Abbie Catherine Waters

Supposedly, when you break a bone, the place where it heals becomes stronger than before. I'm trying to figure out if the heart works the same way.

Another of the families we've met along our journey has been burdened with the ultimate sorrow. Abbie Waters, the girl who captured Charlotte's eye in the A.S.K clinic with her flowing purple outfit and beautiful bald head, passed away last night at Children's Hospital of Richmond. Her 9th birthday was this week.

I'm not sure how much warning her parents had but we all learned there were no more options just yesterday. The look in Jeff's and Mary Ann's eyes when I visited was so horribly familiar. I was very thankful that Abbie's room was filled with people who love them. They will need that love and support as they move through their grief.

Please keep them, and the (too many) other families dealing with this awful, crappy, sucks to the "N"th degree disease in your hearts and love on your own families like there's no tomorrow.

As for me, I fell in love with Abbie pretty much the same day Charlotte did. It's very simple: At that one particular moment in the clinic, when Charlotte caught sight of Abbie and would have rather looked at her than whatever Dora or Diego video was cued, Abbie helped make my daughter happy. To me, that was a priceless gift for which I will be forever grateful.

And my heart is broken again.

Here Comes Big Sur!

Now that the Monument Ave 10K is over and I finished in the mind numbing time of 1:03:58, it is time I focused on the ultimate challenge of the season and that’s the Big Sur International Marathon May 1 near Monterey, California.

As usual, I’m FUN-raising for CJSTUF.org and I have a personal FUN-raising page to gather pledges! Please click here to support me in my endeavors. My goal is to raise $10,000 overall which will make CJSTUF ready for the 2012 year.

The wonderful part is that I’m not alone in this. Some very special people are helping to make it a successful event including Shelley Wilkinson, my very good friend from my college days at the Univ. of Northern Colorado, and the amazing people at the Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Coallition.

Because of them, we will be using some of the money raised to benefit families right there in the Monterey Peninsula so PLEASE tell any and all friends, family, acquaintances anywhere remotely near the west coast to pledge a few bucks to the cause.

The 26.2 mile course has been modified this year from a one-way, “point-to-point” race starting in Big Sur and finishing in Carmel to an “out-and-back” course beginning “just before the Carmel River Bridge and heading south on Highway One. The Marathoners will start first at 6:45 AM, followed by the 21-Milers. The turnaround is yet to be determined but will be in the vicinity of Rocky Creek Bridge. The 21-Milers will tentatively turn around at Rocky Point Restaurant. On the return trip the Marathoners will take an approximate 1.7 mile detour through Pt. Lobos State Park before returning to Highway One.”

This is due to a 40+ foot section of Highway 1 falling into the ocean making the traditional course impassable. There are many people griping about not being able to run the traditional course but as I’ve never run it, the scenery should still be breathtaking both ways for me.

It’s also convenient for me in that they have extended the maximum finish to 6-1/2 hours. I have the feeling I’ll need every second of that! I will finish triumphantly; in last place but triumphantly!

I expect this will be my last marathon for a while as my knee is still giving me fits but I plan on running smaller races after a little PT and sports rehab.

Thank you all very much for your support. Please remember that Every Day Is A Bonus.

Roger

Girl Scouts Give Back

CJSTUF would like to give a huge shout-out to Girl Scout Troop 3454.  These creative ladies are currently working on their Silver Service Award Project and dedicated the focus of their project to our organization.  

Girl Scouts can earn a butterfly badge so they used our symbol as an opportunity to spread the word about CJSTUF. Troop 3454 invited the Brownie and Junior troops from the area to a Butterfly Day. The event included 6 stations. At each station, the girl scouts shared information they had prepared about monarch migration, endangered butterflies, the butterfly life cycle, and instructions on how to create a butterfly garden at home.  They included butterfly crafts, planting seedlings, creating butterfly poems, and even butterfly-shaped snacks!  The centerpiece of the event was a HUGE pink and purple papier mache butterfly created by the scouts that was decorated by everyone in attendance.  

