BROTHERS IN ARMS

RIDE FOR CHARITY

Welcome to my Team in Training Website. My name is Dennis Jenkins. My brothers and I are in a family business in DFW, Austin, and Houston called ABC Pest and Lawn Services. This summer we are re-creating a bike ride that my oldest brother did while he was in college. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has graciously allowed me to use this page for a ride that is not the normal event. My brothers and I are riding from Austin Texas to Calgary Canada from May 24 until July 6th.

We each have different charities that we are riding for. My Brother Bobby, with ABC in Austin is raising money for Caritas in Austin which is a local charity that helps folks in Austin get back on their feet. My brother Raleigh with ABC in Houston is raising money for the Kidney Foundation. Our father died of kidney disease in 1998 after Raleigh donated a kidney to try to save his life. I am riding for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society because of some very special people who have touched my life and live an example that we all should follow. There are several people that we attend church with that have fought or are fighting Leukemia. Craig Cornish (age 19) and Jeff Skelton (much older than 19) have fought this battle and after successful bone marrow transplants are doing quite well.

This brings me to Doug Campbell. Doug is a very dear friend and thus far has not had the luck of finding a match for a marrow transplant. First and foremost, I hope that everyone reading this will strongly consider being tested for a marrow transplant. It is a painless test of cotton swabs in the mouth and then a willingness to help if you match someone in need. I hope that soon a match is found for Doug. If you feel called to be tested for a bone marrow transplant, and I hope you all do, please contact Cliff Ackerman, local recruiter for the National Marrow Donor Program at Baylor's Charles Sammons Cancer Center in Dallas, at cliffora@baylorhealth.edu or 214/820-1589. The website NMDP website for more info: http://www.marrow.org/

Doug and his entire family live the daily example of faith, strength, love, family, and community service that we all should follow. From the work he does at the church we attend, to the work he does for LLS, and the events with Team in Training that he raises money through, to the organization that his wife, Stacey, started to get people involved in volunteering in our hometown community called "Greater Lewisville Cares", they are truly an inspiration.

The positive attitude that Doug shows every day in the 9 years of his struggle is also something that inspires and amazes everyone who knows him. He is a superior athlete and refuses to let his disease stop him from pushing himself daily. The admiration and love I feel for this man and his family is the reason that I agreed to go on this ride. At age 46, starting at 270 lbs last May, and not being on a bike since my college days, I also had a long way to go to prepare for this ride. Doug's struggle and attitude is what I remember every time I want to just bow out of this ride.

I hope that you will consider making a donation for LLS in honor of Doug and this ride. My goal of $50,000.00 may seem like a lot, but we are using the resources we have at ABC to get the word out across Texas and our many friends and acquaintences across the U.S. Please consider making a donation to help us find a cure! The total ride is 2380 miles and will take 42 days of riding. We plan to have our mother, Sandy, follow us in a vehicle as support and she will do her best to keep everyone informed daily as to our progress. Hopefully we will generate some excitement for our various causes, and if you feel called to one of the other causes, please feel free to do what you can. As for me, I hope that you will support my efforts to raise money for LLS.

Grace and Peace

Dennis Jenkins