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On Point: Suzanne Stone, Livestrong · On Point With Jaclyn Jeffrey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: This episode is sponsored by the Brass Chingus Ross team at Coldwell Banker Realty.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to On Point from Weston today, where we introduce you to extraordinary people doing really remarkable things that help us rethink how we live our lives and how we think about ourselves.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: So today we have Suzanne Stone on, who's the president and CEO of Livestrong.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure me, like many other people, I hear Livestrong, and I immediately go to the yellow bracelets.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: So can you talk a little bit about what Livestrong is today, what the organization is doing, the mission and the work?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: So first, thanks for having me.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Super excited to be here and have the opportunity to share what Live Strong does and uh how we're affecting people today.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So what's really amazing is that it's been almost 30 years.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: So in 2027, Livestrong will be 30 years old.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And since the beginning, our mission really has not changed.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that is to improve the lives of anyone affected by cancer.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: And those words are really specific when we say anyone affected by cancer, because we know that when cancer enters somebody's life, it's not just the person who has the disease that is being affected, right?
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's their entire ecosystem.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we work to improve their everyday, and we talk about quality of life.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: When you are diagnosed with cancer, you now have all of these things that are happening all at one time.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: What about your job?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: How do I tell my friends?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Who's going to walk my dog?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: How am I going to get to my oncology appointments?
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: All of those things, mental health concerns.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: What can I eat?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: What can I not eat?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Should I be exercising?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: They're all of these things that happen to you.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Live Strong is here to ensure that you have answers that you can trust to all of those questions and then apply them to your life the best way that works for you.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things that I'm most proud about is that we're not a prescriptive organization.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to tell you what you should do.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to give you information and then you get to decide what works best for you, whether you're the caregiver or the patient or the coworker.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was just going to ask you that.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: So the you doesn't just mean the person who's afflicted.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's their family members or anyone, as you said, in their ecosystem.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: So one of the things I wanted to ask is it seems, at least, you know, from what we read, that uh we're getting better at treating cancer.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but what about treating living with cancer and what happens after the diagnosis, after the treatment?
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what are your thoughts about that?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we've made a lot.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're absolutely right.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: We've made a lot of progress when it comes to treating cancer.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that people are living longer today than they ever have once they're diagnosed with this disease.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: But you're right, we haven't made equal progress when it comes to survivorship.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: When Livestrong started this work 30 years ago, the word survivorship didn't exist.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't something that anybody talked about.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: You got diagnosed, and then everybody kind of whispered that word cancer, and nobody, you know, besides making a lot of lasagnas, there was nothing, there was really nothing much to do.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't know what to do.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And today what's fascinating is there's we now have access to every single piece of information you could ever want.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it's almost as paralyzing as it was 30 years ago when we didn't have access.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: What do you mean because there's so much?
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's so much and you don't know what to trust.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know, you know.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um we've we now have more cancer survivors.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: There, there are almost 22 million cancer survivors in the United States, and the the rate of diagnosis is increasing.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: So um we'll have another over a million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year in the United States, if we're just talking about our country.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And those numbers will continue to climb, and the survivorship numbers will continue to climb.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So there are a few gaps that still exist in survivorship.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: One is understanding what is that, where do I go for absolute trusted information that is not a Facebook fact, it's not an apple cider vinegar cure.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Who can I rely on?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's something that that's a weight that we are very proud to carry, and saying you can you can trust the information that you get from us.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: So we see a lot of people using, you know, AI, chat or Claude or you know, whatever uh whatever AI platform you're using to look for answers.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: But number one, they don't know what to ask.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, um, you need to make sure that you're really getting information that you can trust so you can know what to do, you can decide what to do with that information.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Those are pieces that um without Live Strong, in my opinion, people don't have um won't have the tools that they really need to to live the best possible life that they can once this this enters their world.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: So when you think about like the the kinds of programs that you offer and the tools and the resources, would you say it's 50-50 in terms of diagnosis to okay, now you've had the diagnosis, the treatment, now living with this and in a quality of life and a productive life.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say the balance is in terms of what you offer?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'd say the balance, you know, everything that we're we're offering is really from the moment of diagnosis.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: So um I would say it it's it would almost be hard to define, but certainly at least 50-50, if not really every every program kind of all-encompassing.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: So once you're diagnosed, for example, we have um a fertility program.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Most people don't associate fertility with cancer, but if you're 30 years old and you've just been diagnosed and you are hoping to have children, either your first or or more children in your future, you have to make a decision right there at the moment of diagnosis, essentially.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Am I going to preserve my fertility?
