Alta - Physical Therapy and Personal Training




home about staff facility client experiences patient registration press and events contact	ALTA'S RACE ACROSS AMERICA FOR CHARLIE AND HIS FOUNDATION, CHARLIE'S CHAMPIONS ALTA Physical Therapy is racing RAAM, the cycling competition otherwise known as the Race Across America and is raising funds to benefit the Charlie’s Champions Foundation honoring Toni and Mark’s 11 year old cousin Charlie, who is working hard to recover from Leukemia. The foundation benefits the Winthrop Hospital’s Cancer Center for Kids which provides specialized care through life coaches, psychologists and play therapists. Mark Merchant and Toni McGinley, husband and wife, cousin of Charlie, Founders of Alta Physical Therapy. “Mark and I often talked about how we could contribute to Charlie’s foundation and support Charlie’s personal struggle with Leukemia. As we both love to ride we thought why not make it challenging by racing the RAAM and raise money while we were at it. It would be nice to honor Charlie, his parents and all the young heros overcoming this struggle. This is our way.” Toni McGinley THE RACE ACROSS AMERICA The Race Across America, known as RAAM, is considered the toughest endurance event in the world. A non-stop, continuous race in which over 250 international cyclists ride as fast as they can through winds and storms, up altitudes of 10,000 feet and across the 3,000 miles, from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. Austrian adventurer Wolfgang Fasching, winner of the solo RAAM, says of the race. “Everest is more dangerous, but RAAM is much harder.” For many competing and completing RAAM demonstrates the will and power of believing in oneself. Charlie’s Champions is not only motivated by achieving their personal and team goal of completing the race but building upon the great work of the Winthrop Hospital’s Cancer Center for Kids and ensuring the center’s ability to provide their superlative care well into the future through Charlie’s Champions, a foundation named in his honor. Toni McGinely and Mark Merchant, founders of Alta Physical Therapy and Personal Training, are the cousins of Charlie have gathered 8 athletes and 8 supporting crew members to compete and raise the largest amount of funds in the race’s history in order to win the additional $100,000 RAAM contributes to the “fund winning” team. CHARLIE SCHMITT Charlie Schmitt has been actively battling Leukemia for 5 years. Despite the discomfort and grueling observance of his treatment Charlie continues to thrive despite his long, tough and intense journey. He is in remission and astonishes all in his ability to muscle through as he goes from the hospital bed to school, the baseball field and the basketball court. Among several of his great ambitions are: winning the lotto, keeping his hair for Christmas, and promoting the foundation, Charlie’s Champions, his parents John and Tara Schmitt named in his honor and to the benefit of the Cancer Center for Kids at the Winthrop University Hospital in Minneola, New York. “ He loves coming up with new ideas of events to hold and apparel to sell. If you see him around town he’s always got one of his Charlie’s Champs shirts on. He has others but takes great pride in his own line – gotta love that.” Tara Schmitt WINTHROP CANCER CENTER FOR KIDS The motto of Winthrop’s Cancer Center for Kids is “Care without Compromise” an experience the Schmitt’s have first hand knowledge and from the very beginning of Charlie’s diagnosis. The center’s unique approach to treatment of children provides for the needs of both the child and their family but providing not only the most advanced medical care but also by providing the most personal care expressed through the staff, the warm and inviting interior and the introduction of ambulatory care which allows a child to receive treatment, when possible, in the home environment. The center also provides life counselors and play therapists, which assist a child facing this most unimaginable experience and live their unique life to the fullest capacity. “We have seen first hand the direct results of the special programs at the Cancer Center for Kids: the Child Life Specialist, Child Psychologist, and Music Therapist. Charlie spends an enormous amount of time in the cancer center and these professionals help him understand and cope with the adversities in his life.” John and Tara Schmitt These services are supported solely through donations and is a program behind which Charlie’s Champions Foundation has become the driving force. FOLLOW ALTA DURING THE RACE Follow ALTA through winds and storms, up mountains 10,000 feet above sea level and over 3,000 miles across the United States on the blog, on Facebook and on Twitter and Thank You from the bottom of our hearts for supporting our and Charlie’s race to recovery. Blog: http://charlieschampionsraceacrossamerica.blogspot.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/charliesrace Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Charlies-Race-Across-America/164810342480 DONATIONS Donations are accepted through www.charlieschampions.com