On Sunday, January 6, 2008, my mom, my two nine year old twin daughters, and I spent the afternoon at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.  The Broadway show Rent was playing at the Academy.  Our afternoon goal, however, was not to spend the afternoon at the Academy to attend the great show.  We were there as volunteers for the National Marfan Foundation to staff an information table and collect donations at the end of the show.

Rent's creator, Jonathan Larsan, died suddenly from Marfan Syndrom at the age of 35 immediately before the hit show made it to Broadway.  My family became involved with the National Marfan Foundation because my father died from Marfans at age 56 exactly 11 years ago.  My sister also has Marfans.

I thought volunteering our time today would be a great experience for my daughters who never had the opportunity to meet their grandfather.  My daughters had a blast. They had a great time collecting donations at the end of the show.  

Many of our firm's clients are stroke survivors, suffer for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or many other chronic illnesses.  It is a wonderful activity to to do as a family to unite the generations by participating in a charitable outing to honor the memory of a loved one.  The outings can include charitable walks, receptions, and local fundraising activities like my family particpated in today.  Today was a day I will remember sharing with my daughters and family for quite some time.