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Because many cancer treatments affect your ability in the future to ever have children again.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: We have solutions for you.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um as you're going through treatment, so that that's something that happens before treatment even begins.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: We also have help for you, um, both mental uh mental health guidance.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: How do I tell my family and friends?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: What do I do about my employer?
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how do I how do I deal with insurance?
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I don't have insurance.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: What do I what do I do with my whole healthcare perspective?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: How do I ask for a second opinion?
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: To now I'm in treatment and I've got lymphedema and I'm having all of these side effects.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how to manage them.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: How do I um why why are my fingers tingling?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: I can't walk my dog, I can't hold the leash anymore.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: What do I do about that?
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: I can't, I'm no longer allowed to drive.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: How do I get to treatment appointments, uh, things like that?
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then as you come through treatment to recovery, it's about how do I get my life back?
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so we've got exercise guidance.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we've got 250 exercise videos and personal trainers that are accessible 24-7 to help guide you and get you strong again.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: So you can walk your daughter down the aisle so you can attend your kiddos uh, you know, elementary school graduation and you can be at the baseball game, whatever that looks like for you.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just curious, Suzanne, is your organization part of a list of resources that's typically provided by the medical community?
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, is there a close relationship there in terms of uh presenting you to a patient and to the patient's family?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we certainly hope so.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, there are a lot of oncologists and a lot of hospitals and care teams all across the country.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: We certainly hope that Live Strong is at the top of the list for resources.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if we're not, we hope that when you Google, you'll find us pretty quickly or even Ask Chat.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: So let me ask you a question.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know you just said there's so many things that you're doing, so many initiatives, but right now, what would you say you're most excited about, either that you're doing now uh or that's coming up in the uh in the near future?
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've got a couple of things.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think the thing that I'm most excited about, we pulling out our guidebook.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: So this is something that we've had for a very long time.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's the guidebook.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it's it's actually, you know, almost like step by step, what do I do?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: I just got diagnosed, or my my loved one just got diagnosed, and you know, my world is collapsing and and I'm there's chaos.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: So the guidebook has been something that has been a part of Live Strong for over 20 years.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: A few years ago, I uh and we update it fairly regularly, but a couple of years ago I updated it and I was so excited about the guidebook because you know it's got fancy QR codes, and I was like, ooh, isn't this cool?
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: I happened to be talking to my son the day that my son is um an adult and uh uh has a job and you know living living his life.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I I told him about that all of these new guidebooks had just landed on my desk and I was so excited about them.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And he was like, Is it a book?
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like you can touch it, you mean you can say a book book?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, Yes.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: He goes, Who reads that?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: And what I realized as I had continued this conversation is that what I had just done is updated the book for Gen X and older.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And and certainly other generations might want, you know, other people might want this tactile book, but what I didn't create is a resource that spoke to this generation, right?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: That that spoke to where how we're consuming information right now today.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so the thing that I'm most excited about is what we built, and it's Ellis.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Ellis is the first AI-powered cancer survivorship companion.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: She is a year and a half old.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: So we are not new at this now.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: She is a closed loop AI, which means she only knows what we teach it.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: She is built on the guidebooks.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: She is built on 30 years of knowledge.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you talk to Ellis, she's free.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: We're updating her right now.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: So we've got uh another new build that um by the end of October 2026, which is um just a couple months from now, she'll have even more uh more really cool features to her.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: But you can access her 24-7 on your desktop, on your phone.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: She's on the app, on the Apple Store, um, and also on Google.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And she has a conversation just like you might have with Chatter Claude.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: She's gonna talk with you, she'll remember who you are, she will ask you questions to get you the information that you need.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: And what's great is that she's going to send you away.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: She's not gonna keep you here at Lifestyle.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: She's gonna say, hey, here's our trusted partner.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that this resource might help you.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: She's gonna give you that link and you're gonna go get the help that you need.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you and then you can come back to her when you need the next thing.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: That's quite a build from your son saying that, because what I thought you were gonna simply say is now it's online.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize it was gonna go into uh an incredible tool like that.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: Much, much bigger.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, she also speaks Spanish.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're a Spanish speaker, she's she speaks Spanish as well.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Her favorite, uh, her favorite color is yellow.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if she had a dog, it would be a lab, of course.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: But she's got a she's got a great personality, and most importantly, we wanted to provide tools that any age um can use.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: And also it's really important for us to be there wherever you are looking for.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure, sure.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, I I I'm glad you had an opportunity to talk about that.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: That is really, really exciting.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things I was doing a little bit of research uh, you know, about you before you personally before we spoke.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, you've been at this, not Live Strong, but you've been at this mission-driven type nonprofit work for for about 25 years plus, um, with Susan Coleman, with the Children's Miracle Network.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, what keeps you personally connected to to this work overall and and to what you're doing today?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a long time ago, I was um, I I think everybody gets to a point in their life, right?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I think it's called that midlife crisis, right?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Where we're all kinds of kind of questioning, what am I doing?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Is this meaningful?
