Marcel's Way

Welcome to Marcel's Way, a New Hampshire based support group for families affected by Mitochondrial Disorders. We're here to offer support, information, and financial assistance to families affected by Mitochondrial Disorders. Please explore our site for information concerning upcoming events, information, and resources to assist you.

Recent Happenings

Saturday May 3, 2008 "Miles For Mito" 5K Race and Walk, Arms Park, Manchester

THANK YOU to everyone who supported our 5th Annual Miles For Mito 5K race/walk For Awareness of Mitochondrial Disease! Thanks to everyone's support and donations we have raised over $12,000 so far and the money is still coming in!

Once again we had a wonderful crowd of supporters, runners, walkers and family members. Even a little rain did not spoil the games, food and fun had by all while raising money to support Marcel's Way and families dealing with a mitochondrial disease.

As in years past, we were fortunate to have Jennifer Vaughn, news anchor for WMUR channel 9 TV in Manchester, NH broadcast a wonderful story about one of our Marcel's Way families and how they cope with Mitochondrial Disease. The story aired many times over the week prior to our 5K helping to increase awareness of our worthy cause. We were also on the Saturday evening news with a follow up story of the actual race day and festivities.

As you know, Marcel's Way has been working hard to raise money for the Family Fund, which was developed to help out all of our families in times of need. So far we have been able to award more than $36,000 in grants to the families.

Thank you for helping us to raise awareness, raise money and raise hope for the families in our area dealing with Mitochondrial Disease.

For a compete list of the race results please go to:
Coolrunning Race Results
Saturday January 12, 2008 5th Annual Family Holiday Party

It was a another wonderful Saturday afternoon at Brian and Jen Hotz's home in Warner, NH as Marcel's Way families gathered for the 5th Annual Family Holiday Party. With a crowd of nearly 50 people, the house was filled with kids of all ages, parents enjoying some social time, great food and lots of fun! Thank you Brian, Jen, Maggie, Alex and Will for sharing your home with all of us.

We had the pleasure of getting to know our new Executive Director, Jim Costello and his three lovely daughters. Jim was thrilled to meet so many families face to face and get to know everyone.

We also got a chance to meet Monica Dandapani. Monica is a genetic counseling student at Boston University. "I started learning about Mitochondrial conditions last fall when I started my masters program and also met many individuals in the community who are involved in mitochondrial disease advocacy. Since then I have developed an interest in mitochondrial conditions... so much so that I have decided to focus my master thesis project in this area." For her masters' project, Monica has developed teaching aids that would help genetic counselors discuss mitochondrial disorders with their patients in a clear, informative way. She will be working with some of the families at Marcel's Way to test her project and get feedback from us. If you are interested in taking part in this project, please let us know at info@marcelsway.org.
Sunday January 6, 2008 Welcome to our Executive Director, Jim Costello

All of us on the Marcel's Way Board of Director's are very pleased to introduce our new Executive Director, Jim Costello. Jim has an extensive and varied background that will certainly enhance Marcel's Way. Although his first day is officially January 15, 2008, he is already working with the board to learn all about his new role.

A New England local, Jim attended Merrimack College before getting his law degree at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. After a successful law career, Jim decided to change professions, went back to school at Southern New Hampshire University and is currently teaching social studies at the high school in Hudson, NH. Among his many talents, Jim is a wonderful cook, enjoys fly fishing, golf, and being outdoors.

Look for more information about Jim and do not be surprised if you get a personal call from him as he is working to get to know all of us here at Marcel's Way.

We are very happy to have Jim and his family join all of us at the Marcel's Way Holiday Party this Saturday January 12th. This will be a wonderful opportunity for everyone to meet him personally, offer our congratulations and welcome as well as offer any suggestions for Marcel's Way future.
Saturday December 1, 2007 Including Samuel

One of our families from Marcel's Way has made a wonderful film showing the many sides of inclusion in school. Dan Habib's documentary film Including Samuel examines the educational and social inclusion of youth with disabilities. The film is built on the efforts of Habib and his family to include Samuel, 7, in all facets of school and community. Including Samuel also features four other families with varied inclusion experiences, plus interviews with dozens of teachers, young people, parents and disability rights experts.

Please visit Including Samuel to see a trailer of the film as well as a photo slide show from the film. Including Samuel has been released as a broadcast-quality film, a teaching guide and a website. The target audience will be the general public, students at the middle and high school levels, general and special educators, and college students and teachers.

For more information on this wonderful film please go to Including Samuel or write us here at Marcel's Way.

