"One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals." - Michael Korda.
We have the greater goals. We just need your help to reach them.
In December, our teen Sunday school class visited with the children who were hospitalized over the holidays at Women & Children's Hospital. It was heartwarming to see all the smiles and hear all the giggles of the children, and we were so caught up in our mission of spreading happiness through the hospital that we decided to visit the Pediatric Oncology wing. It was there that we met these four incredibly brave kids who have changed the way each of us view our lives and the direction we want our lives to take.
Meeting these children inspired our Sunday school class to form our own mission team, which we call "AGEE'S Angels." ("AGEE" stands for "Assisting God with Everyone, Everywhere.") We believe in being part of the solution and our goal is to spread God's love throughout the world.
God put a calling in our hearts to help pediatric cancer patients. Jackson Cook, a 2-year-old we met during our visit to the hospital, was having trouble eating after his chemo treatments, so we prepared some of his favorite foods for him.
Helping Jackson inspired us to prepare Easter baskets for him and the children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital during Easter. While cooking meals and preparing baskets has been fun and appreciated, we felt it wasn't enough. We could do more. After much prayer and discussion, we decided to coordinate a walk to raise funds that would benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Our one-mile walk, which we're calling "Angels for a Miracle," will be held on Saturday, Aug. 1, starting at 9 a.m. at Valley Park in Hurricane. There'll also be entertainment, concessions and a silent auction at the walk.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 to donate to St. Jude so they can continue their amazing work - and maybe even find a way to do away with these childhood-stealing monsters for good. All proceeds raised from this walk will be donated to St. Jude in honor of two young cancer patients, Jackson Cook and Kole Miller.
Jackson, who turned 3 in March, lives in Scott Depot with his father, Stephen Cook, a 1993 graduate of Buffalo High, and his mother, Melody (Milam) Cook, a 1995 graduate from South Charleston High. Jackson also has a big sister, Ashley; big brother, Logan; and twin brother, Dawson. Jackson has been battling leukemia since November 2008.
Kole Miller, who just turned 5 in April, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in October 2008. His mother, Lori (King) Miller, graduated from Poca High School in 1986, while Kole's dad, Sollie Miller, is a 1992 graduate of Marshall University. Kole has a big sister, Makenna, and a little sister, Kaycee.
Both Jackson and Kole are fighting for their lives, and we're asking our friends and family to please help us honor their bravery by participating in our walk.
For registration forms or to make a donation, contact St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Nitro at 304-755-5361. All donations are tax deductible.
Carolyn Hawley