least, a signed hat from Lost and a bunch of signed headshots with great messages tied into fighting breast cancer... any of which would make a great Mother's Day present!
Looking for a great gift for Mother's Day? Visit my Cafepress Store. Every purchase includes a donation to the walk! I've got tshirts, mousepads, journals, calendars and much more... please check it out!
Hey guys! I'm kicking off this year's fundraising for The Avon Walk with one of my favorite sort-of-annual events... guest bartending! Kevin and I will be manning the bar at Fred's on Monday, March 26, from 8:30 until they make me stop around 11. My half of the tips will go directly to the walk!
Last time, I only really got to take orders and pour beer and wine, but, I got a crash course last night at Planet Rose and hope Kevin will let me try at least kamikazes, martinis and margaritas! If your favorite drink isn't on that list, lemme know what it is and I'll try to study up.
So, come on... this is your chance to come boss me around! ;) Fred's is at 83rd and Amsterdam and we'll be starting around 8:30. I'll probably eat dinner there, too, so if you want to hang out on the earlier side, come on up!
If you think you can actually make it and would like to get the evite, please send me your email.
And please help spread the word!! If there's anybody else I should send the evite to, please give me their email, too! I hope to see some of you there!
Kelly is a rock star! Yesterday she headed to the Tonight show to try to get some bears signed. Jay Leno continued to be elusive (Kelly thinks she'll have better luck when the weather is better and he's driving a convertible) and Queen Latifah was driving herself and didn't stop to sign, but, she did manage to brave the crowd and get the gorgeous and charming Gerard Butler from the Phantom of the Opera movie and the upcoming "300."
Kelly told him he could do whatever he wanted with the bear and he pulled an R.K. Milholland and stuck its head fully in his mouth! Too funny! (I also think he looks an awful lot like AMC's Thorsten Kaye in this picture... which was throwing me off a little because I just sent that bear out to its new home this past week!)
Here's a special treat... Kelly had in her company a pal named Lisa (no, not me! I don't get to LA until Wednesday!*) who videotaped the whole encounter! So, check it out below... Kelly and The Avon Bear Meet Gerard Butler! :) I particularly loved that he said he's seen the bear before... hee!
*And stay tuned to this blog... I'm going to LA for an event that I hope some of you can make it to!!
Eileen is one of my friends from the NYC Browncoats and she and another bud, Andrea, had taken to whispering "Save the cheerleader, save the world!" in my ear at every opportunity because it freaked me out and made me scream. ;)
So, it's especially fitting that Eileen a) decided to do the Walk again and b) is fully getting into the Project Teddy Bear efforts and c) went to The New York Comic Con and got Hayden Panettiere to sign a bear! :)
Eileen was going gang-busters at the con... she also got some other great folks to sign bears and a bunch of Buffy folks to sign a pink boxing glove! I'm going to save the glove and see what other Buffy alum I can add to it... right now, it's got Nicholas Brendon, Juliet Landau, Bianca Lawson, James Leary, Jonathan Woodward, Larry Bagby and Dennis Christopher. All of Eileen pics are below!
Or, Show Me the Money!! Or, Show me the Money for the Boobs!!
Kelly, one of my conspirators out on the west coast, has been on a tear in the bear department! She's been recruiting friends with connections to help us get some *great* celebrities involved... and she also goes out and waits and waits for stars at talk shows and premieres. I *LOVE* this pic of Cuba Gooding, Jr. And watch this space... there will be MUCH MORE to come from Kelly in the weeks/months to come!!
It's been *so* long since I've written! Yikes. Lest you guys think things are on hold for awhile, figured I'd post an update. :) I've gotten some really exciting bears recently, so, without further ado... here we go!
First, how psyched am I to have gotten TR Knight to sign a bear?? We randomly ran into him at karaoke a few Fridays ago and he could not have been nicer or more gracious! You guys know how loyal I am to people who are cool when they meet the crazy bear lady and, well, TR's got a fan for life. He was very sweet... and insisted that he wouldn't take the picture if I wasn't in it, too. I almost thought I'd managed to sidle out of it after taking one with me and without the bear, but, he pulled me back in. It cracks me up that he even inadvertently held the bear in such a way that I can't really crop myself for the little square photo on my website without it looking really funny.
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Another rock star in Project Teddy Bear history... Battlestar Galatica's Aaron Douglas... who helped get most of the cast to participate! This year, my friend Eileen (who I met through the New York Browncoats) is walking and I've sucked her into the PTB effort. She helped me get some bears signed at the Stargate Con last November and she knows a woman who knows Aaron Douglas and, voila! I sent out a package and just a few weeks later, I had the signatures and pictures in my hot little hands. OH! They all signed a pink boxing glove, too!!
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Another one of my amazing bear-getters, Patty, came to town not too long ago and was going to see The Apple Tree with her sister. Her niece is working there and Patty invited me to meet up with them after to go backstage and meet Kristin Chenoweth. Of course, I jumped at the chance. :) She was incredibly nice (just like she was when she signed at Wicked) and I love how this picture came out.
