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.
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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.
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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