Thanks to Dan's generosity we are able to have a copy of the DVD to share with the families at Marcel's Way. If you would like to borrow the film for your own personal viewing (this version of the DVD is not licensed for use in any educational, instructional or institutional use) just contact us here at Marcel's Way and we will be happy to mail it to you. We will also include a postage paid envelope for you to return it to us so others may view this film.
Monday November 26, 2007 Marcel's Way is seeking an Executive Director

Dear friends,

Marcel's Way is growing at such a pace we are finding ourselves in need of more assistance in the organization. Thus, we are seeking dedicated people to fill the position of executive director as well as additional board members. The time commitment required varies; on average 10 hours a week for the paid position of executive director and less for a volunteer board member. There are also positions available for short term projects that require just a couple hours or a few days of your time.

Would you like to share your talents for a few hours a week; be a one time volunteer for; or do you know a coworker, family member or friend that may enjoy helping our organization grow? Many tasks can be done on your own time frame or you may join us for a work session. We communicate through emails and phone calls to make sharing tasks even easier.

The Executive Director is a part time paid position. This is an excellent opportunity to earn some extra income while helping Marcel's Way grow. Please follow this link to view the detailed job description for this position.

To say Marcel's Way is a successful organization is quite an understatement. Not only have we given thousands of dollars in grants to families, we have increased the number of families in our group, initiated several new programs, have had several excellent speakers on different topics at our quarterly family support meetings, and increased public awareness of Mitochondrial Disorder with several newspaper articles, public events and television interviews.

In 2008 we will again be organizing our two predominant fundraising events; "Miles for Mito" 5K run/walk on May 3, 2008 in Manchester, NH and our Charity Golf Tournament in June 2008. Other plans for the year include increase opportunities for public relations and reaching out to more families to create awareness. On going projects such as the quarterly newsletters, visiting families in Marcel's Way, manning the toll free phone line, monitoring the incoming emails and responding to information requests will continue in the coming year.

None of these success stories would be possible with out the dedicated time of our volunteers. The board members, committee chairs and short term volunteers help to organize and run the day to day operation as well as the major fundraisers that keep Marcel's Way solvent.

Feel free to contact anyone of us on the Board of Director's if you are interested in adding your talents to Marcel's Way or would like to refer someone for a position or volunteer opportunity.

email info@marcelsway.org or call 877-412-4141
Wednesday August 1, 2007 Marcel's Way Summer 2007 Newsletter

Download the Marcel's Way Summer 2007 Newsletter
Monday June 11, 2007 The Third Annual Marcel's Way Golf Tournament
Sponsored by Black Brimmer American Bar and Grille

Thank you to everyone who help us raise $20,000 at the 3rd Annual Marcel's Way Charity Golf Tournament at Stonebridge Country Club, 161 Gorham Pond Road, Goffstown, New Hampshire! Once again we had a picture perfect day with over 90 generous golfers, prizes, games, fun and food.

The day began with donuts and coffee donated by Dunkin Donuts. All the players had the opportunity to warm up on the driving range with a complimentary bucket of balls. After a great round of golf, including a chance to play in a putting contest and a "casino hole" we all went to the Black Brimmer for a private party, special dinner, prizes, a silent auction, raffles, and entertainment. The winners of this year's tournament received a $400 cash prize, the second place team won Marcel's Way golf jackets and last place team free golf lessons from Stonebridge Country Club!

Many thanks go out to all of our sponsors, players, volunteers, Marcel's Way Board of Directors, the Stonebridge Country Club and most importantly the Black Brimmer. Great job to all in continuing our efforts to raise money for the families of Marcel's Way.

Special thanks goes to the Black Brimmer American Bar and Grill for once again sponsoring the tournament serving a wonderful dinner and offering us invaluable assistance in putting the tournament together.
- Thank you to this year's sponsors!
  - Platinum Medal Sponsor
    
    Southern Wine and Spirits of New England, Inc.
    
    Gold Medal Sponsor
    
    Horizon Beverage Company
    
    Silver Medal Sponsors
    
    Lovering Volvo
    Wheelabrator Technologies
    Watson Insurance
    Bob Mariano Jeep-Dodge, Inc.
    Central Paper Products Co.
    Coca-Cola of Manchester, Arute Realty Group
    Frank and Cathy Marzeoti, Automotive Body Co., Inc
    Billy's Sports Bar & Grill, Capital Orthotics & Prosthetics, LLC
    OfficeTeam, Capitol Distributors, Inc., Phone Empire
    R & T Electric, Inc., Advanced Salvage, Robert Turnan
    Hollis Construction, Tri State Fire Protection, PGM Inc.
Sunday May 20, 2007 Support Group Meeting

Thank you to our guest speakers Dr. Erica Waters and Dr. Margrit Mikulis, who are both Naturopathic Doctors at Living Natural, Inc. in Nashua, NH.

