Shining a Light on Summer Fun
“Light will always remain more powerful than darkness, because even the smallest light has the ability to steal the focus, no matter how limitless the darkness is.”
Summer is heating up, and so is EVENT SEASON here at Fund a Life! If you haven’t seen our full calendar of events for the year, you have to check it out now so that you can get ready for what comes next. But first, a quick recap of the past month:
I celebrated my 41st birthday in May, the tenth birthday since my cancer diagnosis in 2013 - a birthday that, based on all odds, I should not have been here to celebrate. But here I am, and celebrate we did! I mean, WOW!
Unbeknownst to me, my incredible wife, Christina, and my oldest son, Gabriel, raised an unbelievable $22,375 in secret, in my honor, for Fund a Life. They gathered family, friends, and supporters of all kinds for a surprise celebration. I was completely blown away and overwhelmed! A few people shared messages of love and support, and people who couldn't make it shared video messages of how I impacted their life and the lives of others. There aren't words to describe the level of love and emotion I felt in that moment.
It was an emotional weekend celebrating so many things, but most of all - the one that resonates with me more than any other - it was a celebration of a COMMUNITY'S triumph over tragedy in the biggest of ways. I would not be here without the support of an entire community coming together to lift my family and me up during the hardest of times. What an awesome celebration of the POWER of community.
So how do we keep this momentum going? VROOM VROOM, baby!
We’re racing into our first major event of the summer, Drive to Survive, on June 25th. There’s still time to register, and there are so many cool options, add-ons, and activities planned for this 4th annual event. All of the details, including links to register, can be found on our website here. Already registered? Send it on to your friends, family, neighbors, colleagues to make sure they don’t miss out on the fun!
After Drive to Survive comes our next major summer event - brand new to Fund a life, this is going to blow our traditional 5k event out of the water! On July 15th, we’re bringing you Warriors for Hope, 5k & Obstacle Course. Packed with a variety of obstacles along the 5k route, this day is going to knock your socks off and you definitely don’t want to miss it.
For the traditional followers of our previous event versions, we will be kicking off the morning with sunrise yoga, followed by a traditional 5k walk/run around Mt. Brighton (avoiding obstacles). And with a super fun kid’s route too, Warriors for Hope is a family affair!
Registration is now open for all course options and activities, so head here to get started. If you or your business is interested in becoming a sponsor, we have a full list of available sponsorship opportunities here. Email me at mhowell@fundalife.org to let me know which sponsorship you’d like!
Of course, with every event comes the need for volunteers. If you want to come hang out with a rockstar group of people and have an awesome day igniting hope behind the scenes, we want YOU to join our crew! Let us know which event(s) you’d like to sign up for and we’ll get you on the schedule. We’re also looking for interns this summer, so if you know a recent high school graduate or college student who’s looking for a fantastic summer internship opportunity, please send them right over.
And if you’d like to launch your own event or fundraiser this summer in support of Fund a Life, we’ve made it super easy: just check out our Fundraiser Toolkit! From flyer templates, suggested fundraiser ideas, customizable emails and more, we’ve done (almost) all the work for you. All you have to do is get started. This is the perfect way for local businesses to show their support for a nonprofit right here at home, and help ignite hope in our community!
If you’re considering signing up for Drive to Survive and/or Warriors for Hope, or thinking about joining us as a volunteer, I want to inspire you with a reminder of the reason we host these events in the first place. Not just the WHY - to ignite hope in the darkest moments of people’s lives - but the WHO: people like Steve and Nicole Moor.
In August 2021, Nicole Moor's husband Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A lifelong firefighter, Steve was unable to continue working while undergoing treatment, and he took what he thought would be a six-month leave of absence. But after chemo, Steve underwent a Whipple procedure in February 2022, which resulted in numerous complications.
As a result, Steve was hospitalized for 21 days and returned home to Occupational & Physical therapy, in addition to needing a home nurse three times per week. His return to work was delayed indefinitely, and medical costs continued to rise.
In March of 2022, Fund a Life awarded Steve and Nicole a much-needed grant of $5,000.
Devastatingly, Steve's cancer returned in August 2022, exactly one year after his first diagnosis. It progressed rapidly, and Steve passed away on October 5, 2022. Even in the wake of Steve’s tragic loss, his loving wife Nicole still reflects on the positive impact their Fund a Life grant had on their lives - a grant that was only possible because of donors and supporters like you.
“I can’t tell you how grateful we were. It was such blessing to focus more on Steve and his healing rather than trying to figure out how we were going to pay some of those bills. Please consider giving to this organization. They make a world of difference in people’s lives.”
Every fundraiser we throw, every event we host, every ask we make is to help make a difference in the lives of people like Steve and Nicole as they face unimaginable challenges. We urge you to join us this summer, so that we can continue to ignite hope as far as possible.
Until we see each other in June - keep shining the light!
