What a krop!

Wow!!! What another great year for all our Kyrie Foundation kroppers! So much fun, food and friendship, and all in the name of saving children's brains from cancer!!

HUGE thanks to our volunteers who were instrumental in pulling together and making it all happen. From the planning to the set-up, from the donations to the tear-down, it was the effort from a great group of people to host this event in a way that's meaningful to our guests and to the foundation.

Christy and Melissa did a great job spearheading the coordination of the event, managing all the registrants and vendors, pulling in donations, shoppin and organizing not one but TWO meals of delish vittles—thank you, thank you!! Thanks Cara and Scrappin' Boot Camp for helping us get the ladies registered and printing the shirts. Big thanks Chaney, Angela and Madison for being our sous chefs! More thanks to Melissa, Donna and even more volunteers for making BEAUTIFUL desserts and to Terry for her famous baked beans! Nana Norma was a big hit again with her mid-afternoon cookies--HUGE thanks! Thank you to Donna and Amy for adding perspective with the beautiful story of Donna's handmade blankets. Thank you to Amanda for easing those scrapping ache with her marvelous massage therapy. Thanks to Shawna for creating another fun logo for this year's event. Thanks to Chad, Jordan, Danny, Flynn and Jayce for set-up muscles and to Chad, Jordan, Danny, Madison,Wendy and Susan (who drove from St. Louis!) for all the tear-down support. Thanks to Lacie & Amy for womaning our foundation table and for being positive spirit for the foundation. Thanks to Audrey for helping put the goodie bags together. Another round of thanks to Justin McClure TV for creating our fantastic PSA to show at events like this. Thanks to Gary for the drop-off, late-night pick-up and storage of our tables and supplies.

Our vendors really make the event special, too! Thank you to Jewelry by TLC, Thirty One, Tupperware, Scrappin' Boot Camp, Scentsy, Stampin' Up and Creative Memories for being there with us on Saturday!

MASSIVE gratitude to Pig In Pig Out barbecue for donating pulled pork and turkey for our dinner and to McAllister's Deli for helping us with a delicious lunch!

Of course, the event itself wouldn't be possible in this location without the generosity of Family Church. Thank you, Dustin, for always being there with answers! Another round of applause for Scrap FunAttic and Scrappin' Time for helping us this year with a fantastic prizes!

It was another amazing year to host this event, five years of support from our volunteers, donors and patrons. Incredible and thrilling to band together for such a momentous cause. I know that Christy & Melissa are looking for volunteers to help them plan for 2013. Interested? Send an email to krop@kyriefoundation.org!

A scrappin' good time!

Our Thirty One ladies.

Our Stampin' Up ladies.

Our Creative Memories/Cricut lady.

The awesome volunteers that kept everyone fed!

An amazing group of women (and Chad) celebrated their sisterhood by spending the day at the krop!

Our Jewelry by TLC ladies.

Amazing Donna's story is so powerful. We love what she is doing for families on behalf of the foundation.

It was a full house on Saturday.

The Oh, My Goodness! Garage Sale

All that was left of Nana Norma's cookies!

Working out the knots for the cause!

Fun classes from Stampin' Up!

Danny donated his time, talent and treasure to create beautiful metal art for the silent auction!

Dinner!

Our professional look.

Our real look.

BEAUTIFUL desserts, right?

Our 2012 grand prize winner!

Congratulations, Teresa!

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm really thankful for people who go the extra mile. A mile is 5,280 feet, which means 5,280 extra steps. So when I think about standing still, these people go 5,280 times further than the person who doesn't move. Amazing.

I'm also thankful about how those mile-walkers pick up the pace; they pick up people along the way, too. Kind of like a spiritual rickshaw. ;) At a good clip, you can walk a mile in 20 minutes. The extra mile, however, usually consumes hours, days of time, energy and gumption. Even if you're a rickshaw loaded with peeps, it still takes longer than anyone ever recognizes because really there's only one rickshaw driver pedaling.

What's most curious about the extra mile is that the distance is usually covered alone and even though there may be an award at the end or a finish line goal, the steps are usually solo at your computer sending emails, on the phone asking about an idea, buying fleece for blankets, beading crystals, designing a logo, loading the car full of goodies for the hospital, sending the thank you notes, giving a presentation, loading tables, picking up donations, etc., etc., etc.

We are so grateful to be surrounded by extra milers, more like marathon milers!!

What are you thankful for today?

p.s.
Hope to see you at the krop on Saturday!

Thankful Thursday

So .... if you're a creative type or even a wanna-be creative type, I'm hoping that you're thankful today for the big Kyrie Foundation Krop later this month!

Are you signed up? Have you passed it on to pals? Just a few more seats left!! Contact Christy Freeman if you have questions or if you want to be one of our special vendors.

Today I'm thankful for awareness. We talk a lot about achieving more awareness for the cause, but I'm also thankful for heightened awareness of gratitude, existence, connection. Kind of like what this video conveys. I'm a personal fan of TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design), ideas worth spreading.



What are you thankful for today?

Help the Easter Bunny & Eggbert!

