Steve Sellers has been an integral part of the Portland (OR) Scooter Community for over a decade. He has touched our hearts as much as he’s touched our scooters. Recently, after what seemed to be a very bad and very endless cold, he was finally diagnosed with Congential Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy. Since the heart was in this condition for quite a while, he has blood clots which are detaching and have caused him one major and one minor stroke. The long-term effects of all these factors are yet to be determined but we know the long-term costs will be extensive. Like a lot of people who work for small businesses, he doesn’t have health insurance.

In the next couple of months, PDX scooterists are going to be doing multiple fundraisers and raffles to help Steve cover more basic expenses like rent and kitty litter. How can you help? Glad you asked.

I’d like to ask all of the Scooterswaggers out there who’ve had their Swag posted on our site to please consider donating to this cause by sending us raffle items. It could be anything – wine, socks, etc. (E-mail tips@scooterswag.com and I will send you the raffle coordinator’s name and address.) And remember – these are tax-deductible contributions!

Or, if you’d like to help out in a more direct way, you can donate much appreciated cash. Below is a link to Steve’s page on Scooterrelief.org. You may recall me asking you to donate to Scooter-Relief on behalf of Scoot! Publisher Josh Rogers earlier this year. He has said that he greatly benefited from donations from fellow scooterists so it really is a success story:

scooter-relief.org

Here’s a link to Steve’s own site where you can keep updated on fundraising and his progress:

stevetouchedmehere.com

Thanks so much!

— Tracy

Scoot! Magazine publisher Josh Rogers (he’s the handsome fella in the middle) was hit by a Lexus swerving into his lane at 55 mph on Sunday, March 2 during the Vespa Club Los Gatos’ (San Jose, CA) monthly ride. He was airlifted to the hospital with a broken femur among other injuries and his TGB Laser was totalled. (Doesn’t look like the car fared too well either – No Nosh on Josh!) He’s doing well, all things considered, but we’re very sorry to see him down and wish him a speedy recovery. Here’s more info at scootmagazine.com:

scootmagazine.com

As no insurance covers everything, and airlifts are astronomical, a fund raiser has been set up at Scoot-Relief.org. Donations can be sent to:

scooter-relief.com

Heal Fast Josh! Still hope to see you at Spring Scoot. Maybe we can build you a rickshaw or what are those things the slaves carried kings on? Someone help me out on this word . . .

Love,
Tracy

PS: This is also a good time to mention that Josh had on a full faced helmet, an armored jacket, armored gloves and what look like armored knee pad pants. He would have been injured far worse if he hadn’t had all of this protective gear on. So even as it gets warmer and it’s incredibly tempting to feel the breeze on your skin, DON’T DO IT!

In a little less than a month, a New Zealander by the name of Peter (or by his Maori name of Matua) will be starting a 30,000 mile journey on a Vespa GTS 250 to 49 US States and 8 Canadian provinces to “promote kindness, compassion and volunteerism.”

To help raise funds for the trip, Matua has more than 100 scooter & Vespa-related swag items that are available on his site. Anywhere from $.50 to $4 is given to me from each sale, and will help to cover expenses incurred throughout the trip. I’ve put up just a few of the things he has available on his site here:

vespadition.com