Athletes Helping Athletes; Help Give a Child the Gift of Independence

Toward the beginning of this year I shared about an amazing organization, Athletes Helping Athletes, that together with Roadrunner Sports not only gifted Madi and Ramya hand cycles, but also asked if the girls would like to be their 2016 Featured Heroes. Of course said "yes" because we wanted to do anything we could to help give back to their wonderful organization. They spoiled us rotten and the kids had so much fun (you can read that story here)! 

 The time has officially come, and the campaign is officially live! We are so excited to share!! You may have seen a catalogue come in the mail with photos of our girls, as well as a snippet of our story. This is the first time AHA has done a three page feature, but they wanted to make sure to tell our family's story. They also made sure to include Conner and Deena, which meant so much to them.

Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA) has been granting children with disabilities adaptive bikes since 2000 and to date has awarded 1,078 grants! They have changed so many lives and have blessed so many children with the gift of independence; the chance to just be a kid! 

This year AHA has a big, important goal, to raise enough money to purchase 100 children bikes, and we want to help them meet it and change more lives.  They have a special promotion running through July 3rd, 2016 with Roadrunner Sports. If you make ANY size donation, in-store or online, you will receive a coupon for $20 off your next purchase of $75 or more. It's a win-win!! Adaptive bikes can cost up to $4,500 EACH, which is why this fundraiser is so important! 

Roadrunner sports (the company that supports AHA) has a huge selection of shoes to get you up and active. I was given a gift card to their store and had the privilege of being fitted for custom inserts. I was also able to pick out a new pair of shoes to use when I work out. I am prone to shin splints and foot pain and, before purchasing inserts and shoes from their store, have never had a pair of shoes that I felt supported my feet correctly. I am in love with my new gear, though. The difference is seriously AMAZING! My feet have never been happier, which is huge for me! If you love walking or running, or maybe you are like me and you have kiddos you help with lifting and transfers and put extra strain on your feet, head to Roadrunner sports and let them help you find a great fit. While you are there, make sure to donate to AHA so they can grant more special kiddos with adaptive bikes! 

You can find your closest Roadrunner Sports store by clicking here or you can shop online by going to roadrunnersports.com. 

 You can also donate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online by going to the Athlete's Helping Athletes tab on the Roadrunner Sports home page or by clicking here. 

Thank you for supporting AHA and for helping bless our girls with adaptive bikes. They really have been life-changing! Before I go, I want to share the promotional video featuring our girls. Could they be any cuter or more full of joy!?!?!?! They sure love Athletes Helping Athletes! I'll be back to post more about that later :).

If you are interested in applying for an adaptive bike for your child, please click here. AHA grants many different types of bikes depending on what that child's needs are and they are amazing to work with. They truly care about each of the children they help!

Our Amazing Time with Athletes Helping Athletes/ Roadrunner Sports

A while back I posted on facebook about our need for an adaptive bike for Madi.  I was trying to pull the girls in my bike trailer, but their combined weight of well over 100 pounds was starting to slow me down.  Madi was unhappy that she had to sit in the trailer and wanted to ride a bike by herself.   We started researching bikes but we had adoption fees coming up, needed a bigger van so we could fit all 4 kiddos and all 3 wheelchairs, and found that adaptive bikes are crazy expensive.  That's when a friend asked me if I had heard of Athletes Helping Athletes.  They had given her child a hand cycle and they were loving it.  I decided to apply for Madi, and she was quickly granted a modified bicycle of her very own.  I cannot even begin to describe how excited she was.  She told everyone we met about her very own bike and how fast she went.  The independence was huge for her self-confidence and she couldn't be prouder or more excited. 

Madi learned how to use her bike very quickly and took off.  Riding her bike is one of her favorite things to do now.  It has given our family a way to be outdoors and exercising together and is truly amazing!!

 

 

 

 

 

Ramya didn't yet have a desire to be off riding by herself, but we were hoping seeing Madi ride would prompt her to want to a bike as well.  We knew the freedom would be important for her self-confidence, but it's also a great form of exercise and a lot of fun!  Sure enough, Ramya started wanting a bike too.  I wanted to apply but hadn't been able to yet as we were in the middle of selling the house and lots of craziness. Amazingly enough, one day the phone rang and it was Athletes Helping Athletes.  They had seen Ramya in Madi's bike video and asked if they could grant Ramya a bike as well.  Of course we VERY excitedly said yes!  As soon as I told Ramya she was beaming!  I quickly filled out the application and before we knew it Ramya had a bike as well. 

 

 

 

It is so wonderful watching the girls ride together.  They encourage each other, race each other, and have a blast!  Conner loves riding with them too and I love that it levels the playing field for them.  They give him some serious competition with how fast they go!

 



 

 



Just before leaving for India I got another call from Athletes Helping Athletes.  They asked if they could feature the girls in their upcoming promotional materials that would be in all their Roadrunner Sports locations and  wanted to name them this years "Heroes".  We knew the girls would love to participate, but also wanted to give back to their amazing organization, so of course we said "yes"!  They had given our girls such a huge gift and we wanted to do anything we could to thank them for their generosity. 

