Benefit4Kids Newsletter

Benefit4Kids Newsletter
Fall 2010
Volume 3, Issue 2
Outdoor Weekend Fundraiser Results
Inside this issue:
B4K Golf Outing
2
Dreamweaver
Tournament
2
Dates to Remember
3
B4K in Florida
4
Newsletter Survey
3
Kyle Harris’ Wish Trip
5
First off, we would like to thank everyone that
participated and helped with the Amy Pray
Annual Outdoor Weekend Fundraiser this past
June! The weekend total was $32,130.00,
despite the fact that the overall attendance
was down a bit.
We did host and successfully run our first
“Dinner 4 Dreams” banquet on Saturday night
which went over very well. The highlight of
the weekend had to be once again seeing the
great group of guys of North Town Sportsmen
from IL who understand what this is all about
and show it by their actions, as they once
again shocked us all and presented Benefit4Kids with a check for $14,500 Saturday
night at the banquet! These are proceeds
Outdoor (continued page 3)
Email Newsletter
How can you help?
Exciting changes are coming to help us communicate more efficiently with you, our loyal supporters!
Benefit4Kids will soon be publishing an “e-newsletter” to send out monthly with updates on events
and happenings.
We are so fortunate to have many new events being planned to benefit B4K, and with the many
events we already have each year… the need to contact everyone, sometimes quickly, is growing.
We believe with e-newsletters we can keep you informed of current wish kids, current events, etc.
There are two ways you can sign up for the monthly email newsletter:
1. Visit our web site, www.b4k.org, and click on the “Newsletter” tab.
2. Send an e-mail to newsletter@b4k.org. Please put “newsletter” in the subject line.
The Benefit4Kids current “printed” newsletter will now only be published twice each year. If you
are currently receiving this newsletter by “snail mail”, we would appreciate if you have an email
address, that you let us know, so that we can avoid mailing costs.
Awareness - Help us
spread the word.
Benefit4Kids ‘Out and About’
Pig Roast Sponsor Form 6
Pig Roast Flyer
7
Volunteer - Help at an
event or donate time to
help.
Contribute - 100% of the
money raised goes to the
kids.
Sponsor an “Outdoor
Wish” - Each wish costs
approximately $3,000.
Sponsor your own event
- With proceeds raised going
to Benefit4Kids.
The 4th Annual Little Hero’s
Golf Outing was held June
19th in Davison MI. This is the
2nd year Benefit4Kid’s has
been chosen as the recipient
of the proceeds. Just from
this year alone, total funds
donated to Benefit4Kids is
$4800.00.
The group of guys from the
West
Michigan
Fishing
League who host the annual
Dreamweaver charity fun
fishing tournament each year
in July for Benefit4Kids had
made a connection with the
local Applebee’s in Grand
Rapids Michigan to help
Benefit4Kids even more. On
July 11th 2010, the Applebee’s at the Alpine Ave location donated 20% of a customer’s total bill to Benefit4Kids if they presented a
fundraiser flyer when ordering. That’s it, all you had to
do is go to this particular
Applebee’s on July 11th, present the flyer, and enjoy a
great meal knowing you have
just helped Benefit4Kids continue
granting
Outdoor
Wishes by simply taking the
family out to dinner that day!
The Labadie Pig Gig Presented by State Farm was in
Bay City, MI. was held on
August 5th thru 8th. Not only
bringing awareness to Benefit4Kids, we had set up the
pellet gun trailer again this
year which had over 200
shooters coming through.
Thanks to our volunteers, John
Gehringer, Jean Kielpinski,
Trisha Gehringer, Gloria Harris, Dorothy Gehringer, Lisa
Paige, Scott Paige with Andy
and Linda Gehringer heading
up the event again this year.
Events (continued page 5)
Benefit4Kids Newsletter
Page 2
Benefit4Kids Golf Outing
by Robin Wayco
Our first Benefit4Kids Golf Outing was held July 17, at Belle
River Golf Course in Memphis, Michigan. Bill Hudson and his
staff went above and beyond to make this a successful event.
Our golfers had a beautiful day and had a great time on the
course. They each received a “goody bag” which included a
golf towel embroidered with the B4K logo and other items as
well. In addition to golfing 18 holes, they were treated to lunch
at the turn, a delicious dinner and a chance for door prizes.
