This week at Vault, we all seemed to have caught a case of All-Star fever. And no, it’s not because two of our favorite Phillies represented the National League at the 2010 All-Star Game in Anaheim.
It’s because our good friend and long-time pro bono client, Marci Schankweiler of Crossing the Finish Line, was chosen to represent Philadelphia in the All-Stars Among Us program from People magazine and Major League Baseball. (And we nominated her!)
The All-Stars Among Us program recognizes individuals across the country that serve their communities in extraordinary ways. Each team in Major League Baseball had three nominee finalists. Through fan votes, one nominee per city was chosen as a winner and got to attend the 2010 MLB All-Star Game in Anaheim on July 13.
Not only did Marci attend the All-Star Game and represent the Philadelphia Phillies during the nationally-broadcast Pre-Game Show, but also, she received a special heartfelt introduction from Julia Roberts in a pre-produced video highlighting six of the 30 All-Stars Among Us.
And it is all so deserved for Marci, who founded Crossing the Finish Line in 1999 after losing her husband to testicular cancer at the tender age of 30. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to send young adult cancer patients and their families away on an all-expenses-paid respite vacations to help them better cope with the physical and emotional demands of cancer treatment – often during the throes of their courageous battle.
We'd like to think that part of the reason Marci won is because here at Vault, we were personally obsessed about getting her a victory. Everyday we made sure to do our part by voting, and also reached out to the community to ensure they did their part. We pitched newspapers in Marci’s community and let them know that Marci had been nominated for this prestigious award.
The media immediately gravitated towards Marci’s story and she was featured in more than a dozen local media outlets, such as the Philadelphia Daily News, The Times Herald, "Good Day Philadelphia," The Lansdale Reporter and The Intelligencer.
Congratulations again to Marci. You’re most definitely Vault’s favorite All-Star!