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I've been in, I've been in purpose-driven work for a long time, like you said, but I was sitting in literally my closet office.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was literally closet, no windows, working for court-appointed special advocates.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I kind of had this epiphany where I I realized that my my purpose, my mission was to have impact in other people's lives at scale.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, it it's incredibly rewarding to do something and help someone else, one person.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: What I've learned for for myself is that I can use the tools and talents that I have and have impact at scale.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's not important that anybody knows who I am.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: What's more important is that I am able to plant a seed for a tree that I will never sit under and I will never see grow tall.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the kind of impact that I want to have in my life.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what I focus on, and that's the mission that drives me every morning is how can I increase the impact that I have?
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: Well, speaking of impact, and I want to get into what's going to happen in in commemoration of uh uh of 9-11, but in terms of impact, when you think about the work you're doing right now with Libstrong and the other work that you've done in the past, what what would you say has has how's that changed you or how has that impacted you when you see the resilience of people going through all these different things?
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: How would you say it's impact?
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure it's impacted you in many ways, but what's been the most significant way, do you think?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: I have to be as brave as they are.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: The people that I've been honored to serve, whether it was the young women that I coached at a junior college uh playing basketball, or the the kids that I represented at CASA, or the the families that I helped at Children's Miracle Network, or the patients that and and families that we work with today here at Live Strong, they are so brave.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: They are facing challenges that that many of us, if we haven't faced them, we would consider them unsurmountable.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: And and they do it oftentimes with grace and smiles, and they say, eventually, you know, I'm I'm gonna get through this.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: So every decision that I make, especially really hard ones, I remember where they are and say, I have to be just as brave as they are.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so sometimes, and that means being uncomfortable a lot, a lot, yeah, a lot, and being a little scared about what uh, you know, what we're gonna do.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: But um, in order to make progress and in order to change things, you have to be brave, just like they are.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's the thing I think that I would say has moved.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, all right.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you've got something very exciting coming up that's going to touch us here directly almost in in Fairfield County.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_01: So this September is 25 years, I can't believe it, since um 9-11.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: So we have the first you have rather the first responder ride coming up that is going to go from Massachusetts back into the city with a nice 64-mile pit stop here in Connecticut.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: So tell us what is this all about?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: Where did it come from?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: How did it happen?
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: And what's the connection between the ride and what your mission is at Live Strong?
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a whole mouthful there, but but what so tell us what it's about.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I got a phone call or an email actually from the wife of a firefighter a couple years ago.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I do my very best to say yes to meetings when I can, as many as I possibly can, even when I don't understand what they're going to be about.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: But I I love to listen because that's where you learn.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: You learn by listening.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's in that information you needed, but you never know.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I had this lovely conversation with this wife of a firefighter, and I learned um, I learned about occupational cancer in the fire in fire service and in first responders.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I I got really curious, and I don't know that that's a positive thing, but kind of went down that rabbit hole and I started to learn as much as I could about the first responder community and how cancer impacts it.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, can I just stop you for a second?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: So was her husband afflicted?
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, what what made her call you?
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: So she called me because her work is in um is in is with the New York um fire department, is connected with the FDNY in helping um helping active duty firefighters deal with a cancer diagnosis.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, oh, oh, okay, okay.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's kind of her work.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so um it's adjacent to her her husband's um fire service.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so they had just lost somebody, and she was reaching out um that that was you know a coworker of his.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: They had just lost him to cancer.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: And she was like, you know, maybe Live Strong can help because these firefighters don't have the resources that they really need to figure out what to do next.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: They don't do a good job of talking to one another because they're the ones that are supposed to be rescuing us.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: Others, yeah.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so the last thing they're that they ever do is ask for help for themselves.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: So we got to talking, I did a lot of research, and what I learned is that first responders, not just firefighters, but first responders in in general, are diagnosed with cancer 14% more often than you or I.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: And they their mortality rate is 9% higher.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: The reasons for that are many, but not the least of which is that they are late to the game when it comes to screening.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so that that's one of the reasons that more the mortality rate is high.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: One of the reasons that their incidence rate is so high is because they literally have, from the moment they sign on, their occupational risk, their risk for cancer elevates extraordinarily, um, extraordinarily.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: And that's because of all of the carcinogens that they're exposed to, both chemicals and fire, all the things that are happening around them.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so this evolved as I started learning, learning, learning.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay, this is a community that is quiet, right?
