Hoop-A-Thon

The Des Moines Hoop-A-Thon for HD was last Saturday and was more successful that I expected. What is a Hoop-A-Thon? You shoot free throws for 5 minutes. And the top 3 shooters in elementary, jr. high, high school, adult categories win prizes. We even have a Little Tikes hoop for the younger ones! 

All of the running around we did for donations paid off and we had some great items to bid on. There are a few things I would do differently for next year....better raffle items for the top shooters in each age group for sure! An amazing raffle prize so that if someone came with only a couple dollars that they could still buy a $1 raffle ticket and have a chance at winning something great. The silent auction items were great, but you had to spend close to $50 to win anything and especially in today's world, not everyone has an extra $50.

And in my opinion, the Hoop isn't only about raising money for research, but it is also raising awareness for HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE or you can read about it here. What is Huntington's Disease? Huntington's disease is a progressive, brain degenerative disease that causes certain nerve cells in your brain to waste away. As a result, you may experience uncontrolled movements, emotional disturbances and mental deterioration. Huntington's disease is an inherited disease.  

It is a horrible disease that Terry's cousin Tami is living with (her dad also had the disease). That means one, or possibly both, of her sons could also inherit the disease. You see, Tami is a 38 year old, divorced, mother of two boys. She was an active, college graduate, taught a few community college courses, and was the mother figure to her 3 younger brothers (their parents are both deceased). I wish I had a picture of her back then so you could compare it to today. Today, Tami lives in a nursing home in Storm Lake, cannot eat solid food and needs to be fed, she drinks from a sippy cup because she can't control her movements and she needs assistance walking. Soon Tami will be confined to a wheelchair, she will have to be fed intravenously, you won't be able to understand her when she talks and likely within the next 10 years complications of the disease will take her life. And yet, through it all, she remains positive for her boys. She knows it is too late for her, yet, she remains hopeful that a cure will be found and her boys won't have to go through what she is. 

Please say a prayer for Tami to continue to find peace as she goes through her battle, for her boys to stay strong, and I ask that if you have the chance to participate in a fundraiser or have a chance to talk about the disease, please do. Awareness is power. Look at Susan G. Komen, Lance Armstrong, Michael J Fox....there is an awareness for those diseases and it makes a difference. If HD isn't your passion, if it's breast cancer, diabetes, leukemia, Parkinson's, or whatever it may be, I encourage you to get involved. Volunteer, if only for a few hours a year. It matters. It matters to the person suffering, to their family, to their friends. 

Damon and Uncle Tim goofing around :
Some of the silent auction baskets :
More silent auction baskets :
Terry's cousin Tami and some of his other cousins :
Tami and her youngest brother, Gary :

I can't end this post without a HUGE thank you to HeyJenRenee...you can find her rad, creative stuff on Etsy here and here and she blogs here....And also to Mandy Miller Photography for their donations. Your items added to the success of our event and we cannot thank you enough!!!