Sunday October 19, 2008 was a cold and windy day. I am proud to say that my team (Team Donato- Miserandino Family and Friends) did not just reach our goal of $10,000 but we exceeded it and raised $11,000 for the Lupus Alliance of Long Island/ Queens.
When I originally thought due to hard economic times, and less team members this year that we would raise less money, we as a team raised more then we even hoped for. I am so proud of my family and friends for pulling together, and putting so much effort in to raise money for this cause that is o close to our hearts. 15 years ago we set out to beat our previous year’s fundraising, and as each year passes- it gets harder and harder to do. But we are dedicated and have made this year no exception. We had 42 walkers, who all met early 9am on the cold day. It was so good to see family, friends and even some alumni of my college sorority Phi Sigma Sigma. Everyone makes this Lupus Walk a priority and I appreciate it so much. Unfortunately, I was too sick this year to actually walk. It broke my heart to make the decision to stay home and not lead the walk this year. For the first time in 15 years I could not walk. I needed to do what was best for my health, which was a hard decision. My husband and mother lead the team and collected everyone’s envelopes. They walked together for me and had a great day. Everyone met back at my house for our annual “lupus walk after party”. We all celebrated another successful year fundraising, but also living with lupus.
Thank you to everyone who donated, fundraised and walked!
It is not too late, if you would like to make a donation to the Lupus walk, click here
**Because I was not able to actually be at the walk, my mother wrote a summary about the day. Please read her summary and see photos below.

Team Donato- Miserandino Family and Friends
The early morning of Sunday October 19, 2008 began with a windy brisk chill, but ended with the sun creeping out and undeniable warmth of spirit. This was the annual Lupus Walk at Eisenhower Park on Long Island. Thousands of determined walkers gathered to walk for those struggling daily with Lupus. Our family and friends, 42 in all, huddled together (sometimes literally), against the cold. We were there to support my daughter, Christine Miserandino Donato, who has had Lupus for over 16 years, more than half her lifetime. But, this is never a day to be sad or to bemoan the facts – this has always been a day for our family to unite together and to celebrate a fantastic support system. For us it has always been a day to give something back to The Lupus Alliance, which has given so much to my daughter and countless others. The walk is a day of hope, laughter and smiles, as we proudly walk wearing our brightly colored Lupus tee shirts.
For our family the day actually started out poorly. Our team found out that for the first time in 12 years, our Team Captain, Christine was not feeling well enough to walk with us. But in her typical positive spirit, she sent her husband Frank to encourage everyone to walk and to still return to her house for our family tradition of gathering for lunch after the walk. So we did. We walked for Christine because this year she could not.

I baked a cake in the shape of an orange lupus awareness ribbon with an orange butterfly on top to thank everyone who walked for me.
The atmosphere at the walk is always festive. Greg T from Z-100 was there to rev up the crowd and a band played to set the party mood. Hours before the walk started, people were walking around looking at booths, eating breakfast and saying hello to old friends. Once the mass of walkers headed out past the Starting Line, it was so much fun to see the all the cute babies in strollers, as well as all the cute dogs too. I also love to look for the creative teams who make up their own clever signs and tee shirts. I have a tee shirt that says “We love Christine, but we hate lupus.” I guess that sums it up for all of us. We walk because we love our daughters, mothers, friends, brothers and sisters and we hate what lupus often represents. Walking and raising money for the Lupus Alliance is just a small gesture of what we can do- and we all need to do something. I am proud to say that this year, team Miserandino-Donato raised over $11,000. Most importantly, we had a great day just being together and yes the sun came out.
written by Janet Miserandino (Christine’s Mom), butyoudontlooksick.com ©

Christine and her daughter Olivia at the “Lupus Walk After Party”. Notice Olivia’s Crawl Along for Lupus shirt!