See Different. Do MORE

See Different. Do More

June in Chicago uniquely portrays a scene out of the “Awakening”.   As a matter of fact there is even a music festival called “Spring Awakening”.   Apropos as it is, June brought an inspiring event that similarly “awakened” many athletes to See Different and Do More.

For those of you that didn’t know (or those of you that heard my relentless raving…here’s one more plug) Chris Lieto happens to be my favorite triathlete.   I’ve “met” him many times and each time as star struck as the next teenie bopper belieber!   In March, Matt Miller, founder of C Different and overall bad ass, invited me to Dallas, as a volunteer supporting the BASE performance and DFW tri club kick off event.   Can you guess who the guest of honor was? Lieto!   It was only then that I experienced these philanthropists live.   I saw the community come together that weekend and was breathless at the amount of inspiration and support ALL of the athletes gave. 

 As I made my way back to Chicago, I thought about the things that Matt said to our big ol’ small community.  I thought about the experiences that Lieto shared and why he chose to be actively involved with the reconstruction of various communities.  I thought about my own journey and how easily I reside in my own head instead of using my capabilities and time to support others.   I wanted to DO MORE.

June 2, 2014 Chris Lieto and Matt Miller came to Chicago for our See Different. Do MORE fundraising event benefitting both charities.   Fitness Formula Clubs (the ONLY USAT certified performance center in the Midwest) stepped up and helped us host this event.  VIP ticket holders enjoyed an intimate, gourmet 3- course dinner and some of the nicest wine and brewery options as well as photo and autograph opportunities on the red carpet with Matt and Chris. 

As 8pm approached, and our guests doubled, the staff cleared the dining room and reset for the question and answer session.    The room filled with athletes, supporters and even some people who did not even know Chris and Matt.   Matt Miller, first took the most epic selfie, THEN began to speak about CDifferent with an air of harmonious conviction about what it actually means to See Different.   The CDifferent foundation came to life, after Matt noticed a blind passerby during a photo shoot.  He was inspired to use his abilities to begin this foundation of pairing visually impaired athletes with sighted ones in order to participate in competition.   CDifferent has now grown world wide thanks to Matts efforts.

Chicago’s own, Israel Antonio, took the floor as a beneficiary of the CDifferent organization.   Israel stands, reaches his hand out into the space, looking for his guide to lead him to the microphone.   He turns to face the room full of people that can see him, but he “see’s” nothing.   Israel lost his sight at 14 due to retinal detachment, without any warning.  While I cannot begin to tell his story with the same passion, I do know that every person in that room was moved by Israel’s bravery and compassion.  While Israel and many of these athlete’s are wildly independent, considering he was invited to represent USA in London last September, still it would be near impossible for them to race without their guides.   As Isra left the morale high with his segment of the event, the only thing you could hear was the beating hearts of all that attended- it was truly humbling and uplifting.

Lieto enters stage right and begins his story with a video.  Chris must have an innovative staff of videographers that have the gift of capturing the perfect balance of kicking ass and capturing hearts because if you have ever witnessed any of these videos, you would melt like butter in a frying pan.  This unique blend of hunger and humility is exactly who I know Lieto to be.   He’s a magnanimous machine, multifaceted and outwardly focused.  He drew the audience closer with his stories of the “exotic” countries he’s visited and how he realized that while he was competing for a title, these small villages were competing for their prosperity.  Chris spoke about MORE than sport bringing communities together to meet the needs of those less fortunate in MANY capacities.   Every guest in the place leaned so far in to listen I thought they would fall out of their seats.   The floor then opened for question and answer with what seemed to be everyone’s “good friend” Chris Lieto!   I believe that a professional athlete of this status that can be as open and captivating as Lieto is speaks volumes to his character.    It is a far jump across a puddle for Lieto to leave his life in Hawaii to attend our little city’s charity event, however the amount of awareness and support he, Matt and Isra created is limitless.

 We ended the evening on a high note when we presented the proceeds from our ticket sales, raffles and a little fundraising page we put together in an oversized check to MORE than Sport and CDifferent foundation.   They say it takes a village, and I agree, for had it not been for all the support of my little Chicago village, the community and the dedicated hearts, none of this would have come to be. 

It’s funny how the universe works.   I would like to challenge all of you to DO MORE, even if you are a little lost in your personal life, focus outward and you will bring others and yourself a more fulfilling life. 

Special thank you to all of our sponsors and supporters:

Fitness Formula Clubs

BASE Performance

Team to End Aids

SIP

Eggsperience

More than Sport

CDifferent

Chris Lieto

Matt Miller

Austin Sunderman

Israel Antonio

Chris Navin

Trevor Hougardy

Tony and Kelly Demakis

Nic King Ruley

Nigel O’Reilly