Over the next few months I chatted frequently with their program director, Erin.  She is really an amazing person with a heart for granting kids their wishes of receiving adaptive bikes.  I could tell how passionate she was the first time I talked to her and she was wonderful to work with.  Roadrunner sports spoiled the kiddos rotten and made sure to include the whole family.  They sent them clothes and shoes for the big shoot, and the kiddos truly felt like stars!

 

 

Deena was so excited for her new shoes that she brought them to bed with her.  When I say it meant a lot to them, I really mean it!  Madi was so excited she told everyone she met about how she got a really cool bike and how she was going to be famous. 

 



Monday was the big day.  The program director, a videographer, a photographer, the director of art, and a few assistants came to our house to take photos of the girls and Conner riding together and photos of our family.  They also interviewed each of us and recorded it.  The kids had a blast and enjoyed being in the spotlight for a bit. 

 

Once everything is put together they will create a video to have playing in all their Roadrunner stores during the time they promote their program, Athletes Helping Athletes.  They will also put posters and cut-outs of the girls in their stores and will feature our family in their magazine.  We are really excited to see everything once it is put together and plan on visiting one of the Phoenix stores so the girls can see it all live. 

As soon as everything is live I will post on the blog so you can visit a Roadrunner store near you and see the girls photos and video.  I also want to do a separate post on Athletes Helping Athletes and let everyone know how they can help give back to this wonderful organization that helps so many children!  



A HUGE "thank you" to Roadrunner Sports Athletes Helping Athletes program for this life-changing gift to our family!

 

Support HopeKids and Help Bring Hope Today!

HopeKids is an amazing organization for kiddos with serious medical needs and their families.  They offer family events, visit children in the hospital, check in with families, send encouraging letters and notes to their kids and families, send regular e-mails that are uplifting, and really go above and beyond to bring hope and love each of their families.

For so many families it's easy to get caught up in the appointments, the hospital stays, the therapies, the insurance battles, and all the "extras".  Sometimes life is crazy and you simply don't have time to plan a fun event for your family.  Other times, medical bills are piling up and you don't have the extra money to get out and do something fun.  The fact that HopeKids provides amazing events free of charge to it's members is HUGE and really does make such a big difference in so many lives.



HopeKids has a new program called Hope 365 where you can sponsor a Hope Kid for a year.  This provides that child and their family with FREE events to lift up their spirits.

In addition to helping provide Hope to these families, you can also help them reach their goal of 50 new families.  Once they reach that goal, they will be given a matching grant of $18,000!!   To receive the entire $18,000 matching grant they need to acquire 50 new monthly donors by December 15th.  Currently they have 23 friends of HopeKids who have stepped up to support us in this way, which is AMAZING!  They need 27 more new friends with just over 3 weeks to go to reach their goal.  Signing up is simple. Go to www.hopekids.org/hope365.

We are proud to have two HopeKids, and are also proud to be able to help support the work that HopeKids is doing.

Hope truly is a powerful medicine!  I hope you will consider sponsoring HopeKids today!

Here are a few pictures of our recent HopeKids event at Bumblebee Ranch

 

Our California Vacation Part 2: Meeting Tracy

On our way from Disney to Carlsbad, we stopped at the beach and met with Tracy and her amazing family.  Tracy has 5 boys and her youngest son, Kumaka, rocks spina bifida.  They are working on adopting a really sweet little girl, Sophie, and get to go meet her in just a few weeks!  Conner really loved Kumaka.  He told me, "Mom, he has spina bifida.  I asked him if he wanted to be my friend and he said Y-E-S.  I think he's pretty cool.".  The girls had fun playing with Tracy and her family as well.  It was such a blessing to get to finally meet Tracy and her family.  Here are some photos from our beach trip...

 

 

And on that note, do you have $5 extra sitting around your house?  Or even $2 to spare?  Some extra change sitting in a jar?  Could you forgo one Starbucks, or one "extra" little treat this week, to help out the Jensen family?  They have 14 days left until they meet their sweet Sophie, but have a goal of $5,500 to go before they can bring her home.  $5,500 may seem like a lot, but if we all just give a little, I know it will add up in a HUGE way!!!  Please check out some fundraisers they have going on and consider donating to their family today. 

 

http://fromamomofboys.blogspot.com/2013/09/fourteen-days.html

 

Two Generous and Unexpected Gifts

Have you seen our ticker lately?  We are only $1,000 away from our goal!!  We are SO excited!  On Sunday, we were given a very generous over-payment for some of our garage sale items from some good friends at Church (THANK YOU!).  Today when I went to the mail box, I found a very unexpected $500 check from my amazing Aunt (THANK YOU!).  We are so blown away and touched!  God is working in big ways!

An Amazing Blessing in the Mail Today

A while back I got a message from my friend saying that she and her hubby liked to donate part of their tax returns in more creative ways.  This year they had decided to donate towards our adoption and another family that they are close with that are adopting.  We were SO excited!  They didn't tell us how much to expect, but we were so thankful for their thoughtfulness, generosity, love, and support.  Well, the check came today and...
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(drum roll please)
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... it was for $650!!  Ahhhhhhh!  We couldn't be more taken-back and excited!  We are so very, very thankful!  It feels amazing to be so close to our goal.  What a huge blessing!

