Fitness chores performed to help raise money for charities.
By Dawn Feddersen | Sunday, January 07, 2007
For many, a birthday is a time to think of yourself and your future. But on John Morrow's 55th birthday, he was working hard to help the futures of others. On Saturday, he performed 1,000 pushups, 1,000 leg lifts, and 1,000 sit ups in less than an hour to fulfill a pledge drive he organized to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation, the Twilight Wish Foundation, and to help a friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Morrow completed his feat in 57 minutes and 55 seconds and raised $2,000, 50 percent of which will benefit Morrow's fellow Quad-City Morning Optimist Club member Jim Schick. The other two organizations will receive 25 percent each. Schick is currently undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for naso-pharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of cancer he was diagnosed with at the end of November. Ed Ellis, the club's president, said that Schick deserves everyone's support because he's usually the first one to volunteer to help someone else. "He's always worked selflessly, long hours on all our projects," he said. Schick's efforts with the Optimists have included fundraisers benefiting Gilda's Club's children's cancer fund, the Friendly House, the Child Abuse Council, Camp Courageous, and many more. The organization typically raises between and $40,000 and $50,000 a year for local charities. Everyone in the group was eager to help Schick in any way they could, especially Morrow. "This fundraiser was all John's doing," Ellis said. "When he heard about Jim, right away he said he wanted to help." Morrow's daughter, Jennifer, agreed with Ellis' assessment of her father. "He really has a down-to-earth sense of what it means to be a good citizen. He's a great source of pride in my life," she explained. The fundraiser was held, appropriately, according to Morrow, at the Center for Active Seniors Inc., or C.A.S.I., in Davenport. "Aging is a process. Getting old is an attitude. I feel like I'm a 25-year-old man," he explained. The event was the latest of Morrow's efforts to promote fitness and a healthy lifestyle at all ages. In May, he set a world record, performing 123 back-of-the-hand push-ups in one minute. According to Morrow, even if he hadn't been involved in a fundraiser, he would still have been working up a sweat on his birthday. "I'd have probably done something like this by myself today, anyway. So I figured I might as well make good use of it," he said. The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com. Donations Donations to benefit the Schick family can be sent to Morrow's Academy of Martial Arts, 13211/2 5th Ave., Moline, IL 61244.