There were many raffle items which included Disney World tickets, a pink putter and a gift basket donated from 99.5 WYCD,
Young Country Radio. To add to the fun there was a 50/50, a
Vegas hole, prizes for closest to the pin and longest drive, a boat
hole where you had to chip your ball into a row boat, and a
chance to win a lease for a Ford Fusion, sponsored by Imlay City
Ford, if you were lucky enough to get a hole in one. There were
a few that came close!
We were fortunate to have a few of our “wish kids” and their
families in attendance. The golfers and staff of Belle River Golf
Course were very happy that they were there, and glad that
they had a chance to talk to them about their trips and upcoming
trips. It definitely put it all into perspective.
We were able to raise some money for this very important organization and look forward to our Second Annual B4K Golf
Outing next year.
Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped out – Samantha,
Mike, Pam, Rosemary, Megan, Debbie and Scott. Thanks to Al
Baggett and John Gornyecz for coming and representing B4K
and for Howard Sheridan for participating in this great sport
they call golf!
We would like to extend a big thank you to the following for
their very generous donations. Without their support, this event
wouldn’t have been possible. Belle River Golf Course, Imlay City
Ford, Meijer, Imlay City Hardware/Thimbleberry Gifts, Mikey’s
Bar & Grill, Aristo-Cast, The Engine House Bar & Grill, C&R Fire
Equipment Sales, Montgomery & Sons, Grand Hotel/Mackinac Island, Cedar Point, C & R Fire Equipment Sales, Kommunity
Kracker Barrel, VantagePointe Financial Group, Oasis Hair Salon, Muir Brother’s Funeral Home, Roth-Muir Funeral Home, Polansky Designs, Spartan Motors Chassis, Inc., Chicky’s Paradise
Saloon, Northwest Energy, Aristo-Cast, Inc., Stacy Golding/Great
Lakes Financial Network, Zahnen Truck Service & Equipment, Inc.,
Huddle Bar & Grill, Almont-Dryden Lioness Club, Almont Lions
Club, All Cities Construction LLC, 99.5 WYCD/Young Country Radio, Walt Disney World, Tri-County Bank/Almont, CJ Barrymores,
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Mobil X/Almont, Carrabba’s Italian Grill,
Champion Bus, Cracker Barrel, Miller Lite, Sysco, Woods–NWater News, Costco, Earl Smith Distributing, Walmart/Lapeer,
Blake’s Almont Farm, Douglass Safety Systems and Jack Anderson. Thank you again. Paul and Robin Wayco B4K
Dreamweaver Tournament
by Steve Hearing
It was late July on Lake Michigan and we
were once again in Muskegon, Michigan
for the 3rd Annual Dreamweaver Charity
Salmon Tournament with all the proceeds
going to Benefit4Kids, a non-profit that
provides “Outdoor Wishes” to terminally
ill and life limited children.
The day started out at 3am with phone
calls to the 60 teams registered as big
storms were rolling across the lake and
would be on top of them by the start
time. With waves approaching 6 feet
and lightning, the teams had to delay the
start time to 7:30am. This is a first in the
3 years
Current
Wish of
Kidsthe tournament for such a delay.
By 10am, most of the weather had
B4K
passed and blue skies were coming out.
As in years past, there is a tremendous
group of volunteers who sacrifice going
fishing for setting up the pavilion for the
weigh in, awards, and raffles. Since the
bad weather had come in, many boats
did not go out at all. Out of the 28 boats
that went out, 22 weighed in fish. Most
of the others who did not go out were still
there at the weigh in for prizes and raffles. There was only one cash prize
awarded which was for the biggest fish
caught. This year, a 30 pounder took
first place honors with many boats limiting
out despite the late start.
There were two Benefit4Kid’s wish kid
families in attendance this year. The
family of Kevin Hertz was there. Kevin
Hertz was the wish kid that the 2009
tournament sponsored his family trip to
Alaska for Salmon fishing and sightseeing. Kevin lost his battle with cancer just
5 months after going to Alaska. He always smiled when he spoke about his trip
and could not wait to return. Kevin’s dad
and mom, Dennis and Karen along with
his brother, Matt, were present. They
thanked everyone and vowed to remain
a part of the event in the future. The
Harris family was also present as a surprise to the teams. Kyle Harris suffered
from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, but is
currently in remission. His
outdoor wish is to go on
a bear hunt in Alaska.
