I had the opportunity to really understand what Cookies for Kids is all about this past weekend at our Macaroni Kid Meetup in Florida. You know how you think you understand how important something is until it really touches you? I mean REALLY affects you?
Cookies for Kids was started by parents, parents just like you and me. Except these parents had to endure the unimaginable. These parents were told that their son Liam had pediatric cancer. In 2007, Liam was diagnosed at the age of two and a half with a rare form of children's cancer known as Neuroblastoma. Liam's inspirational battle with cancer initiated the non profit ~ Cookies for Kids' Cancer. We listened to Liam's Mom, Gretchen Witt tell her story.
Gretchen Witt was one of our keynote speakers at our Macaroni Kid Meetup. She came to talk to us about how to "Pursue Your Personal Mission". A room full of eighty plus moms at and listened to her story, quietly. Quietly hoping that her son was not one of the more than 25% that do not survive because of lack of effective therapies. Somehow, someway, Gretchen was going to fight for her son and other children with cancer. She vowed to support the development of new and BETTER treatments. How would she do this? How did she find the strength? She did it because of Liam's LOVE.
It all started with Gretchen having... dare I say... an INSANE idea to have an enormous bake sale. Not just any bake sale, I'm talking almost 100,000 cookies bake sale! I'm talking store the ingredients, bake the cookies, package the cookies, and sell the cookies....oh... and with no money. How does a mother have the strength to start such a mission while fighting for her son's life? "Because of the love from my son, Liam" , she said.
Gretchen went on to tell us that even though Liam had pediatric cancer, he was still the typical little boy. She told the story of how Liam loved to ride his scooter down the Hospital halls and how he always made the scariest of turns and never faltered. Little boys should be fighting dragons ~ not the monster named cancer. While we still sat quietly listening closely to her story, it hit us like a ton of bricks. Tears fell, my face was swollen, my heart was heavy. There was not one dry eye in the room. Liam lost his fight to cancer nine months ago. He was 6 years old.
Before leaving, Gretchen announced that she was just informed that the Cookies for Kids' Nascar car had just qualified in 6th place. We all stood and applauded. It was definitely "Prince Liam the Brave" looking down.
I have never watched such pillar of strength. Thank you Gretchen for sharing Liam with us.
So what about that crazy idea Gretchen had to bake and sell over 100,000 cookies? Well, they did it. Cookies for Kids' Cancer sold 96,000 cookies in three weeks with the help of over 250 volunteers. Over $400,000 was raised for pediatric cancer research.
For more information on Liam's story or Cookies for Kids' Cancer here are a couple of links for you. You can also follow them on Facebook.
http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/
http://princeliamthebrave.blogspot.com/
GREAT NEWS! There is a bake sale happening for Cookies for Kids' Cancer in our community! The Kitchen Experts, located near Sears in the Coral Ridge Mall, Coralville, is teaming up with OXO, maker of the Good Grips line of household tools, to raise funds for pediatric cancer research. The Kitchen Experts will be hosting this bake sale and donating proceeds to Cookies for Kids' Cancer. Be sure to mark your calendars or add it to your "My Macaroni" ... Saturday October 29, 2011 from Noon until 2pm. It is also listed in your calendar of events.
Macaroni Kid Cedar Rapids and Iowa City will be hosting a Cookies for Kids' Cancer Bake Sale on December 3, 2011 at the Westdale Mall from 9am until 2pm. Please come out and support this cause. Perfect timing for Christmas cookies!!
