FA-LA-LA-LA-LA!

December 5, 2007

The Athens Christmas Parade was magical! (We've posted some pictures...check them out). Darius was the Grand Marshall and rode in the back of Todd Emily's shiny red pickup truck with a few DGW crew members. Daniel and other crew members followed behind in the DGW Dodge Sprinter van, which we had decorated with garlands and bows. We threw tons of candy (and ran out less than halfway through), along with about 20 DGW t-shirts, which the crowd loved.

Speaking of crowds, we never imagined it to be so HUGE. There must have been 10,000 people lining the streets of the Classic City. Everyone was yelling to Darius, "Way to go, man!" and "Hey, saw you on Ellen DeGeneres!" Darius wore a Santa hat and a blinking necklace. He was all smiles from start to finish. Thanks, Athens, for this wonderful opportunity (and to Project START camp director, Leslie Trier for suggesting Darius as Grand Marshall).

The night was memorable and magical for D's mom, Jamie, as well. Thanks to the efforts of our dear friends at Shirtworks (Kathy and Jackie), she and her family got to ride to the parade in style. Did someone say STRETCH LIMO? Yep! Big-time DGW supporter Anita Will, along with Calvin Smith, owner of A Touch of Elegance Limousine Service made all that happen...and champagne was flowing!!! David Hayward escorted all these lovely ladies.

In other news, many crew members spent the weekend in Los Angeles, where we had a private screening/Charley's Fund benefit at CAA on Friday night, followed by a kick-off DGW "Know About It" school screening on Saturday at the New Beverly Cinema for Jordan High School students. Both events rocked, and we raised quite a bit of money Friday night (no final tallies yet). Logan flew on the red eye Saturday night to make it to Lenox, Massachusetts for another school screening, where 500 students turned out. Woo-hoo!

D's house is progressing nicely, thanks to an amazing gift from Dream House for Medically Fragile Children (dreamhouseforkids.org). They have agreed to take care of making the house accessible, which includes widening all doorways and renovating the bathroom (to include a roll-in shower). We are so grateful for this incredibly generous gift! Tim Johnson made this awesome connection for us. If you have a second, please send an e-mail to Linnea Roe at Dream House to say thanks on our behalf. Here's her e-mail: Linnea.Roe@dreamhouseforkids.org

Don't forget that DVDs of Darius Goes West are on sale now at our website (www.dariusgoeswest.com). With $16 of every DVD purchase going directly to DMD research, this is a gift you can feel good about giving.

Also, don't forget to keep voting for Darius in the "Volvo for Life" contest. You can vote once a minute, and it's so easy. Just go to this link:


http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com/cgi-bin/iowa/english/vote/quality/index.html

Tell your friends and family to do the same. If he makes it to the next level (voting closes January 7), Charley's Fund gets $25,000!!!

Know about it!