Last, but, certainly not least, Chris and Joe and I went to go see Judith Owen and Harry Shearer at Joe's Pub. It was a *great* show... one of those things at one of those places you can only see in New York City. Lots of people will know Shearer as the guy who does a whole slew of voices on The Simpsons--including Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, and Reverend Timothy Lovejoy. In a funny coincidence, he also does Waylon Smithers... who was apparently named "Waylon" after Wayland Flowers who created Madame who Joe is now "handling." I really didn't know anything about Judith Owen, but, was blown away by her voice... she was amazing. I actually talked to her for a little while after the show when I asked her about getting them both to sign a bear. I was bummed I couldn't make it to her other local show that week, but, will *definitely* be keeping my eyes open for when she comes back.
Okay, so I've launched a new batch of auctions... I think it's the biggest one yet! 54 live auctions! I tried to time this one to catch everybody as they're thinking about holiday gifts... these will end on Dec. 8th, so, assuming I get payments quickly, they should be in the mail in plenty of time for the holidays. :)
Next year I'll be walking in my 13th Avon Walk... I'm trying to raise $20,000 to bring my 6-year fundraising total to $100,000. If you can't bid (or even if you can!), please help spread the word! As you know, all proceeds from the auctions go toward my fundraising goal and I really want to hit that goal!!
This batch includes people from Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, All My Children, Guiding Light, RENT and Lord of the Rings. Also: Cal Ripken, Jr., Stephen A. Smith, Neil Patrick Harris, R.K. Milholland, Neil Gaiman and Pat Kiernan. Check them all out here: http://www.lisawalks.com/ptb2006
I've also got a bunch of those signed Everlast boxing gloves this time! Rue McClanahan (the one that started it all!), Joan Rivers, Anthony Rapp, Edie Falco, Jesse L. Martin and Milena Govich, the cast of All My Children, and Amanda Tapping and Carmen Argenziano.
I know you guys didn't think that just because this year's walk is over I was done with Project Teddy Bear for this year! ;)
Before I get into that, though, I need to say a huge thank you to ALL of you! Thanks to everybody who donated or helped spread the word about Team Knock Out Breast Cancer or participated in an event or sent items for auctions or helped in any of the myriad ways that so many of you helped... I ended up raising $25,000 this year and our team raised $37,000!
I'm closing the books on 2006, but, I've already registered to walk in 2007... and set my goal for $20,000... if I reach that, that will bring my total fundraising since I started participating in the walk to $100,000! I know we can do it!
So... the fun stuff... ready to start your holiday shopping? I've got some amazing bears... AND signed boxing gloves... left to auction off. In a few days, I'll be launching a batch mostly made up of folks from soap operas, Stargate: SG1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica.
But I know some of you have been waiting patiently, or not so patiently, for bears or gloves that I haven't put up on the block yet. So, I'm going to take requests. And bribes. ;) If you have a particular bear or glove you'd like to see auctioned off in the next batch, send me an email at lisa@lisawalks.com and I'll include the 10 bears with the most requests in the next batch. Any request accompanied by a donation of at least $10 (made here) will automatically get included!
You've got until midnight this Monday night (11/27) to make your requests. I want to make sure there's time to run the auctions, collect winning bids and get the bears/gloves out in time for the holidays!
If bears and gloves aren't your thing, don't forget to check out my Cafepress store! In addition to shirts, calendars, prints, journals and other photo items, I've also got cards with a variety of different designs and messages for the holiday season. Check it out! :)
Hey guys! I'm kicking off this year's fundraising for The Avon Walk with one of my favorite sort-of-annual events... guest bartending! Kevin and I will be manning the bar at Fred's on Monday, March 26, from 8:30 until they make me stop around 11. My half of the tips will go directly to 
Kelly is a rock star! Yesterday she headed to the Tonight show to try to get some bears signed. Jay Leno continued to be elusive (Kelly thinks she'll have better luck when the weather is better and he's driving a convertible) and Queen Latifah was driving herself and didn't stop to sign, but, she did manage to brave the crowd and get the gorgeous and charming Gerard Butler from the Phantom of the Opera movie and the upcoming "300."
Eileen is one of my friends from the NYC Browncoats and she and another bud, Andrea, had taken to whispering "Save the cheerleader, save the world!" in my ear at every opportunity because it freaked me out and made me scream. ;)
Another one of my amazing bear-getters, Patty, came to town not too long ago and was going to see The Apple Tree with her sister. Her niece is working there and Patty invited me to meet up with them after to go backstage and meet Kristin Chenoweth. Of course, I jumped at the chance. :) She was incredibly nice (just like she was when she signed at Wicked) and I love how this picture came out.
Last, but, certainly not least, Chris and Joe and I went to go see Judith Owen and Harry Shearer at Joe's Pub. It was a *great* show... one of those things at one of those places you can only see in New York City. Lots of people will know Shearer as the guy who does a whole slew of voices on The Simpsons--including Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, and Reverend Timothy Lovejoy. In a funny coincidence, he also does Waylon Smithers... who was apparently named "Waylon" after Wayland Flowers who created Madame who Joe is now "handling." I really didn't know anything about Judith Owen, but, was blown away by her voice... she was amazing. I actually talked to her for a little while after the show when I asked her about getting them both to sign a bear. I was bummed I couldn't make it to her other local show that week, but, will *definitely* be keeping my eyes open for when she comes back.