He and his family left for
his hunt in early August.
This event brought in
over $9600, which brings
the total for the last
three years to over
$20,000 raised.
SCI,
Flint Michigan chapter,
contributed
another
$2,000 towards Kyle’s
“Outdoor Wish”. “It is
absolutely incredible for
Benefit4Kids to be associated with such a great
group of sportsmen and
women who have unselfishly donated money
and time to help these
kids” said Al Baggett,
president of Benefit4Kids. Also, the tournament provided 110 pounds of Salmon
filets to the local rescue mission. The gifts
just keep on giving. The main sponsor,
Dreamweaver lures, donated all the lures
this year so that all of the entry fee could
go to Benefit4Kids. There were so many
other items donated, it would be impossible to mention. Of course, none of this
would be possible without the fishing
teams who generously came out to support Benefit4kids.
Steve Hearing, Board of Directors .B4K
Volume 3, Issue 2
Page 3
Outdoor (continued from page 1)
Executive Officers:
President: Al Baggett
Vice President: Jason Miller
Treasurer: Joy Jennett
Secretary: Linda Gehringer
Board Members:
Andy Gehringer, John Gornyecz
Steve Hearing, Mike Jennett
Jennifer Miller, Scott Paige
Howard Sheridan
National Directors:
raised throughout the year by
their team in IL through various
shows and raffles they do
year round to help spread the
word about B4K throughout
northern IL and southern WI.
We are honored to have them
team up with us as well as
honored at their dedication to
help us help these kids experience their Outdoor wishes.
We also had the pleasure of
having our Florida state director, Bob Clarady and his wife
Pam with us this year as well!
Bob is one of the original
board members of B4K and
has again stepped up to the
organization from his new
home in Florida.
We want to thank everyone
for their effort in to making
this weekend a success once
again for B4K. B4K
NWT Sportsmen’s Club presenting a check at the Outdoor Weekend
National Director of Public
Relations and Advertising:
Steve Hearing
National Director of States
Operations: Brian Miller
State Directors:
Connecticut: Bob Jean
Florida: Bob Clarady
Illinois: Christine Appleberg
Michigan: John Gornyecz
Virginia: Joe Moehlman
Council of Hearts
Chairman: Andy Gehringer
Dates To Remember
Newsletter:
October 1, 2010
Tickets on sale for B4K Winter Banquet.
Linda Gehringer, John Gornyecz
December 1, 2010
Deadline for Early Bird Ticket Purchase raffle.
Steve Hearing, Joy Jennett
January 29, 2001
B4K Winter Banquet (Macomb, MI)
February 24-27, 2011
Outdoorama (Novi, MI)
July 15, 2011
Ameristep Golf Outing (Vassar, MI)
July 23, 2011
Dreamweaver Tournament (Muskegon, MI)
Benefit4Kids newsletter is published quarterly as the official journal of Benefit4Kids.
Subscription is through support, sponsorship, or believing in Benefit4Kids’ mission.
Views expressed by writers are their own
and do not necessarily reflect those of
Benefit4Kids.
Sign up for the Benefit4Kids Newsletter online. Send an email to newsletter@B4K.org with the subject
line as newsletter and other contact information and we will email a link to the newsletter to you
when it comes out next time. Thanks for helping us save cost and the environment!
Benefit4Kids Newsletter
Page 4
Promoting B4K in Florida
B4K Florida State Director Bob Clarady (l) being presented a
check by Florida Bowhunter Council treasurer Tom Mullany (r)
during at the Jamboree.
On Labor Day weekend, Benefit4Kids
was at the Florida Bowhunter Council’s
Jamboree. This is a new venue for Benefit4Kids, so our goal was to hand out brochures and basically get the word out
about how we help the kids.
The reception we received there was
remarkable.
Virtually
everyone coming by our
booth seemed interested
in learning about how
we help terminally ill
and life limited children
with
their
outdoor
wishes.
We collected a total of
$293.00 in donations
from participants of the
event and sales of
Benefit4Kids merchandise.
The highlight of the
weekend, though, happened
during
the
awards presentation on
Monday
afternoon.
