When Brandon Foster proposed to his now wife, Erin, he did so at the place where they had met years earlier. No, it wasn’t on the quad of their alma mater, a quiet restaurant or at the home of a friend or family member. Rather, it was by the pond at MDA Summer Camp where they had both volunteered as counselors for years.
Erin Foster was first introduced to MDA Summer Camp at age 4. Her father was a doctor at the local MDA Care Center and thought it was important to take his daughter to such a special place. Years later, she would again volunteer at her local MDA Summer Camp, that time as a recent college graduate.
“Brandon and I actually noticed each other the first year we were both counselors, but we didn’t start talking until the following year,” says Erin.
The couple not only began to date but continued to volunteer at MDA Summer Camp, where they would later become engaged.
“It was the last day of MDA Summer Camp and we were going around to say goodbye to all of our favorite spots. First we said goodbye to the lake, next we said goodbye to the meeting rooms and finally we walked to the pond where we would go kayaking with the campers. When we got there he proposed. I couldn’t believe he had been holding on to the ring all week,” says Erin.
Brandon and Erin were married on July 29, 2017, at a small ceremony surrounded by close friends and family in Michigan, where Erin grew up. Because Erin and Brandon had such an intimate ceremony, they decided they would have a much larger reception this December to celebrate their nuptials with all of their friends and family.
When it came time to register for wedding gifts for the upcoming reception, the couple had other ideas.
“It seemed wrong to ask for gifts. We don’t need gifts, so we decided to ask guests to make a donation to MDA instead,” says Erin.
Through Your Way for MDA, Erin and Brandon were able to set up a fund that their guests could easily donate to, with proceeds benefiting neuromuscular disease research, MDA Care Centers and — of course — MDA Summer Camp.
Your Way for MDA is an easy way to raise funds for MDA in outside-the-box ways. From weddings and birthdays to bake sales and yoga classes — or even hiking 2,659 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail — you could virtually turn any event into an MDA fundraiser.
But why MDA? For Erin and Brandon the choice was simple.
“MDA has fostered our love. Volunteering at MDA Summer Camp has taught us to be resilient and live life with joy, determination and drive. There is so much joy seeing these kids at camp. It shows us how we want to live our lives both now and in the future,” says Erin.
Join Erin and Brandon in the quest to help kids and adults living with neuromuscular diseases live longer and grow stronger.