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: They're quiet heroes.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't new.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: We all know this, right?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: They're they're quiet heroes and we need to do better by them.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: So started to figure out what we can do to take the guidebook and could we tailor a section of this, could we add to this guidebook specifically for the first responder community?
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: We are not experts at being first responders, none of us are first responders.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we um just like we do all the time, we started we started talking to the first responder community.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: So we developed this ride, knowing that we're here at the nine uh at the 25th anniversary, we decided we wanted to shine a really bright spotlight on first responders.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: How can we do that?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we can take first responders and other people who are connected with that community, and we can um we can do something that we're really familiar with, and that's put them on a bike.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so we are there are about 200 of us um of them that are riding from Boston.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're gonna start at Fenway Park, really excited about that.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Starting at Fenway Park, and we will end at the at Battery Park and um in New York City.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: But before we hit Battery Park, we will be at the 9-11 Memorial where everybody will pay uh tribute to those 343 that didn't um that ran in that day but did not run back out.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: And also the thousands that we've lost since to cancer because of their service that day and and in the recovery efforts as well.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so the riders are first responders, yes.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, so there's about 200 of them starting at Fenway Park, yes, ending in Battery City.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: So that's gonna be three in honor of 343 who died, and it's 343 miles, and 60 some odd miles of that is here.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, is right there, coming right through your tower, and and Stanford.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so uh just a couple of things.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: So before we get into the the Stanford part, um when people along the route see 200 first responders zipping by on bikes, um, what is it you hope and want um them to know and understand about the people who are riding and what they're writing for?
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: I want them to understand that everybody on that bike is deeply connected to the community that they're riding through.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: They've probably served that community in some way.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: And they've served all of us.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: They're serving.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: They're active duty.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Many of uh well over half of the riders are active duty.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, FDNY, Boston.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a contingent coming from Ireland, all the way from Ireland.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: Firefighters are coming from Ireland to support their brothers and sisters in service here.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so this ride begins September 9th.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: It no, the well, the ride begins on September the 6th.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: On September 6th, okay.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Correct, because it's five days.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then we arrive in New York City on the 11th.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: So Stanford on the 10th.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's our that's our last night.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: Our last night is in Stanford.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um but when you when you step out of your house or your business, we'd love for you to come.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um you can check out the route on the on the landing page, really easy to see, and you can see exactly where they're going to be going.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: We've got water stops at um both professional fire stations and volunteer fire stations across um across town.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: And we would love for you to come out anywhere.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: You could set up a lemonade stand, you can just wave your flag.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: We just want you to know that everybody there is raising money, not just to support the ride, but to to pay it forward to other members um of the first responder community who need that support, um, both mental health and cancer support in that community.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so in terms of this area, so people who are listening around here, so I don't want to misstate on what day will they be zipping through here?
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I believe on that day it will be the ninth.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: That's what that's why I had that in my head.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we will be zipping through your town on the but the towns are it's uh starting in New Haven and coming through Shelton, Monroe, Easton, Weston, Westport, and Norwalk, right?
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so other is there are there ways other ways people can be involved in addition to waiving and providing uh refreshments?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, absolutely.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: So one you can volunteer.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you want to officially volunteer, we will put you to work because as you might imagine, this is no small task.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: So um we can put you to work as a volunteer.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um another way to support is to jump online and financially support your writer.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: So help each each writer has a fundraising minimum that they have to raise.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's not that much, but every first responder has to get to 2,000.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, help them get there.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love for you to help them get there.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: $5, a dollar, it doesn't matter what it is.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: Every single gift makes a difference as you pay it forward and support their writers.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I would that would be an incredible way to support them.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: We're also um, if you'll follow us, and I'll I'll make sure that your whole community has this, every rider will be able to be tracked.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna send you some riders that are from your um from your area.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll be able to track them um it live and see exactly where their bike is all five days.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: So if you just if you adopt a firefighter or you adopt a first responder who is on the ride, uh cheer them all, cheer them on, send them messages across our socials.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be able, like I said, to uh to see them on their track device.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: But we'd love for you to support them, wave the flag, wave your hand, hand them a cup of water, um, donate to their fundraising campaign, um, or support them along the way by sending them encouraging messages.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: And um, what was I going to ask you about that?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it just went off the top of my head.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, no, I know I don't want to ask you.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: So while we're talking about this right now, so we don't lose any any time here, all of the things you just mentioned, the volunteering, adopting someone, uh donating, et cetera, is all of that information accessible on any of Livestrong socials, so website, Instagram, et cetera?
