You can help Heather Tietje raise money for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research by donating to her Bike MS: Ride Across Minnesota team. One way to donate is through the Carlson Pillow Cleaning Service fundraiser coming to Goodhue on April 10th and 11th. While Heather rides, you can sleep in--enjoying a freshly cleaned, sanitized and recovered pillow--or even a brand new one.
Carlson started coming to Goodhue 22 years ago after a local woman asked Deb Gnotke to look into a pillow cleaning service. She describes it as “a wonderful service” that comes to town every-other-year. Working out of a mobile trailer, a machine cleans, disinfects and deodorizes pillows using germ-killing, ozone emitting ultra-violet light. Tumbling brushes rotate and fluff feathers without removing any of their oil, extending the life of the fill. The tumbling removes dust and chaff and the feathers are then transferred into a new material covering of your choice. More feathers and goose down can be added if desired. The process is completed in a short time and pillows returned to you the same day. Crushed foam pillows can also be cleaned and polyester pillows can be recovered. Carlson also sells new pillows of various sizes and feather and down composition. He will work with other down items such as comforters but that is not same-day service.
The mobile unit will be clearly marked while parked at The Depot lot on North Broadway in Goodhue operating from 6-8 PM on April 10th and 7 AM-3 PM on April 11th. Every customer using the service on April 11th will receive a $1 discount coupon toward a beverage at The Depot valid that day only.
Gnotke organizes the service with all fund-raising proceeds going to Heather Tietje’s Bike MS: Ride Across Minnesota team. Heather is the daughter of Deb and Dave Gnotke and rides in honor of Dave, who has lived with MS for 53 years. According to the MS Society, Multiple Sclerosis is “an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis…MS affects more than 2.3 million (men and women) worldwide.”
Carlson’s Pillow Cleaning Service is an ironically appropriate fundraiser as fatigue is the most common symptom of MS with a two-to-three-times higher than average prevalence of sleep disorders. MS causes nerve damage to the neurons in the brain and spinal cord that make up the central nervous system, which plays a pivotal role in regulating sleep-wake cycles. This nerve damage can be a direct cause of sleep disturbance.
While Multiple sclerosis can be exhausting for those with the condition, the MS society uses a physically exhausting event to try to find a cure. Bike MS is the largest fundraising cycling series in the world, raising more money than any other cycling event for any other cause. Each year, nearly 50,000 cyclists and more than 5,000 teams ride — “changing the world for people with MS, one mile at a time”. With the fundraising support of cyclists like Tietje, The National MS Society can continue to connect more than one million individuals to the people, information and resources they need. The Society also supports more than 380 new and ongoing research projects around the world.
Bike MS has 50 rides across the US with routes that range from 15 to 150 miles and can be single day, two day or multi-day rides. All Bike MS routes are fully supported with mechanical and medical assistance, food, drinks, and rest stops every 8 to 12 miles. Tietje, who has been participating in Bike MS (formerly MS TRAM) for 20 years, is the captain of “Jane’s Chain Gang” team. They will be riding from Northfield to Red Wing, to Faribault, to St. Peter and back to Northfield July 22-26. In addition to the pillow cleaning fundraiser and in-person donations, you can support Heather and the MS Society by donating at www.bikems.org, searching her name or team name and clicking on “donate”. For more information on the fundraising events, contact Deb Gnotke at 651-764-5587 or ddgnotke@sleepyeyetel.net. For specific information on the pillow cleaning service, contact Mike Carlson at 320-212-5811 or check his website: www.carlsonpillow.com.
