Rolling Bay Automotive Donates to Seattle Kids C.A.N.

Gregg's car needed repair work this week, so we dropped it off at Rolling Bay Automotive, a local company where we like to take our cars for repair. They even have a courtesy shuttle to take you home or back to their shop to retrieve your car!

One of the leaders at RB Auto has had the experience of walking the cancer journey with a close family member, and when I brought in the donation can for Seattle Children's Cancer Advocacy Network, he not only put it on the business's front counter (in a prominent position), he kept it there after September's drive ended.

Yesterday, when we picked up Gregg's car, RB Auto contributed

$75.32 to the

Seattle Kids' C.A.N. (the nickname for Seattle Children's Cancer Advocacy Network).

Thank you, Rolling Bay Automotive!

Gratitude to Lucile, Noble & Liberty Bay Books

This week, we received some wonderful donations. Lucile & Noble Nilsen arrived with 31 new quilts for us to donate to the hospital.

Thank you, Lucile & Noble!

After they had unloaded their bags of quilts, we went through the donation of fabric and batting stash from Ruth & Greg B. Lucile & Noble then packed that into their car, along with satin blanket binding, and Lucile is ready to sew some more.

Have I mentioned that Lucile makes a quilt nearly every day? She inspires me!

I stopped by Liberty Bay Books yesterday, because owner Suzanne Droppert told me she had two new knitted blankets to donate, made by the wonderful ladies in her knitting group. They meet in the bookstore in downtown Poulsbo, and everyone knits a square (or more). Then they connect the squares and make a large blanket out of them. Here are the lovely blankets which they made together:

Suzanne has also kept a

Seattle Children's Cancer Advocacy Network Donation can at Liberty Bay Books for us since September.

Yesterday, I collected $57.75 from the can!

Thank you, Suzanne and Liberty Bay Books' customers/friends!

Donation of Quilter's Stash

Last weekend, Gregg and I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth & Greg B. of Seattle. Ruth's mother was a quilter - a hand-quilter - and she left a legacy of five boxes of fabric and three bags of batting. Through the Pink Polka Dots Guild at Seattle Children's Hospital (who you may have seen recently on the Nate Berkus Show), Ruth and Greg B. found out about Katie's Comforters Guild, and contacted us about making a donation of Ruth's mother's materials. On Saturday, Gregg and I had the pleasure of meeting them, and picking up the treasure trove of supplies that had once belonged to Ruth's mother.

If you are in need of materials and want to make quilts for Katie's Comforters Guild to donate to Seattle Children's Hospital, please let me know here, and we will work out a transfer.

Thank you, Ruth and Greg B., for your generosity!

A World Without Cancer - Guild Association Annual Meeting

Angela, Bev & me at the luncheon - Heidi took the photo

Yesterday, three of our guild members from Kitsap County attended the Annual Meeting of the Seattle Children's Hospital Guild Association with me. We elected new board members, said "thank you" to the outgoing president and confirmed the incoming one, listened to the head of the hospital tell about the past year's highlights and challenges, and watched an inspiring slideshow of what all of the different guilds do to support the hospital. We heard facts and figures about the guilds who make the largest financial contributions, a guild that was featured on the Nate Berkus Show, innovative ways to raise support, and more. All of us were thrilled to see the impact that a varied group of volunteers can have upon the well-being of a great hospital.

A summary of 2010 - the Guild Association:

• has 7,000 members
• is comprised of 500 guilds
• added 22 new guilds
• raised $10.6 MILLION dollars with their projects
• raised $148,000 from membership revenue (this money also goes to support the hospital)
• raised $425,000 net revenue from thrift stores, including the Bargain Boutique on Bainbridge Island, where Katie's portrait is now on the Wall of Courage
• donated 185,957 volunteer hours
• provided $1.7 million in guild-affiliated revenue for Foundation programs (from guild members and their friends)

Anna Clise, the visionary founder of the hospital, foresaw that such an institution would always need financial support, and so the Guild Association came into being. Guild membership is a vital part of the ongoing health and well-being of Seattle Children's Hospital. It is a privilege to be part of "the largest all-volunteer fundraising network for any hospital in the nation!"

If you would like to know more about the history of Seattle Children's Hospital, click HERE.

We heard from Aileen Kelly, the wonderful Executive Director of the Guild Association, and from Dr. Michael Jensen. Dr. Jensen showed THIS video which moved a lot of people - to tears, to hope, to joy, to excitement, and - I pray - to action.

And finally, we heard from Skyler Hamilton, a former cancer patient who is now in remission. Our family met Skyler and his parents when Katie was in treatment at the hospital. At one point, we were in the inpatient room next-door to them, and we were living at Ronald McDonald House at the same time. Skyler was very, very sick then; his misery at the time is burned in my memory (as is his mother's grace and generosity in praying for Katie). So it was a great thrill to see him making jokes, cleverly fielding questions from Pat Cashman, telling his story, happy, walking without crutches and discussing what has been done for him at Seattle Children's Hospital. He was a motivational speaker such as I have never seen before. Well done, Skyler! I'm so thankful that you are in remission.

If you are a friend of our guild, Thank You. If you are a guild member, Thank You. If you are not a member, please consider joining this wonderful organization!