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Welcome to Marching for Mark!
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ABOUT MARK |
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Who is Mark? And why are we marching for him? Mark was a great guy, just ask anybody who knew him. He was born on October 14, 1969 (a date many of his friends didn't know until recently -that man sure could keep a secret!) with a life threatening birth defect. He needed very expensive surgery to survive. The March of Dimes stepped in and helped Mark's parents by paying for the surgery that saved his life. After the surgery, Mark was a normal kid. Dan and Mary Bufton raised him to become an incredibly loyal, thoughtful, generous person. Mark had a sister and a brother (Jessica and Aaron) and countless friends. Mark was to get married in October 2004 to Susan. On August 19, 2004, Mark collapsed suddenly at work. Despite incredible efforts in the ER to save him, Mark passed away. It took 4 days to find out that an undetectable heart defect had created a tear in his heart valve. It was a shocking loss to Susan, Dan, Mary, Aaron, Jessica and to his extended family and multitude of friends. Susan and Mark's friend Terri, decided to channel some of the grief that they felt towards a good cause. Since the March of Dimes had been a major factor in allowing Mark to be part of their lives, they decided it was time to give something back to the March of Dimes. Team Marching for Mark was created in 2005. Susan and Terri had a goal of 150 people and wanted to raise the amount of money that the March of Dimes had spent on Mark: $10,000. They started recruiting Mark's family, friends and coworkers; spreading the word to everyone they knew. At the 2005 walk, the results were fantastic! 213 people walked as part of the Marching for Mark team in 3 locations. They had raised $37,770! They were the largest family team in the Sate of California! Later, they learned that they were also the #1 family team in the nation! Susan and Terri traveled to San Diego where the team was honored at the National March of Dimes leadership Conference. Marching for Mark is just a small way to keep Mark's spirit alive. We all feel richer for having known him and hope that our efforts help other babies live rich lives no matter what challenges they and their families face at birth. |
 
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thank you to our sponsors |
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