How You Can Help

I've had a number of people ask me how they can help us with the upcoming Walk to Cure Diabetes.

1.  Obviously, money talks.  :)  I am really, REALLY uncomfortable asking people for money.  However, when it comes to Ross's health and finding a way for him to never have to experience another dang finger stick, pump insertion, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, injection, fear of seizure or ketoacidosis, etc. I can and will do anything!  Whether it's $1 or $1000, we are sincerely grateful for every donation that is made in Ross's name.  Every single cent is going toward making his life a little more normal.  Donations are tax deductible!  You can safely donate to Ross's Gator Crusaders HERE.
AND/OR

2.  Join us on September 24th at 8:00 a.m. at Engler Park in Farmington.  We are truly humbled by the love and support we've received at the last two Walks we've partcipated in.  To look around and see familiar faces, knowing they are there for Ross is overwhelming.  I honestly pray everyone has a chance in his/her lifetime to experience that kindness.  Not only will the walkers be there for moral support, the Walk is a lot of fun, too!

If there are any questions, please contact me at stephaniefelker78@hotmail.com.  Thanks!

Ross's Walk to Cure Diabetes Video

Walk Time Again!

We are blessed to have another Walk to Cure Diabetes in Farmington!  It will take place Saturday, September 24th at Engler Park.  Registration will take place at 8:00 a.m., and the 3 mile walk will begin at 8:30. 

Hundreds of individuals are expected to gather for a common cause -- to raise funds to assist JDRF in its mission to find treatments and cures for type 1 diabetes. We're also going to have a fun time as many family events are planned including, food, beverages, a children's area and plenty of activities for the entire family. 

By taking on such a key role in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, you help JDRF continue to be the leading funder of and advocate for type 1 diabetes science. With your support, JDRF funded more than $107 million in diabetes research in Fiscal Year 2010 alone, and more than $1.5 billion in type 1 diabetes research since JDRF was founded in 1970. That is more funding for type 1 diabetes research than any other charity in the world has accomplished. Our research funding goal for FY2011 is ambitious: to fund $124 million in promising science leading to better treatments and a cure for type 1 diabetes. So, we really need your help!

You can make an online donation by visiting www.walk.jdrf.org and typing in my name (Stephanie Felker) or our team name, Ross's Gator Crusaders, in the state of Missouri.  If you would prefer, you can contact me at stephaniefelker78@hotmail.com to send in a check. 

Thank you so much for your support!

Easy Money For JDRF

If you live in Illinois or Missouri, and you shop at Schnucks, they will donate up to 3% of your money to JDRF with a program called eScrip. THIS IS THE EASIEST WAY TO MAKE MONEY FOR JDRF!!

When you sign up for this free program you will receive two cards - one you can keep in your wallet as well as one you can attach to your key chain. This is not a gift card or credit card, and it contains no value. But JDRF will receive money every time you use the eScrip card at Schnucks. The money raised will go for funding research for a cure for type 1 diabetes.

When you purchase anything at Schnucks markets, just have the cashier scan your eScrip card and a small percentage of your piurchase (up to 3%) is credited to JDRF. You will incur no additional charges, and your bill will not change. Just pay for your purchase as you normally do - cash, check, or charge. There are no fees, no membership charges, no costs to you, and no hassles.

These cards are available at any Schnucks markets, or I would be happy to get some for you. If you have any questions about the program, you can get more information here.

Baby Steps

We attended a JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) family retreat last weekend and came home with more information and ideas on treating Ross' diabetes. We were interested to learn of a company in Massachusetts that is working to create a new kind of insulin - SmartInsulin. It would help control his blood sugar with just one injection a day.

SmartInsulin is designed to be "glucose-regulated," meaning it can sense how high or low a person's blood sugar is and will only release insulin when it is needed, just like a healthy pancreas does. If the blood sugar level is high, SmartInsjulin will release insulin, but if the blood sugar is going low, it will stop releasing insulin - hopefully preventing a scary episode of low blood sugar. SmartInsulin would require only one shot daily and would also reduce the number of times Ross would have to test.

Since he is on a pump and no longer taking daily injections, I'm not sure how that would work for him. I don't know if he would stop using the pump and only have one injection daily or if he would take one injection of the SmartInsulin and still use the pump. Researchers still have lots of testing and clinical trials, but there is good reason to hope a new kind of insulin that makes diabetes management easier may be available in the years ahead.

We continue to be optimistic that this is one step closer to seeing a cure in Ross' lifetime.

Save The Date

We are thrilled to announce that a JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes is taking place in our area! Instead of travelling 5 hours to take part in the Kansas City Chapter's Walk, we will be able to travel about 5 minutes. It will be Saturday, April 10, 2010 at Engler Park in Farmington, Missouri. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. with the 0ne mile walk beginning at 9:00 a.m. Doughnuts, bagels, juice, and coffee will be complimentary, and door prizes will be provided.

As always, we welcome EVERYONE to attend. This is a free event. You do not have to pledge any money if you come walk with us. We will just be grateful for the support you give Ross by walking with us. This is a great way to get a little exercise while letting Ross know he's not alone.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at stephaniefelker78@hotmail.com.

Be there, or be square!

The Walk To Cure Diabetes

Our Walk To Cure Diabetes turned out to be a fantastic experience.

