Great Strides for CF Provo 2007

I've never been involved in a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser/benefit before. I remember going to Lock Up when I was young with Lindy and Shannon and that was always fun....but I never really got the point of it all I guess. Well this year when Lindy suggested we all do Great Strides in our own communities, I got really excited. She shared a story of a family who had done that and the amount of success they had enjoyed raising money for CF.

This is me with Maisy(spelling?), Cami and Mica's daughter at Great Strides

Well time went by and I hadn't done anything yet. I was excited to hear about how well Great Strides went in Bakersfield and how much fun they had. The June 9 date was sneaking up on me very quickly and soon it was a week away. Part of me wanted to just forget about it but there was another part of me that really wanted to see it through. So I decided, "What the heck!" and went for it. I created a web page through Great Strides and forwarded it to everyone I knew. Click the link below to see it.

My Great Strides Webpage

Pretty soon I started getting emails telling me someone had donated. I couldn't believe how quickly donations started rolling in and how much money my friends were donating. Most of these people don't even know Lindy and Shannon. I was not prepared for the generous outpouring that took place. I stopped by my office and my boss and several others stuffed checks in my pocket totaling over $300. It was very overwhelming.

A couple of days after I signed up for Great Strides, I got a phone call from Ashley Peterson, the coordinator for Great Strides Provo asking me to help with various tasks at the event. Again I called on my friends and in no time I had 10 volunteers to help set up, 2 volunteers to bbq, and 2 people to take pictures at the event. I couldn't believe it. I was in tears all the time filled with gratitude at how great people were.

The day came and it went great. I had a good little team there to walk and the event couldn't have happened without the volunteers I signed up. Mica and Camie were there with their friends as well as several other families who had brought "teams" to participate. One team called "Cleggs for a Cure" brought over 100 people all dressed in bright orange shirts. Next year I am determined to organize early, have some sort of team shirt, and get more people involved to get more donations. I raised $2100 for CF in one week. Just think what I could do with a little more time. So I see there is a Phoenix and a Glendale Great Strides. How cool would it be to have a "Step for Sisters" team in all three locations where we have family. What power! This was my team. Yes, that is Kristie....its a long story how she ended up there. Oh well, she donated money! :)