Mackenzie's Sidekicks

We just wanted to take a moment to thank our sponsors to date for our three upcoming fundraisers for Mackenzie and her 2018 Walk to Cure Arthritis team.

First we have to thank Lacey and her fantastic Create.a.frame Studio.  Lacey is helping us host the two painting events: Pizza and Painting and Cocktails and Canvas.

Next we need to thank our wonderful host locations….Fricano’s Muskegon Lake for our March 12 Give Back Night.  Fricano’s is graciously donating 20% of that evenings sales for both dine-in and carry out to the Arthritis Foundation on behalf of Mackenzie.  The Northside Pub for hosting our Pizza and Painting for a Cure event on March 24.  Our guests will get to paint with a partner a beautiful, fun fish while enjoying a fantastic pizza buffet.  And finally Create.a.frame Studio for hosting us on Friday, April 13 for our Cocktails and Canvas evening where we will be painting a gorgeous painting of a sailboat at sunset while enjoying appetizers and refreshments.

Finally we need to thank all of our wonderful auction sponsors for our Silent and Chinese Auctions and Door Prizes at our two Painting events:  The Grand Rapids Griffins, Sandborn Jewelers, Lewis Farm Market, Kangaroo Palace, Hobo’s Tavern, Jumpin’ Jupiter, and the Village Baker.

We really appreciate all of the fantastic support and donations from these sponsors.  Looking forward to enjoying time with everyone while we work towards a cure for arthritis!

The past several months have found us working on numerous new ways to support finding a cure for arthritis.  We have created new fundraisers, a new shop on Etsy where proceeds are being donated to research, and we’ve registered for another year of Walking for a Cure.

Please keep an eye out on our events page for all of the latest information as we will be sure to post all info there.

Our first stop for you to check out is our 20×20 fundraising campaign with the Arthritis National Research Foundation.  We have set a goal of raising $400 through this campaign.  Over 90% of funds raised go directly towards research in finding a cure.  To join our campaign simply follow this link https://curearthritis.salsalabs.org/2020/t/mackenziessidekicks.  The goal is to have everyone donate just $20 then start a 20×20 campaign of their own.  Help us find that cure!

Our second stop for you to check out is our all new Etsy shop.  Here we are selling Washable Comfort bags in all different sizes and patterns.  These comfort bags are great for soothing the aches and pains associated with arthritis, sore muscles, headaches, pregnancy, cramps and much more.  They are made with a muslin insert filled with plain white rice then inserted into a washable decorative outer pocket.  Throw the muslin rice filled bag in the freezer and store for times when an injury calls for an ice pack and it’s mess free.  To visit the shop please follow this link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MackenzieSidekicks.  Half of all proceeds at  this shop are being donated to the Arthritis National Research Foundation in honor of Mackenzie.

Finally, please be sure to check out our Walk Page for the 2018 Walk to Cure Arthritis in Grand Rapids.  The Walk has a new location this year.  We have moved to Millenium Park this year and it’s on a Sunday afternoon.  Great for those that have always had Saturday morning sports conflicts.  To check out our Team Page and to register for the walk, please follow this link: https://events.arthritis.org/team/mackenziessidekicks.

The rest of our exciting fundraisers will be announced soon on our events page.  We hope to see you out at one of these great events soon!

Today Mackenzie is giving a presentation to the entire 1st grade at her school.  The Arthritis Foundation through it’s Kids Get Arthritis Too website created a beautiful PowerPoint presentation for kids to use to educate others about Juvenile Arthritis.  They are able to customize the presentation to fit them and their audience.

Last night we spent some time practicing the presentation.  She made adjustments to the presentation to make it easier for her to read or to fit her personality.  It was really fun to watch her grow just through the preparation of the presentation.  When we left school yesterday and she had just found out she was doing the presentation today, she was really upset and worried (the point of a few tears).  But as we talked about it more and started trying to put her fear into perspective she discovered that giving the presentation wasn’t nearly as scary as her quarterly blood draws are.  Then as she read through the presentation and adjusted it to make her own she got more and more excited and less and less worried.  Last night at bedtime she went through the presentation for her daddy and when she was done he asked her if she was excited.  Her response was “do you remember the glass of milk you gave me at dinner? Do you remember how much milk there was?  (there was just below half a glass).  Well the part that was milk, I am that much scared.  The other part, I am that excited”  This morning I asked her again.  This time her response was made using her orange juice glass.  It has pictures of oranges with the leaves on them on it.  She pointed to the very top of the decoration and the top of the glass and said “See this leaf?   I am excited all the way up to it and only scared this little part above it”.  There was about a half inch of space above the leaf.

When Mackenzie is done giving her presentation today she and I will be introducing a fundraising challenge to the first grade classes.  Next week in school they will be holding a Penny Wars.  All of the money collected during the Penny Wars will be credited to Mackenzie for her Walk to Cure Arthritis goal.  We are also hoping to get the rest of the elementary involved during the lunch periods next week by having them donate to their favorite first grade teacher/classroom.  This is a super exciting time for Mackenzie and we are truly blessed to have such an amazing school and supportive staff to work with there.

We had lots of fun today watching Mackenzie (and Paige) run and skip and have a blast at the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, MI.  We renewed our annual membership and enjoyed a beautiful, sunny, Spring afternoon at the zoo.  The girls had a blast and we just loved watching her fell good, smile, and truly enjoy childhood.  Couldn’t ask for a better day!  Praying we can have just as much fun in 29 days when we return for the 2017 Walk to Cure Arthritis.  The girls love to visit the zoo and are already looking forward to what animals will have returned from their winter homes to add to the exhibits we saw today.  These days really do make my heart smile!

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We are just 30 days away from the 2017 Walk to Cure Arthritis in Grand Rapids and we are getting excited for the event.  We would love to have a huge turn out for our team to support Mackenzie.  This has been a rough year for her with her relapse and the support means a lot even if she doesn’t always know how to show it or express it.

We are still over $2000 away from our fundraising goal  and coming up short of our participant goal and it’s hard.  (Losing out on our big fundraiser was heartbreaking for us)  We haven’t even managed to match last year.  I know we still have 30 days but I can’t help but feel we are coming up short and I know this money really does go to fund things that are important.  The Foundation has a history of advocating for and with patients at both the state and federal level.  They fund programs for those with arthritis including JA Power Packs for kids diagnosed with arthritis that include tools and information to help navigate a new diagnosis and a bear that can be warmed up to help comfort sore and achy joints.  They fund family and kids programs like the JA Conference where families all around the country can come together to learn and share with families all facing this terrible disease together and Camp Dakota and other JA Camps around the country…a special week of summer camp just for kids with active arthritis.  This camp allows kids with JA to experience summer camp and childhood in an environment where they won’t feel different or limited or excluded because of their JA.  And most importantly they fund critical research for relief of symptoms of the disease and ultimately the goal of a cure!  And we need a cure!

If you can spare a dollar or two now for a donation or an hour or two on May 6th to walk with us, please click on this link and join us.  Whether you believe it or not, even one dollar makes a huge impact and every person that walks with us May 6th makes an impression (especially in the eyes of a beautiful little girl).  http://www.walktocurearthritis.org/grandrapids/mackenziessidekicks

On a different note regarding the Walk, The Arthritis Foundation reached out to us and made us a new Face of Arthritis sign for the Walk.  It blows my mind to think that we are on year number five of fighting this horrible disease.  She sure has changed since her last sign was made three years ago:

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