The Gabby Krause Foundation Blog

Bags of Fun activities!

First and most importantly I want you all to know that the Bags  of Fun have been very successful and truly Bring a Smile to the face of every child and parent of a child who receives one.

We have delivered approx 4-6 bags a week to Children',s and this week delivered our first bags to Pres./St Lukes. We have had a few requests for more out of state bags and are getting two sent out next week. (Officially we have done this for friends of friends who request it. We have no "policy" regarding this and are pretty much doing it on a per request basis.)

We had sad news about one the kids who received a Bag of Fun. Gage passed away in June.  We received a lovely letter from his mother thanking us for the bag. Please keep his family in your prayers.

The Chef demonstration at Roth distributing was very fun and a great way to spread the word about Gaby's Foundation.( I strongly recommend that anyone interesting in kitchens, cooking, or food try to go to one of these demonstrations it was a great night out! Go tohttp://www.gabbygourmet.com/ for more info)

Dinner at Mels was great too!    Tyler, the chef, is a doll and Matt, the general manager is wonderful, they have both been great to Gabby's Foundation. If you are looking for a new place to go try it out...tell them Gabby's Foundation sent you! http://www.melsbarandgrill.com/  (Yes, between the food and wine I will probably gain 100 lbs this summer.) Also, they have offered to do the Have you Heard of the Third event for April!

A huge Thank You to the Gabby Gourmet for setting these up!

The Sundance Sailfish swim-a thon raised over $4,000 and the team now has an official Gabby award that they will give every year to the kid who has the most heart! Thank you Sundance! This year's winner was Sean!

The cocktail party at Pisciotta's was terrific! It was fun,relaxed and the Foundation raised almost $10,000. Thank you so much to Dean &Colleen, and Kathy & Charlie Thornton. It is people like you who will make Gabby's Foundation successful!

Our next big event is Sep 3rd at Inverness. It will be a fun run for the kids. Bags of Fun Run! There is no entry fee and there should be lots of fun stuff to do. We will have some merchandise and be taking donations, but it is really just a way to get the kids involved and continue to spread the word about Gabby's Foundation.

October 3rd The Starbucks on Belleview will dedicate the afternoon to Gabby's Foundation. Lots of fun fall activities as well as Vanilla Steamers Gabby's Favorite drink) and Apple Cider.

October 14-16th are the American Girl Fashion shows  at STM.  ALL of the proceeds benefit Gabby's Foundation. If anyone is interested in helping please let me know, or if you have people who would like to be on the mailing list please get their addresses to Graham Miller ([email protected])

Nov 3rd  The Garden Cafe in the Highlands will give 25 % of lunch and dinner profits to Gabby's Foundation. ( Thank you again to Gabby G)

Dec 3rd TBA we are working on a couple of different things. If you want to help or have any ideas let us know!

August 27th is the Morgan Adams Concours d'elegance. It is a an amazing display of luxury Automobiles and Airplanes at Centennial Airport. The proceeds benefit Pediatric Brain Tumor Research. If you are looking for something different and fun  this is it! http://www.morganadamsconcours.org/

The website should be up and running by Sep 29th! Yea! The people we are working with are great (Rezonant) and have been very generous with their time and energy.

ok...so I think that is it for now.....

Hope you all have a terrific end to your summer!

Love,

Tammy

One Bag At A Time

This note is from the mother of the little boy that we delivered our first "bag of fun" to.

MY NAME IS KORI HAYES, AND MY SON IS GARRISON, HE HAS CANCER OF THE BONE. GARRISON RECEIVED YOUR VERY FIRST BAG OF FUN ON THE DAY AFTER HIS LEG SURGERY.

I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW JUST HOW SPECIAL THAT WAS FOR BOTH OF US! I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER HOW AWE STRUCK I WAS WHEN YOU ALL WALKED INTO THE ROOM WITH YOUR ARMS OVERFLOWING OF GOODIES FOR GARRISON. WHAT AN HONOR FOR GARRISON TO BE THE FIRST RECIPIENT OF GABBY'S DREAM COME TRUE.

WHAT A WONDERFUL MOM SHE HAS TO PUT YOUR HEART AND SOUL INTO A PROJECT AS MEANINGFUL AND TIME CONSUMING AS THIS. AND FOR GARRISON TO HAVE HIS HAND DELIVERED TO HIS ROOM... THAT WAS SPECIAL. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR THE HEART FILLED BACK PACK OF JOY!!

WE SO WANTED TO COME TO YOUR EVENT ON THE 3RD OF JUNE, ALTHOUGH GARRISON'S CHEMO HAS BEEN CHANGED AND IS MUCH MORE INTENSE NOW SINCE SURGERY. THE TUMOR KILL FROM THE CHEMO BEFORE SURGERY WAS VERY POOR SO THEY HAVE PUT HIM ON ALL THE "HIGH RISK" CHEMO TO TRY TO MAKE SURE THEY DON'T FIND THE CANCER SOMEWHERE ELSE. TO SAY THE LEAST, GARRISON WAS VERY SICK AND WEAK THAT DAY. WE SEEM TO BE SPENDING MORE DAYS AT THE HOSPITAL THAN AT HOME LATELY. I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THOSE DAYS TOO WELL!

I JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW WHAT A GREAT THING WE THINK YOU ARE DOING AND YOUR DAUGHTER SOUNDS LIKE THE TYPE OF GIRL THAT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD!!

GARRISON LOVES EVERYTHING IN HIS BAG AND MOST ESPECIALLY THE RUBBER ORANGE HAIR THAT HE CAN PUT ON AND MAKE THE NURSES LAUGH! THAT IS HIS FAVORITE. WE COULD NOT BELIEVE THE QUALITY AND NUMBER OF GIFTS IN THE BAG! WOW!!

AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR TAKING YOUR TIME TO COME SEE GARRISON TWICE!! YOU ARE TRULY AN AMAZING WOMAN!!

FOREVER YOUR FRIENDS,

GARRISON AND KORI HAYES

Our efforts are making a difference, one child, one bag at a time.

Inaugural "Bags of Fun" was a Roaring Success!

Thanks to the generous spirit of Gabby's friends and family, Bring out the Bags was a huge success.

Over 900 people attended this fun family event and enjoyed an evening filled with music, food, dancing and smiles.   Maggianos provided a dinner that was wonderful, the park Meadows space was perfect. The kids had plenty to do with face painters, Karaoke, and carnival games while their parents kept an eye on there silent auction items or purchased a "surprise" balloon item. Along with all the excitement, Ed and Lisa McCaffery

helped rally sponsors for over 100 'Bags of Fun.' Our auctioneer Pat Wolach did an amazing job encouraging generous donations on many Live auction items including a play house that was subsequently donated to one of Gabby's favorite hang outs. The evening was a great tribute to Gabby's friends both young and old who are making her wish come true. The kids danced well past their bed times

An amazing event!

There is not much I can say except for WOW and THANK YOU! As my emotions are just starting to level off I find myself thinking of the incredible success of the event, the hard work and dedication of an amazing group of people, the reality of giving 'Bag's of Fun' to every child fighting cancer and of course to my precious children.

              Madison my oldest was an amazing help and so excited about the success of our party. Kennedy was a part of everything, from table cloths to where to put the face painters and loved staying up late to have more fun. Zach our crazy 5 year old was the proverbial "Kid in a Candy Shop" eating the Lollipop centerpieces and enjoying every game and prize in the place. If it seems funny I did not mention Gabby first it is only because the thoughts of her are almost overwhelming. It seems impossible to miss her now more than ever, but yet it I do. Her smile, her laugh, the way she rolled her eyes at her brother. It was her idea to give every kid a "Bag of Fun" but...we were supposed to do  it together. This was a project we were going to do after she got better. I still find myself amazed that she didn't get better. Because of our Faith we know she is in a better place, but it is still hard to think of her missing   a party she would have LOVED, and her WISH coming true.

  What I do Believe, as I said in the program for the event, is that there are no words big enough or eloquent enough to express our appreciation and love. Without each and every person who donated to, worked for, and attended 'Bring out the Bags' our project would not be possible, and the event would not have been he amazing success that it was!

Thank You All

A special thank you to our sponsors Maggianos, Samsonite, Park Meadows, Beverage Distributors, and  Starbucks.

Our first "Bags of Fun" event

“Do you have the bag of fun?” a question that was asked in our house almost every day for 19 months. Now the question being asked ...“Ready for ‘Bring out the Bags’?” It is hard to believe it has been 8 months since Gabby died, and even harder to believe that her wishes have come true so quickly.  It is less than 48 hours before our inaugural event and thinking about all that has been accomplished is overwhelming. We have created and chosen a logo, (an adorable yet manly Frog). We have created a huge database, (almost 1,000 names). And We have a planned a Fund raising event that promises to be one of the most fun family events of the summer!  (not to mention raise tons of money to purchase more bags!) The We's are bold faced on purpose. Without the love, help, and support of the wonderful people around us, there would be no bags of fun, no event, and NO Gabby Krause foundation.  It is due to the absolute dedication and love of our friends and family that we have been able to make it through Gabby's death.  Tom, Maddy, Kiki, Zach and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts. You are all amazing and wonderful people! (Rock Stars!)

The hard work of this same group of people can be credited with the future success of Gabby's Foundation and 'Bags of Fun'. Because of their hard work and dedication every child in Colorado fighting cancer will have their own 'Bag of Fun.'   As you may or may not know a 'Bag of Fun' is a bag filled with age appropriate toys and activities that are appropriate for a hospital setting. Kids from the community choose the toys and will continue to offer feedback on what is new and fun.

            

What strikes me as most important tonight is the fact that  people from every part of our lives, old friends, new friends, school friends, swimming and soccer friends have come together to make Gabby's wish come true. (Tom likes to call it her final demand)

There are truly no words to express our true genuine and sincere thanks. All I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are all amazing!

Love, Tammy

(Gabby's, Maddy's, Kiki's and Zach's Mom)

Welcome to the Gabby Krause Foundation Blog!

About The Gabby Krause Foundation blog.  Gabby Krause was an amazing six year old who died on September 28, 2004 after a courageous 19 month battle with brain cancer. Gabby loved purple, swimming, and coke-flavored slurpees. She sang, danced, and laughed her way through chemo. She found the silly in everything!  It is in her memory that the Gabby Krause Foundation was started, and in her spirit that, 'Bags of Fun' began. The Foundation's goal is to continue her legacy of smiles, zest for life, and the “Grip it & Rip it” attitude that she exemplified while facing life's toughest challenge.

The mission of the Gabby Krause Foundation is to make a difference in the lives of children and their families who are faced with fighting cancer and other long term childhood illnesses.

The Gabby Krause Foundation blog has been started as a celebratory voice to encourage participation and to keep you informed of the great joy your efforts bring to these kids. We’ll share stories of how this foundation is progressing, we’ll post pictures, we’ll let you know of upcoming events and provide links to our wonderful sponsors. We’ll also ask you to post your comments on her blog – we’re always looking for participation and feedback.

To keep up-to-date with The Gabby Krause Foundation blog, NewsGator Technologies is providing you with a FREE blog reader. This will allow you to read any and all blogs or other RSS feeds in one place, On-Line.