On October 10th we travelled to Kansas City, MO to participate and do our part to raise funds for JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation). It was C-C-C-FREEZING!!!! It was 37 degrees the morning of the Walk. It was so hard to feel warm for the rest of the day.

We had a total of 31 walkers on our team, Ross's Gator Crusaders. We felt truly humbled and grateful to everyone that travelled far to join us in supporting Ross. I am not an emotional person, but I couldn't keep it together that day. It was very inspiring to see so many people (thousands) there to support the same cause that is so close to our hearts.

Back at the end of August, our family set a goal to raise $1000 to donate to JDRF on Ross's behalf. As of today, we've donated $4,630 Out of the 385 teams in attendance, only 17 raised more money than Ross's Gator Crusaders. We are more than grateful. Words can't express the humility and gratitude we feel. We are almost finished with our huge list of Thank-You notes!

$2000

We've hit goal #3 of $2000! We should have the final tally by the end of the week. Receiving 200% of our goal has been an unbelievable blessing to say the least!

A Little Publicity

Ross's story was featured on the front page of our county's newspaper today! We felt so blessed that Teressa Ressel, a reporter, featured our family's fundraising efforts. You can read the article here.

More Generosity

My amazingly talented and crafty friend, Emily, has graciously donated two of her works of art for us to auction off for Ross's Gator Crusaders. With her living several states away, I figured the easiest way to do this would be good ole ebay. These baby quilts are gorgeous! Thanks, Emily, for your generosity!

You can find the auction here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200386850822

And you can find this one here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200386850854

Do you know anyone having a baby girl? She would look awfully sweet in one of these!

Generosity

My cousin, Laura, has registered to be a walker with Ross's Gator Crusaders. She has set a personal goal of raising $350 for our team. She sent an email to her friends letting them know what she was doing and directed them to our JDRF site. She has already raised $205. It couldn't get much simpler than that. If just a few other people would do that, think of how much more we could raise! Thanks for your kindness, Laura!

It Keeps Getting Better

I just found out that the Vista Club, an all girls service club at our high school, will be helping us in our fundraising. They will be selling sodas during the four lunch shifts and will donate ALL proceeds to Ross's Gator Crusaders. They had discussed a service project a few weeks ago and talked about a diabetes walk. When someone mentioned (my mom) Mrs. Wright's grandson was recently diagnosed, they immediately decided this was the cause they wanted to focus on.

We continue to be so humbled and grateful to all of the kindness being directed our way. We feel so blessed.

Sweet Victory!

Today, less than a month after kicking off our fundraising, we've reached our goal!!! Ross's Gator Crusaders has $1000+!!! We are truly grateful to all who have helped us reach our goal. But with just under four weeks to go, we're not stopping here! Ross wants to set a new goal of $1,500, so here we come!

Are you familiar with the Relay for Life and MDA paper symbol campaigns? You often see their little paper symbols lining the walls of gas stations or department stores. Customers can purchase them for $1. Well JDRF has one as well. They have a paper sneaker campaign. Edward started a campaign in his office this afternoon and already received $34 in a few hours! He has also contacted Commerce Bank in Bonne Terre, and they've graciously agreed to help with the campaign. And of course Farmington's best restaurant in town, The Branding Iron, has also agreed to help with the campaign. We are anticipating some great results!

Hugamonkey Helps

My great friend, Dylan, and his beautiful wife, Leah, have a fantastic baby sling business. Their slings are very affordable and gorgeous!

They are going above and beyond our call for help by matching donations to Ross's Gator Crusaders on their website by 100%!

http://www.hugamonkey.com/blog/destroy-diabetes-ross-gator-crusaders

We are so grateful they are helping us in our quest for a cure!

Now, everyone go out and buy a baby sling!

Donation Update

Our total at the end of Week 2 is $320! We are so blessed!

Week 1

In the first week of fundraising, we've raised $200!!!! That's 20% of our goal! Hooray! We are so, so grateful for the kindness of Mrs. Schlegel, the Marlers, the Williams, the Fousts, and the Wolos! We are on our way.

Our Quest for a Cure

This site is intended to give information to our friends, family, and frankly anyone who is interested in donating to our Walk to Cure Diabetes team. Our family will be walking to support our ten year old son, Ross. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes after a quick decline in health. You can read more about his diagnosis here.

On October 10, 2009, we will be participating in the Walk to Cure Diabetes in Kansas City.
Because this is still so new to us, and we are still learning, we're starting out small. Our family has the goal of raising $1000 to donate to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) in Ross's name.

Asking for help is just not my thing. However, I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my boy. We feel that a cure is on the horizon. With more funding, we are optimistic that it will happen in his life time. Walk to Cure Diabetes is the fastest growing fundraising event in the history of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). It is a national and international effort, raising more than $94 million a year. More than $40 million of that is raised by family teams! If you are willing to help us with this goal, please know that all donations are tax deductible. JDRF is an accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency.

If you choose to make a generous contribution in support of Ross’s Gator Crusaders, you can send those donations to us (cash or checks made out to JDRF), and we will turn them in at the Walk. You can also make an online donation by visiting http://walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=87408763 . ANY amount is welcome and appreciated!

Thank you, thank you for taking the time to read this. With the help of others, we will reach our $1000 in no time! If we can answer any questions or send you our home address or phone number, please feel free to contact us.

stephaniefelker78@hotmail.com

cfelker@amfam.com