Riding Through It 9-13-2014

 It's amazing to see just ONE person be so selfless and generous but to see a group of over 100 people do it, and for it to be all done for your own mother is a whole different experience. And that's just what happened a few weeks ago. With everyone going on with my mom over the past 6 months, even with insurance a lot of doctor bills had started to come in. It took a few of my mom's close friends, some hard work and dedication, and a lot of selfless people to make an amazing day for my mom and my entire family and to raise enough money to cover all those bills. Here's the story :)

My parents good friends Chris and Michelle decided to reach out to a local sports bar in our area, owned by an AMAZING man named Bill. They came together to organize a day where all my parents friends and family could come together, eat good food, listen to great music, raise money for my mom, and ride their motorcycles :) A poker run (for those who have never heard of such) is an organized event where participants, usually using motorcycles or other means of transportation must visit five to seven checkpoints, drawing a playing card at each one. The object is to have the best poker hand at the end of the run.

They each pay to enter the ride and to play the game. The money raised in this event is split between the person who has the best hand at the end of the ride and the person they are doing the benefit ride for. When all the riders come back to the starting point they usually have food, a band, raffles, and auctions to raise additional money.

There were so many people involved in the ride for my mom. Bill's Sports Bar was hosting the event and Bill and Tonya were the best!! They hired an awesome band to play, The After 9 band. They got majority of the food together, and they organized  the ride and all the raffle and auction items. None of this would have been possible without them. So many people donated items to the raffles and auctions. The company my dad works for, Cooper Steel, donated a TON of Harley Davidson items and Cooper Steel items to the raffle. There was tons of beer items, Harley Davidson items, leather jackets and chaps, golf bags, free oil changes, and even two tickets to a NASCAR race with amazing seats!!!

My parents know so many people. They have lived in this area their whole lives and have made connections with so many people over the years. The people that came together that day all love my parents so much and have prayed so hard for her to get better. It was a perfect day and every one had a blast.

 

My AMAZINGLY talented friend Jill offered up her services as soon as she heard we were doing a benefit for mom. She does t-shirt design and screen printing so she designed and printed 100 of these amazing shirts. We never ever thought we would be able sell that many but we completely sold out and had a ton of other people wanting them once they were all sold. It was a huge success and made a HUGE donation to my mom :) 

 

I didn't get to take a lot of pictures because there was a lot going on. We had so much fun. Andy, Jill and I won a ton of stuff on the raffles and auctions. The band was amazing. The food was great! I was amazed by everyone's generosity and love for my mom and my family :) We couldn't have asked for a better day!!!