Tom Mullany, treasurer of Florida Bowhunter Council, told the people in attendance a little about Benefit4Kids and
then called me up to the stage. He then
presented Benefit4Kids with a check for
$500.00. He also stated that they would
like to continue their support of Benefit4Kids at future events. B4K
B4K Booth setup at the Florida Bowhunter Council Jamboree
Newsletter Survey
We here at Benefit4Kids need to know
how effective our newsletter is. To do so,
we are doing a survey/contest to find out
how well we reach our supporters and
sponsors.
Here is your chance to win a
“Benefit4Kids Merchandise Package”. All
you have to do is email or mail the code
in the coupon on the right, back to Benefit4Kids.
To email your entry, send an email to
newsletter@benefit4kids.org.
For snail mail entry, mail to B4K, 21660
23 Mile Road, Macomb, MI 48044.
Entries must include your name, email
address, mailing address and telephone
number. Limited to one entry per household. B4K
Sponsors/Supporters/Friends For a complete list, please go to www.b4k.org/support.htm
Dick Williams
Gun Shop,
Inc.
Volume 3, Issue 2
Page 5
Kyle Harris’ Wish Trip
Kyle traveled to Alaska in late August 2010 despite heavy rains and floods in Alaska at the time, which didn’t present a good picture
for bear hunting. After arriving in Alaska they met up with guiding service Renfro’s Alaskan Adventure’s and were flown into base
camp. The cold, damp, rainy weather they experienced among a few nice days proved to be too much for Kyle.
While Kyle was battling his Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, chemo took a hard hit on his immune system and basically he is left with very
little to fight off common colds most of us have no problem with. It is not uncommon for Kyle to get pneumonia 2 or 3 times a year
and they feared the worse with the conditions they were in.
After 5 days of living in wet cloths, he started to get sick and despite seeing no bears because of the high water, he and dad made
the heart breaking decision to leave camp early and fly out looking out for Kyle’s overall health. Kyle spent 2 days in an Anchorage
Hotel Room resting and getting medicated. They still had a few days before their flight back to MI was scheduled so they explored
Denali National Park and even went fishing while taking in the sights around Anchorage and trying to enjoy any time they had together in Alaska.
We would like to thank all those at SCI Flint Regional Chapter along with everyone involved with the 2010 Dreamweaver Salmon
Fishing Tournament, hosted by the West MI Fishing League for sponsoring Kyle’s outdoor wish!. B4K
Dear Al and others at Benfit4Kids,
Thank you so much for sending me to Alaska, I greatly appreciate it. Even though things didn’t turn out like they were suppose to, the
overall experience was one that I will never forget. Enclosed are some pictures of the trip to help show you some of the really neat things
we did and the beautiful scenery we saw. Thank you again for everything you have done.
Sincerely,
Kyle R. Harris
Events (continued from page 1)
We are now an officially recognized non
-profit charity for the Labadie Pig Gig,
with them listing Benefit4Kids on the programs and on their web site as a recipient.
The Great Lakes Longbow Invitational
(GLLI) was held on August 13th thru 15th in
Hastings, MI. Benefit4Kids sets up the
course along with Land O Lakes Bowmen
and Michigan Longbow Association splitting the course fees. The weekend there
was hot and muggy to say the least, but
at the end, Benefit4Kids received a check
for $1,205.00. Thanks to Tom Duckworth
for helping Andy Gehringer setup and
take down the course along with the
members from Land O Lakes as well.
A Bowling 4 Dreams fundraiser was setup
by Trish Gross on August 13th in Flint, MI.
at the Town & Country Lanes. Included in
the package for $10.00 was shoe rental
and 2 hours of bowling with the proceeds
going to Benefit4Kids. Also at the event
were raffles and Benfit4kids merchandise.
Andy and Linda Gehringer manned a
booth at the Genesee County Fair on
August 16th thru 22nd bring awareness to
Benefit4Kids. Along with passing out
brochures, they had merchandise for sale.
A special thanks to Gloria Harris for donating a Bear-in-a-Box raffle off and for
helping Andy and Linda run the booth.
Just over $400.00 was generated at this
event.
The Woods-N-Waters Outdoor Weekend
was held on September 10th thru 12th.
There was a fairly good turnout even
though there was some rain on Saturday.
