That's Team Ratty Shoes Captain Patti Byrd sandwiched between Blackthorn's Michael Callahan and John Boyce in the center.
With a successful fundraiser behind her, the captain of Team Ratty Shoes, Patti Byrd, promised to walk an additional 20 miles at the next Multiple Sclerosis Society Challenge Walk (October 13-14, 2007, weaving its way through the Brandywine Valley with stops in Longwood Gardens and Winterthur) if the team raises $11,000 by September. Co-captain Christopher Burden will accompany her, stretching their 30-mile walk to a 50-mile hike.
“With the outpouring of help from the community and the sponsorship of Blackthorn, we can surely meet and maybe exceed this goal,” said Byrd, who founded the team four years ago and named it for one of her favorite CDs by the local Celtic rock band, Blackthorn. “One dollar for every person in the Delaware Valley living with multiple sclerosis is our new goal for Team Ratty Shoes.”
The volunteers held a fundraiser on July 15 at Brittingham’s Irish Pub and Restaurant in Lafayette Hill, featuring musical performances by Random Blonde, Allison Barber, Raymond McGroary, and Mike Brill. Blackthorn surprised the crowd with a performance (that’s right, singing “Ratty Shoes.”)
And the Delaware County-based group is contributing another way. They’re sponsoring a raffle whose grand prize is an Irish Weekend Getaway package – hotel accommodations and festival passes for four for the 2007 festival, September 21-23, in Wildwood, NJ. First prize is a Blackthorn Prize Package containing CDs and other merchandise. Raffle tickets will be available at the benefit, as well as at all Blackthorn shows from July 11 through August 11, 2007, when the drawing will be held at The Bolero in Wildwood, NJ.
All proceeds from the event benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of the Greater Delaware Valley. For more information about the MS Challenge Walk, visit www.walk4ms.org. For more information about Team Ratty Shoes, contact team captain, Patti Byrd at Teamrattyshoes@gmail.com or 215-442-0131.