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: So there are two places that you can go to get that information.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: The first one that's specific about the ride is 911ride.org.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: So super easy.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: 911ride.org.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to learn more about Livestrom, it's just Livestrom.org.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you can't remember the 911ride.org, just come to our website and we'll we'll get you right there.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: Either way, okay.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: So before I just wrap up, I just want to ask you in terms of the ride, either the overall ride or what's happening here as you come through uh this part of Connecticut, is there anything else important to you that you wanted to share about what's going to happen or how to get involved or anything at all?
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you are if you're in New Haven andor in that in that area, that's where we're kind of launching that day.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: The mornings and the evenings will be the hardest emotionally for our writers.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And um, as they end the day through your community, as they they're coming through your community and they're ending the day, I know that you will feel how emotional they are the closer they get to New York to pay respects to those 343.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: I would say hug them, you know, uh just just hug them.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can be a part of the Stanford launch, we'd love to have you come out that morning, uh, the morning of the 10th.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to zoom over to Stanford, we'll be at the Woodfield Fire Department, where they have they've built a replica of the Twin Towers.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: And uh because they lost they lost members of the community that day.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: So they've they've built that replica.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: The the mayor will be there.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to have you come out there.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: But like I said, those are as the community comes through, as our writers come through, it's getting closer and closer.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: So just know that these are people who are the bravest among us.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: And um I'm just really excited to support them.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, these stories always fascinate me when you hear that how things like this that are so big and so important.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you started being in the closet and you realized, you know, with your work you want to do something more impactful.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: You this all began with a phone call.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's just remarkable how things, when people who are involved and committed, uh, can make these kinds of things happen.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, two last questions.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like the the the same side of a coin, but um so the ride's going to end um at the 9-11 memorial, but that's certainly not the end of bringing attention to what happened uh 25 years ago.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: So, what do you hope will happen once the ride is over?
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what I what our intention is once the ride is over, we're creating the addendum to this guidebook.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it will be um it will be an add-on to the guidebook.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: We also know that first responders do like this tactile, um, which is great.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: So we're we're gonna have a we're building an addendum that the first responder community is helping us with.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're not pretending to know um and be expert in their culture and community, but we're building that together alongside with them.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: And very soon after, we will publish that and we're gonna bring them to your community and we're gonna ask for help again.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: Help us, help us distribute these.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna send you a box.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: And say, you know, go to your fire communities, go to your first responder stations, go to go to the police station and hand them out with notes of support to let them know that the community is here for them.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: So you'll remember that this ride came through, but it's not a short-term, it's it's it's not just a flash in the pan and you'll never see us again.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: We're coming back to the community through through the work of the guidebook.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: And we hope to continue to support the first responder community and your entire community just from a Livestron perspective as well.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that was the answer to my last question, which was um not losing the significance of all of this.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_01: So for sure, send us a box.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: We will do that.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you've already said it just one last time so people don't forget livestrong.com.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's easy enough.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: The other site for the actual ride and what's happening is 911ride.org.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: So really easy to find us.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: You can also just Google it, but um, you can you can find me on LinkedIn.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that's another great place to go if you're a if you're a business.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you are a business and you're looking to support us, also, you know, contact me.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love to have you be a part of a part of the ride as we um as we come by.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: I know our writers are really looking forward to coming through Connecticut for sure.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: I am so grateful for what you're doing.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I still can't believe it's it's been 25 years.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: That's just some ways it seems like it was yesterday.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but your bravery, your courage, the woman who called you, all of that.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we are really, really appreciative.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_01: Look forward to being a part of this in the way that we can.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: And uh thanks so much for your time.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you in a few days.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you to the Bros Chengus Bros team for sponsoring this episode.