Dr. Waters and Dr. Mikulis spent over 2 hours sharing with all of us on the benefits of eating a healthy diet (and just what that means), the benefits of vitamin and supplements and how all of this can specifically fit into the treatment of a mitochondrial disorder.

Naturopathic medicine utilizes botanical medicine, vitamins, minerals, dietary supplement and pharmaceuticals. The treatment emphasizes the use of prevention and natural therapeutics. More than one family shared a success story of naturopathic medicine helped someone in their family. We were all able to ask questions on our personal dealings with a medical disorder and get specific advice from Dr. Waters and Dr. Mikulis.

For more information contact us here at Marcel's Way, call, email or write to:

Living Natural, Inc.
Dr. Erica Waters and Dr. Margrit Mikulis
22 Concord Street, The Stark House
Nashua, NH 03060
(603) 594-0002
(603) 594-0006
info@livingnaturalinc.com
Living Natural
Saturday April 28, 2007 "Miles For Mito" 5K Race and Walk, Arms Park, Manchester

The 4th annual Miles For Mito 5K race/walk For Awareness of Mitochondrial Disease was a huge success! THANK YOU to everyone who helped us raise over $11,000 so far and we are still getting donations coming in!

We had a wonderful crowd of over 200 runners, walkers, and supporters, games, food and fun raising money to support the Marcel's Way Family Fund. Once again the weather cooperated perfectly and we had an absolutely beautiful sunny day.

We were very fortunate to have Jennifer Vaughn, the 6:00 news anchor for WMUR channel 9 TV in Manchester, NH return as our Grand Marshal. Earlier in the week Ms. Vaughn broadcast a wonderful story about one of our Marcel's Way families and how they cope with Mitochondrial Disease. The story aired many times over the week prior to our 5K helping to increase awareness of our worthy cause.

As you know, Marcel's Way has been working hard to raise money for the Family Fund, which was developed to help out all of our families in times of need. So far we have been able to award nearly $24,000 in grants to the families.

Thank you for helping us to raise awareness, raise money and raise hope for the families in our area dealing with Mitochondrial Disease.

For a compete list of the race results please go to:
Coolrunning Race Results
Sunday April 1, 2007 Marcel's Way Spring 2007 Newsletter

Download the Marcel's Way Spring 2007 Newsletter
Saturday February 10, 2007 Support Group Meeting

Thank you to our guest speaker Suzanne Leblanc. Suzanne is a dental hygienist practicing here in NH. Suzanne shared her expertise on how oral hygiene can affect your overall health and how the medications we take for Mitochondrial Disorders affect your teeth and gums. For more information on this topic, please contact us at info@marcelsway.org

And we had the pleasure if another speaker, Amy Rohleder, who is a Health Care Services Coordinator at MDA in Bedford, NH. Amy was kind enough to enlighten us with many of the services available to Marcel's Way families through MDA.

Some of the benefits available to us are funding assistance for wheelchairs and equipment, summer camp week in Massachusetts, MDA clinics for neuromuscular diseases in Bedford and Lebanon New Hampshire, funding assistance for communications devices, flu inoculations, MDA Loaner Closet of equipment, and help in finding assistance they may be aware of in the community from other groups. There were also wonderful booklets and material to help explain Mitochondrial Disorders and other diseases to teachers, family and even for our own use.

For more information on this topic, please contact us at info@marcelsway.org
or
Amy Rohleder, Health Care Services Coordinator, MDA
360 Route 101 #5
Bedford, NH 03110
(P) 603-471-2722
(F) 603-471-1857
arohleder@mdausa.org
manchesterb@mdausa.org
Tuesday February 6, 2007 Introducing Marcel's Way NEW Gift Voucher Program at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Marcel's Way now has a Gift Voucher Program in place at DHMC! Any metabolic or Mitochondrial Disorder patient who is at DHMC for an overnight stay, outpatient visit or doctor's appointment is eligible for a $5 gift voucher redeemable for food or merchandise at Cravin's Country Market and Deli. More details are available on the Gift Voucher Page.
Saturday January 13, 2007 4th Annual Family Holiday Party

It was a wonderful Saturday afternoon at Brian and Jen Hotz's home in Warner as Marcel's Way families gathered for the 4th Annual Family Holiday Party. With a crowd of over 40 people, the house was filled with kids of all ages, parents enjoying some social time, great food and lots of fun!

