Please Help Me Support Fragile X.

For 20 years now, I’ve become exceptionally comfortable asking people to work with kabookaboo but I’m the exact opposite when it comes to personal donations to a cause that I care about deeply.

Please read through this note as it expresses my feelings about Fragile X as well as shows my commitment to help over the last 15 years… I hope that you find it to be heartfelt and consider at the end, 1 of 2 “asks”.

I am proud to say I sit on the Board of the Families for Fragile X. Initially I joined to help two very close and very dear friends raise awareness and funds for Fragile X in our community.

Since I started, I am now thankful to say I’m helping much more than two friends… our board is exceptional and unbelievably generous, the people we’ve touched are grateful and as a result, we are one of the largest independent group raising funds for Fragile X.

Prior to helping, I had never even heard of Fragile X. The best and shortest way I can explain Fragile X is that it's?most common known cause of autism or "autistic-like" behaviors.?

It wasn't until my family joined their family for a weekend on the west coast of Florida that I had experienced what I would call a very intense and eye-opening weekend. Their son has Fragile X and at the time was having a difficult weekend transitioning onto new medication. Needless to say, after staying in the same condo with their family, my wife and I left that Sunday afternoon feeling like we had just gone through an emotional roller coaster... But from our perspective, the weekend was over and we would soon be back into our world... Not a perfect world, but a world without a child with Fragile X. That lasted only a few minutes before we left the driveway, we both said that no matter what; we had to do something that would help... Something that would help somehow.

Since then, I am proud to say that I have given more than a thousand of hours of my time and kabookaboo's time to help educate and raise funds for Fragile X. I have met some of the most wonderful people on the Board of this Foundation and consider each one of them very special friends of mine.?

This being said, the one thing that I have yet to do is simply ask my friends, family and business associates if they would be interested in helping too.

Our annual Monkey Madness 5K Run/Walk at Zoo Miami was earlier this monthand many of my local friends are participating.

This is our largest fundraiser of the year, and this year we surpassed our goals... the event was attended by more than 400 people and we raised more than $160,000!!!

As someone whom I enjoy a friendship with, I would like you to consider one of two things.

1. Please make a small but reasonable contribution to our fundraising efforts. We have been very fortunate over the years to raise more than $1,000,000 directly from our foundation’s efforts but as I have learned, this is still just a small amount compared to the numbers that they need to fund the research to make considerable breakthroughs. you can give here:

https://give.familiesforfragilex.com/event/globalpro-recovery-12th-annual-monkey-madness-5k-run-and-family-fun-walk-to-benefit-fragile-x-syndrome/e384818

2. If you prefer not to donate, I completely understand. I encourage you to look around and see where you or your business could make an impact in someone's life. I'm by no means speaking from the pulpit, but the time I have spent, the people I have met, the lifelong friends I have made while helping have given me more than a lifetime's worth of gratitude and thankfulness.

I appreciate the time you have taken to read my letter and I hope that you and your families are happy, healthy and full of love.

Your friend,

Ari