Wow! What an event!!

My dear, sweet and amazingly determined girlfriends held a fundraiser on April 10.

They first posed the idea last June, just weeks after the accident. They wanted to help raise money for the still unknown, but surely daunting expenses that faced our family. Dozens of ideas for fundraising were discussed, they planned to recruit our friends, family and even strangers. They hoped to raise $10,000. Sure, I said. Thinking to myself, that is a crazy goal given the economy, and related job and housing markets and none of them had actually handled an event of this nature from start to finish.

These dedicated girlfriends kept meeting, throwing around ideas and found an angel in Mary McNicholas. Mary has a big, generous heart and hosts over 30 events each year. She was the guiding light in the whole process that glued together their ideas with solid fundraising experience. Fondly one of the hostesses described they spent the last several weeks in "Fundraising Bootcamp"!

We were the guests of honor at an AMAZING night of fun, auctions, great music, food and drinks. As you can see in the picture above, it was a beautiful venue. My girlfriends were frugal, shameless, and determined to create an evening that was full of laughs and profitable. They worked to get nearly all costs donated or reduced and subsequently they nearly doubled their goal!!!

The band, the Bongo Pygmies donated their awesome music to keep the evening lively! Marcy Kroonenberg brought in her ShutterBooth, and guests enjoyed having their pictures taken in the booth, developed on the spot, and this turned out to be a great party favor.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Co-Chairs and Hostesses of the Evening Kori Hauer, Michelle Kithcens, Melissa Morris, Joni Roberts and Missy Sidwell-Murray.

Final numbers are still rolling in, but we had enough money to put a deposit on a Honda Odyssey Mini Van that is brand new, has the wheelchair accessibility finished, and just needs to be customized for Brett and his two wheelchairs.

I can't explain how excited we are to own a, (gulp) minivan that allows Brett to get out of the house and back into the community.

We were reenergized by the love and energy of the event! The last several months have been a challenge to say the least. Brett is finally admitting things are not "great" everyday, but we are all adjusting and making the most of each challenge that faces our family. Logistics are an ongoing concern. We are finding that wheelchair accessible usually means a wheelchair can fit through the door, but once inside a restaurant or store, actually moving a wheelchair around is a fine art.

The last several weeks have been emotional as we mark the first anniversary of the deaths of the close circle of family-My Grandpa Bob, Brett's Dad Wayne Sr, Aunt Jacqui, and finally, Brett's Mom Biz. These admirable and loving people all passed within 6 weeks of each other last spring.

I have posted a few recent pictures on the top left side of the blog-titled slideshow. Brett is getting stronger, and can ride his new arm bike for nearly an hour circling South High School parking lotl!

Much Love~
Kelly