I just realized today that I still have not posted about the JDRF One Walk that we were a part of back on November 1st. Not that anyone has been anxiously awaiting this post....It is highly unlikely that anyone even missed the fact that this blog entry was not made.
However, next year when I am wondering how much money we raised at the 2015 One Walk...I will likely come to this blog to check past entries to find that answer!
So....here is goes....
Drum roll please.....
Kaci's Krusher's rasied $3,770.60
to help find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes in
the 2015 One Walk!
That is AMAZING! - and dare I say the MOST money we have raised to date in one event! (and that includes 7 years of JDRF walk events and 2 Ford Race Car Design Contests) We could not be more thankful and proud of our family and friend for making this possible.
A big shout out to Beth Irwin- for staring the "Pay It Forward" program in our neighborhood! This is the second year we have sold World's Finest Chocolate bars to our friends and family, but this year Beth really helped us "Pump Up" our sales. She came up with an amazing marketing idea and kicked off our fundraising with a very generous donation and an awesome plan.
Here is what she did.....
She bought around 25 candy bars from Kaci- but did not keep them for herself. Instead, she asked for Kaci to deliver them to specific neighbors along with a special slip of paper which read:
" HI! I am your neighbor in SV! I want to help Kaci in her effort to raise lots of money to help find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes but I just don't need all this chocolate so I'm paying it forward! You can take this chocolate to enjoy and pay some more forward to a specific neighbor(s) in our neighborhood as Kaci circles the block to deliver.
HOW MANY NEIGHBORS WOULD YOU LIKE TO PAY IT FORWARD TO?
$5 PER BUNDLE OF 3 CHOCOLATE BARS
If you need more chocolates or wish to make an additional tax deductible contribution to JDRF, please contact your wonderful JDRF reps, Kaci and Andrea Borchgardt.
CHECKS SHOULD BE MADE OUT TO JUVENILE DIABETES REASEARCH FOUNDATION!
Kaci circled the block MANY TIMES! This awesome idea raised $300 for our walk team! Thank you SV Family- and to all our other chocolate loving family and friends!
This year we also found another organization that was willing to help out a small family fundraising team, Butter Braids. If you have never had one before....don't worry....just message me and we will let you know when we are selling them again this year. You do not want to miss out. To learn more about these delicious pastries, click on the link below and prepare to drool! So good! However, they can only be ordered through fundraisers.....so hit us up this year to stock your freezer full! Quick, easy and so delicious. We eat them for breakfast as well as an after dinner dessert! Thank you to all our Butter Braid eating family and friends!
This fundraiser pulled in about $240 for the team!
The biggest fundraiser for our team this year was our team t-shirt. We are so thankful to everyone who bought a shirt - it is a visual display of love and support every time we see our friends and family wearing them. You don't even have to walk with us in order to get one of these shirts and this years design just might be my favorite! This fundraising venture raised $385 for our team!
The rest of our money was donated by wonderful family and friends as an awesome tax deductible donation! Thank you to everyone who helped our meter GROW!
As happy as we are to be able to watch our fundraising meter grow and grOW and GROW! We are even more proud when we can look back on walk event pictures every year and see that our team of participants grows and grOWS and GROWS every year! The amount of money we raise each year means so much - but the most important thing to our family is having people with us on walk day showing love and support for Kaci- and that is ABSOLUTELY FREE! With that being said- I will not list names...but you all know who you are and we are so thankful to you!
(this year especially)
I have sat down at this computer many, many times since the night of October 31st to write about the 911 call that had to be made on Kaci's behalf that night - and I am still unable to write about it.
While she has bounced back with little to no issues (other than a super nagging mom - like, even worse than I was before)....I am still struggling with the memories of that night. The "what if's" are the worst...but a sweet friend sent me these words and I have them saved on my phone to look back at when I start the "what if" game in my mind every now and then.
She said, " That's the hardest part mentally-
Each time your mind goes wandering you have to just focus on God and
pray for that outcome that was.
Try not to think about the "what-if's"
Thank you, Lori Gegleman.
I thank God everyday for the "outcome that was" I thank God for my family that was here almost before the ambulance, for the neighbors that came into our house and prayed for Kaci at 2:30 in the morning and still made it to the walk the next morning on limited and interrupted sleep! - and I thank God that Clint was here to help me through this and make that 911 call. I thank God for my steady hands that enabled me to give Kaci her emergency shot without breaking off the needle as I drew up the glucagon. I am thankful for Kaci's friend, Savannah, who was sleeping over to attend the walk with us the next day. She was a good friend to Kaci on this night and continues to be a good friend. I am also thankful that Bailey is a heavy sleeper and slept through the whole event.
We are blessed with the SUPPORT and LOVE we feel by those who choose to walk with us this year!
Thank you doesn't seem like enough!
"We will never lose hope until a cure is found."