We handed out hundreds of brochures
and flyers for the January banquet, and
had many express interest in doing something to help out Benefit4Kids, whether it
was a fundraiser or somehow get involved. We were able to speak with
many of the other vendors which are supporters of Benefit4Kids and again, thank
them for all they do to help us. There
was a total of $289.99 raised through
merchandise sales and donations. Thank
You to all that were able to help this
weekend. B4K
Benefit4Kids
Help Us Help Kids
2011 Benefit4Kids Winter Banquet Sponsorship Packages
Title and Presenting Sponsors needed (only one package available of each)
Contact Benefit4Kids for complete details and to learn how your company can benefit
Brown Bear Sponsor: $1500.00
(10) Dinner Tickets along with a table reserved for your group, (10) $100.00 Raffle Ticket Packages, (10) Sponsor
Gun Tickets, (10) B4K Hat’s, 1 Full Page advertisement in the events program, as well as a sponsor provided banner
displayed at the event.
Mahi Mahi Sponsor: $1000.00
(6) Dinner Tickets along with reserved seating for your party, (6) $100.00 Raffle Ticket Packages, (6) Sponsor Gun
Raffle Tickets, (6) B4K Hats, (1) Half Page Advertisement in the events program, as well as a sponsor provided
banner displayed at the event.
Dolphin Sponsor: $550.00
(4) Dinner Tickets along with reserved seating for your party, (4) $100.00 Raffle Ticket Packages, (4) Sponsor Gun
Raffle Tickets, (4) B4K Hats, as well as a sponsor provided banner displayed at the event.
Table Captain: $230.00
Become a Table Captain and purchase (10) tickets for your group and receive a discount, while reserving a table for
your group. All (10) tickets must be purchased at the same time. A table of 10 with kids attending will be at face
value - No discount applies. Table Captains will receive special recognization in the events program
Wish Kid Table Sponsorship: $75.00 per Table
Sponsor a table at this years banquet & advertise your business, sportsmen’s club, organization, family, church
groups, your hunting group, etc while showing your support of Benefit4Kids! Each table sponsor will receive a
centerpiece listing one of the B4K Wish Kids with their name, picture and brief story about their wish. Your name
of choice & website, if one is available, will be printed below this picture and story, as well as listed on our website!
Note: No dinner tickets are included with a Wish Kid table sponsorship
Reserved Tables and Individual Ticket Pricing
Reserved Table of Ten: $230.00
Adults $25.00each Kids 15yrs &Under $15.00each
Only orders in groups of 10 will receive reserved seating - all 10 tickets must be purchased at the same time
Early Bird drawing for a $100 VISA Gift Card
Place ticket order before December 1, 2010 and receive (1) chance for each ticket purchased
Tickets Available October 1st, 2010
Advertisement costs within the night’s program are as follows
Business Card Size
1/4 Page Size
$50.00
$100.00
½ page size: $150.00
Full Page Size: $200.00
Deadline to submit information for advertisements & sponsorships into the events program is January 5th 2011.
Benefit4Kids will try to get any submissions into the events program after this date only if time & space allows.
21660 23 Mile Road, Macomb, MI. 48044 Phone 877-B4K-KID0
www.B4K.org
NONPROFIT ORG
US POSTAGE PAID
LINWOOD, MI
PERMIT NO. 6
21660 23 Mile Road
Macomb, MI 48044
PLEASE HELP US HELP KIDS 1-877-B4K-KID0 (1-877-245-5430)
We’re on the Web
www.B4k.org
Benefit4Kids - Our Mission
Benefit4Kids was founded in 1998
with its' primary mission to grant
the outdoor wishes of children with
life threatening and life limiting
illnesses. We also work to involve
today's children in the outdoors
and the many activities it offers
them. Many of today's children are
denied the opportunity to experience the outdoors because of costs,
lack of available mentors and a
limited amount of facilities offering
an all around outdoor experience.
Benefit4Kids works to help these
children experience the outdoors
through several children's programs. Benefit4Kids also works
closely with several children's
camps designed to work with injured and ill children. Instructors at
these camps are experienced in
medical procedures necessary to
work with these children. They are
also experienced in archery,
camping, outdoor cooking, hiking,
nature and many other facets of
outdoor activities. In working with
these and several other children's
camps Benefit4Kids will continue to
assist many less fortunate children
enjoy our great outdoors and help
them to learn the morals and family values that are so often lacking
today.
Benefit4Kids is a 100% Volunteer Organization. We all have jobs and do this in our spare time out of the kindness of our
hearts. This allows 100% of your donations to go straight to supporting the kids.