Come Read an AMAZING Update!

Our latest goal was $10,500 (I previously said $10,200, but had my numbers wrong) to raise for our adoption.  I paid $3,000 of the bill from money we had saved up from me babysitting three times a week and money we had put aside.  That left $7,500.  At our garage sale we made $1,800, but we also sold a trash compactor that was donated to us on craigslist for an additional $200, making our grand total $2,000.  That brought our money owed down to $5,500.  I posted about my friend Emily's mom donating $200 to us, bringing us down to $5,300.  She also told me the company her mom works for will match her donation, which will bring it down to $5,100.  My friend Monica donated $50, bringing us down to $5,050.  My good friend Mary told us she would be donating $100, bringing our current goal down to $4,950.  And on top of all of this, yesterday I got some completely amazing news......


Someone (whom wishes to remain anonymous) donated $5,000 towards our adoption.  Yes, you read that correctly, $5,000!!!!  We are SO amazed, thankful, and in awe!  What a completely selfless and amazing donation!  Words cannot express how much this donation means to us.  It brought me to tears!

With our recent donation, we have a surplus of $50 on our current goal!!  Praise God!
After this round of bills, we will still have a big chunk to raise, but we are getting closer and closer every day!  We will owe the agency about $4,000 more approximately, will need about $5,000 for a lawyer here in the states (India does not finalize the adoption in-country.  Instead, you finalize after you bring your child home.  It is recommended you get a lawyer for this), and will also need travel money (about $10,000....  $7,500 in airline tickets (since we are bringing the kids), then money for hotel, food, and anything else that comes up).  There may also be a few more fees here and there, but that is the bulk of it. 

Our initial goal was $40,000, and we are already down to needing just half of that!  We are feeling incredibly blessed and thankful for everyone traveling this journey with us.  Your love for Ramya and our family is so touching and we really cannot thank you enough!  We love each and every one of you!

Thankful for His Plan

God will not permit any troubles to come upon us, unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come out of the difficulty.

-Peter Marshall

When we got the news about Ramya's transfer, we were very disappointed.  We were trying to be optimistic and see that this could be a good thing for her, but we were, quite honestly, feeling very frustrated and bummed about the news.  Then, we picked our heads up and did what we could.  We focused on the garage sale and the money we needed to make to bring her home.  Having our garage sale be so successful was really encouraging and reassuring for us.  The blessings haven't stopped there, though.  Kindness and generosity continues to pour in!  Today we went for a play date at our friend Emily, Dominic, and Mile's house.  We had a blast playing and when we were leaving, Emily gave me a check from her mother.  She has been following our journey and wanted to help us bring Ramya home.  AND, her employer will match her donation!!!  WOW!  We are so thankful for her and her love for Ramya!

When I think about how many people love and care for Ramya already, though they have never met her, it brings tears to my eyes.  Ramya is one special little girl, and every little child deserves to be loved and wanted this much!  We feel so blessed and are so thankful for the love and support Ramya is being given, and for each and every one of you.  THANK YOU!




And the Grand Total Is......

Just over $1,800 earned at our garage sales on Friday and Saturday!!  YEAH!  We earned just over $1,200 on Friday, then almost $500 today.  I had also forgot to total in a few checks, giving us a grand total of just over $1,800.  We couldn't be happier with how well we did.  This money is going to be a HUGE help with our recent round of adoption bills!

We couldn't have done this without the help of our amazing friends and family.  Those who donated items for our sale, those who baked items for us to sell, those who helped us price and sort, those that helped us run the sales, and of course, those that prayed for us! 

We are also very thankful for my parents, who were there to help price, helped set up both days, helped run the entire sale both days, and brought additional items to sell.  They are always so supportive and helpful, and we couldn't have done it without them!  They are so excited and anxious to bring Ramya home as well, and it's awesome to have such great support behind us!

There was a very good chance of rain on both Friday and Saturday, but we were praying BIG TIME that there would be no rain.  Both days, there were grey clouds and wind, but there was no rain.  On Saturday, we brought everything in after our sale.  About 10 minutes later, it started pouring down rain.  It was crazy!  It was as if God was reminding us that He is in control, and that He has our back :).

I'm also excited to say that this total does not include our two latest donations!  Today, my friend Mary, her husband George, and there adorable kiddos, Alena and Teague, dropped by the sale on their way out of town.  While they were visiting, Mary told us that instead of their usual Christmas donations, they have decided to donate to bring Ramya home instead.  YEAH!!!!  I'm so thankful for their friendship, and their generosity!!  They are always there for us, and it means so much!  I also got a note from my good friend, Sue, who has always been there to support us and somehow always knows just what I need to hear. She is amazing!   She told me she had some furniture to put up for sale and has decided to sell it for a donation to our adoption fund.  Whatever she makes on the furniture will go to help bring Ramya home.  YEAH!!!!  I am so thankful for such amazing friends!!

If you are reading this, and following our journey, thank you for your support!