While you're out and about this weekend, could you mind help out the Easter Bunny with a $10 gift card? Many times, something like this has brought parents to tears. Small good always works for big good.

Helloooooo Good Eggs!

Only 4 weeks from today…

and the Easter Bunny & Eggbert the Easter Egg will be "hoppin' & rollin'" down the halls at the Wesley Hospital Pediatric & PICU Floor!

That's right…on Good Friday (04/06) we will be delivering Easter Goodies to the kiddos stuck in the hospital over Easter Weekend…our 6th year in a row.  :-)

All done in memory of Kyrie Dawn Thome.

We were soooooo overwhelmed with the generosity of soooooo many people this past Christmas! toys!  Toys!!  & more TOYS!!! So many in fact, that we have LOTS left to hand out for our Easter trip.

What we are lacking though is:  CASH

Cash that is donated is used for:

McDonalds Gift Cards - QuikTrip Gas Cards…for the parents (parents/guardians get a $10.00 food card and a $20.00 gas card to help em' out.)  & Misc. Gift Cards…for those hard-to-buy-for-teens

We also need cash for our last minute purchases,

when we are short on specific age and/or gender items.

31 children and families benefited from the kindness of others, during our Christmas visit.  (12/23/2011) Our families.  Our co-workers.  Our friends. Heart of America Choir concert-goers.  Even strangers. ALL kinds of good-deed-doers pitched in!

We would like to make THIS visit just as successful!

If you would you like to donate, please make your check out to:

        Susan Jae Eckel

      3738 S. Dugan

      Wichita, KS  67215

We MUST have all donations BY:  March 30, 2012.

Thanks so very much for your consideration.

Wishing you an EGG-ceptional Easter!

  Go Kyrie, Go!

      Luv,

Susan Jae  &  Rita

"E.B."  &  "Eggbert"

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for perspective. Whether it's the big things or little things that come across our days, it's imperative that we recognize the difference between the two. And when we don't, can't or won't, well, that's where we lose balance, lose control and lose face.

I'm thankful that maturity brings perspective. I'm thankful that experiences and compassion bring perspective. I'm most thankful that humility or those "humble in spirit" bring perspective, because as much as we think we've got it all figured out about a situation, we don't. Isn't this where all sit-com plots start? ;) And for as anguishing as major loss or life-altering pain is, the fruit of that experience, if allowed, brings great perspective. You suddenly realize what's important and what isn't. What is fact and what is mood. What is Him and what is you.

What are you thankful for today?

Scrap Like You Mean It 2012!

We’re busily working on next month’s big 5^th annual Kyrie Foundation Krop! WOO-HOO! It will be another year of what you’ve come to love from this event: fun freebies, good goody bags, space to scrap with your pals, upbeat tuneage, great vendors, crafty classes and food, glorious food. This year? McAllistar’s Deli is on board for our lunch vittles and Pig In Pig  Out Barbecue is donating a delicious dinner!!! My mouth is watering already.

Saturday, March 31

9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Family Church

11135 West Kellogg

Warning: Seats are going fast! So register as soon as you can at http://scrappinbootcamp.com/events.html

This will also be the weekend before the Easter Bunny and Eggbert make their annual Easter trip to families at Wesley Hospital. They have a decent about of toys and game, but they really need gift cards or moolah to extend to the parents. You have no idea how much a gas card or a quick lunch at McD's means to these parents. So ... if you could spare a a gift or a $, bring it with you on March 31st! 

Meanwhile, let’s rock out the 2012 krop! Don’t forget you can order a tee with this year’s event logo, too at http://scrappinbootcamp.com/events.html

If you have questions, please contact Christy Freeman at krop@kyriefoundation.org. 

Thankful Thursday

Today I am abundantly thankful for the woman behind our Blanket Outreach Program, the Amazing Donna. Amazing Donna has been an incredible example of how one person can really make a difference, as our dear Amy said as we gave Donna a 2011 Kyrie Foundation award at last year’s krop.

Amazing Donna donates her time, talent and treasure to make snugglly-soft, fleece blankets on behalf of the Kyrie Foundation for children battling cancer. When you email us with names of children in your community who have been diagnosed, Amazing Donna is on the case, spinning fabric into love in which we can wrap these children. She even personalizes them with the child’s name and cute embroidered shapes.

I cannot stress enough what Amazing Donna’s efforts do for this organization. While the board and volunteers work hard to plan fundraising events, volunteers like Amazing Donna, Frosty/Easter Bunny (Susan Jae) and Eggbert/Elf Rita connect with families and carry the message. We are continually humbled by this consistent and meaningful goodness.

Specifically for the Blanket Outreach Program, we honored that Amazing Donna continues the legacy of Kyrie’s That.

Here are a few examples of Amazing Donna’s blankets.

Paxten's blanket.

Audrianna's blanket.

Audrianna's sister, Kyra's blanket.

Jared's blanket.

Taylor's blanket.

A special blanket for Kipton's mom.

Braxton's blanket.

Brynlin's blanket.

Mason's blanket.

Pretty amazing, huh?

What are you thankful for today?