Learning about butterfly habitats

Planting Zinnia seeds

Learning about different butterflies

Monarch Migration Station

 

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Re-enacting the Butterfly Life Cycle

The Papier Mache Butterfly

Looks cool, right? But wait....there's more! To build awareness about CJSTUF's programs, Troop 3454 distributed information about our foundation to the scouts in attendance and asked everyone to bring non-perishable, healthy snacks.  The troop will now sew pink and purple lunch/snack bags that they will fill with the healthy snacks and then deliver to our friends on the 7t floor of Children's Hospital of Richmond (MCV) as part of the CJ's Meal Fairies program. 



Kudos to these creative, motivated young ladies for their hard work and dedication!

First Annual CJSTUF Butterfly Social

Wanted: Creative Hosts and Hostesses

Do you like to entertain? Welcome your friends & family to celebrate with dinner, drinks, or refreshments in exchange for a donation to CJ's Thumbs Up Foundation.  

Plan to host an event in your home (or any place of your choosing) sometime between May 23 and June 5, 2011. You decide on a theme and your guest list.  The options are limitless:

• Pizza party
• Family Movie night
• Memorial Day Barbecue
• Fancy Gourmet Dinner
• Neighborhood Block Party  
• Elegant Tea Party  

 After you pick a date, contact us so that we can provide a host toolkit to help with all your party planning needs. The toolkit includes invitations and reply cards (that can be sent electronically or via paper), CJSTUF fact sheet to share with guests, party ideas, and a step-by-step guide to creating a fabulous Butterfly Social.

For more information, you can visit our website or contact our Event Coordinator. 

Announcing Our April Biz of the Month

Are you looking for an opportunity to work with a fabulous professional photographer for your family pictures?

Eight Richmond-area photographers have donated a 30-minute photo session and 10 digital pictures with unlimited printing rights. During the month of April, every $10 donation will be entered as a chance to win a photo session with a participating photographer.   

Special thanks to our participating photographers:

Ashley Glasco Photography
Beth Harris Photography
Dacia Photography
Galhouse Photography
Kristie Bradley Photography
M. Chase Narrative Photography
Marvelous Things Photography
Reflections Photography

 

To enter the giveaway, make a donation to CJSTUF online between April 4th and April 30th. Cash or check donations will also be accepted at Romp n' Roll-Mechanicsville. Each $10 donation will equal one entry into the raffle. (i.e. a $100 donation = 10 entries) 

For more information, check out our Biz of the Month page on our website. 

A Donor Profile

A Donor Profile: The Horn Family

When Charlotte Reynolds passed away in January of 2010, the Horn family knew that they wanted to find a way to give to CJSTUF in honor of her memory. They set an initial goal of giving $500 to the organization; however, they soon found this goal to be very challenging. Every month, they would try to save towards their $500 target but something would interfere: the dog needed to go the vet, the car needed new brakes, other unexpected expenses filled the budget.

The Horn Family: Fred, Lisa, and Abby

Finally, Fred and Lisa realized that the best way to give to the Foundation would be a little at a time. The family committed to $20 from each paycheck, drafted by their bank and sent automatically to CJSTUF after each payday. As Fred says, "In the end, we never missed the $20 out of each paycheck. As the months went by, the donations added up. We continue to give each month and we have now surpassed the original goal that we set for our family's contribution to the Foundation."


Thanks to their generous contributions, the Horn family has already helped to provide at least one Financial Assistance Grant for another family in need. They did this through small regular contributions that add up over time.


With our new online donation page, you can set up a recurring donation of any amount. Donations can be made automatically on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis.


Please consider an ongoing contribution to CJSTUF in your family budget. Help us continue to provide assistance to families in need.

Biz of the Month: 31 Gifts!

During March, Thirty-One gifts representative Christi Williams is helping support CJSTUF as our Business of the Month.



Follow the link on our website to Christi's Thirty-One page. Place your order any time during March and 15% of the sale will be given to CJSTUF.


Thirty-One offers fun bags, gifts, and accessories for everyone. It's a great place to find the perfect shower gift, Mother's Day present, or even a fun spring bag for yourself!