Thank you Brian, Jen, Maggie, Alex and Will for sharing your home with all of us. As always, it was fun to see so many families and be able to get to know each other even better. One of the many great things about getting together is catching up with how each family is doing while sharing information and concerns about how we deal with a disorder.
Monday January 1, 2007 Marcel's Way Winter 2007 Newsletter

Download the Marcel's Way Winter 2007 Newsletter
Saturday October 21, 2006 Support Group Meeting

We had a great time at the support group meeting with all the families being the speakers. The kids had a fun time decorating pumpkins while the Mom's and Dad's were able to visit and share ideas. Among the many topics of conversation were medicines, handicap vans, doctors, surgical procedures and sibling issues.

Thank you Amanda and Dennis for hosting the event for us!
Sunday October 1, 2006 Marcel's Way Fall 2006 Newsletter

Download the Marcel's Way Fall 2006 Newsletter
Saturday August 12, 2006 Annual BBQ and Pool Party

Once again we had a beautiful day at Maria and Katie's Annual BBQ and Pool Party for families in Marcel's Way. It was a terrific turnout with over 30 of us enjoying the food and pool. We also met a new family and shared many stories and offered suggestions for them in dealing with Mitochondrial Disorder.

Thank you Maria and Katie for your hospitality and having all of us to your beautiful home. Maria grilled hamburgers, chicken and hotdogs that accompanied all the tasty dishes everyone brought to share. Take it from me, no one went home hungry!

As always, it was fun to see so many Mom's, Dad's and siblings and be able to get to know each other even better. One of the great things about getting together is catching up with how each family is doing while sharing information and concerns about how we deal with a disorder.
Tuesday June 27, 2006 The Second Annual Marcel's Way Golf Tournament was held at Stonebridge Country Club, 161 Gorham Pond Road, Goffstown, New Hampshire.

We had 88 generous players this year who helped us raise over $13,000 after all expenses were paid! All the golfers had a great day and the weather was fabulous (especially since it rained the rest of the week). Mother nature was on our side!

The day began with donuts and coffee donated by Dunkin Donuts. All the players had the opportunity to warm up on the driving range with a complimentary bucket of balls. After a great round of golf, including a chance to play in a putting contest, the country club provided cheese and crackers for everyone to munch on before heading over to Black Brimmer for a special dinner and entertainment. At the Black Brimmer we had the raffles with over 50 prizes, a silent auction and musical entertainment. We also awarded the winners of the tournament the $400 cash prize, second place team golf jackets and last place team free golf lessons from Stonebridge Country Club!

Many thanks go out to all of our sponsors, players, volunteers, Marcel�s Way Board of Directors, the Stonebridge Country Club and most importantly the Black Brimmer. Great job to all in continuing our efforts to raise money for the families of Marcel's Way.

See you all next summer for our 3rd Annual Charity Golf Tournament for Marcel�s Way!
Saturday May 20, 2006 Support Group Meeting, Guest Speaker Mary Shaine

Marcel�s Way Families were extremely fortunate to have had a wonderful speaker, Mary Shaine from Crotched Mountain. Mary did an amazing job sharing her knowledge and educating the families about the importance of communicating with pictures and AAC devices (Augmentative Assistive Communication). Not only was Mary a wealth of information, but she brought along catalogs with products to purchase, information on workshops available to parents and variety of picture communication tools with her that we could tryout. Mary spent one on one time with each family addressing the specific questions and needs of everyone.

Thanks to all of you that make this support group possible. Because of your support we can educate ourselves and become better advocates for our children.
Saturday April 29, 2006 3rd Annual Walk for Awareness in Arms Park, Manchester

Thanks to many generous supporters, we far exceeded our fundraising goal and raised over $11,000 for the Marcel�s Way Family Fund! We had an absolutely beautiful sunny day, a wonderful crowd of over 200 supporters, games, food and fun raising money to support the Marcel�s Way Family Fund. Our Grand Marshal was Jennifer Vaughn, the 6:00 news anchor for WMUR channel 9 TV in Manchester, New Hampshire. Ms. Vaughn and her news crew filmed some of our walk for a news story that aired that evening on the news. It is extremely encouraging to see the awareness of Marcel's Way on the 11:00 pm news.
Saturday February 18, 2006 Support Group Meeting, Guest Speaker Jan Larsen on IEP�s

Marcel�s Way Families were extremely fortunate to have had a wonderful speaker, Jan Larsen from the Moore Center (which is the Manchester Area Agency), speak to us on IEP�s (Individual Education Plans). Jan is an EXPERT on area services, and spent more than two hours explaining all aspects of IEP�s including answering numerous questions from the families on their particular issues. Everyone received a 50 plus page handout complete with Jan�s notes, useful websites, charts and guides as we all deal with our children�s IEP�s and school officials.

If you were not able to attend this wonderful presentation but would like a copy of the handout from Jan, just contact us here at Marcel�s Way and we will be happy to send a copy to your home. (email info@marcelsway.org or call 877-412-4141)