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ABC/#186/MultiSport, Timber Pointe, 5-18-24

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  May 18 was a beautiful day for ABC#186/Multi-Sport. $1,370 was donated to Timber Pointe Outdoor Center, thanks to 41 participants/donors. The swim had been canceled but it was an awesome day for running and bicycling. Thanks so much to everyone who donated, attended, organized, volunteered, brought food, cooked, and enhanced the day with your enthusiasm. At 8:00, Lydia Gartner thanked us and told us how our donations help Timber Pointe provide specialized outdoor programs for individuals with disabilities and illnesses. It was especially heartwarming to hear Lydia read a thank you note sent by one of the parents. We than took a group photo and ran either the 4-mile or 8-mile road course. At 9:15, bicyclists took off for a guided tour of either a 13 or 29-mile ride. At 11:30, the cookout started. Great feast: pork chops, grilled chicken breasts, brats, snacks, coffee cake, cookies, fruit, and beverages. Thanks to the chefs, Robbie Pratt and Mike Johnson . Also thanks to those who
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ABC#185, The Baby Fold, 4-13-24

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 Another fantastic ABC! A total of $4,558 was donated to The Baby Fold by 48 participants, including 41 attendees plus another seven that either mailed a check or used the online option. This is the second highest total of all twenty years of ABC events for The Baby Fold! Thanks so much for your generosity and enthusiasm! Thanks to Sam Guillory and at least five other Baby Fold staff for being great hosts and for providing food & beverages. Thanks to Lisa Sparks for making the coffee cake, Kevin Fahling for the cookies, Stacy Sheridan for the egg casserole, Betty Brandt for the brownies, and all the others who brought food. Thanks also to Mike Laffey and Claire Wagner for serving as photographers.  A funny thing happened as I was about to pick up the refreshment box stationed on the course. A young man got to the box before me, grabbed a Gatorade, and continued running. Betty and I debated whether I should include a “mister X” as an ABC run participant. He is not include
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ABC#184, for Sugar Grove Foundation, 2-10-24

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 A nice total of $1,675 was donated to Sugar Grove Foundation by 26 participants, including seven donations from those that could not attend. That brings the total of all 19 ABC runs for Sugar Grove to $21,673. Thanks everyone!   When I arrived, Tricia Braid , a volunteer at Sugar Grove, made it possible for us to use the facilities and was there to help host. She thanked us for our donations and let us know about recent additions/remodeling and about future plans.     Before the run, we took the group photo on the impressive tree platform, one of the additions to Imagination Grove in the last year. We enjoyed a variety of great eats after the run. Bill Hahm brought quiche, Betty Brandt brought coffee, apples, banana bread, and chocolate cookies. Others brought food as well but I don’t know who. It just magically appears every ABC run.  Thanks so much to everyone who attended, contributed, brought food, and made it fun!
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ABC#183, for Scott Early Learning Center, 1-13-24

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  The weather was frightful but the run/hike at Parklands was delightful. Thanks to 15 participants (nine attended, six others donated), a cool $865 was donated to Scott Early Learning Center. This was the first run of the 20 th year of runs, so we chose to meet at Parklands Merwin Preserve, the site of the first ABC run held in January 2005. Five runners showed up for that initial ABC run and it was heartwarming to have four of us attend ABC#183 (the other three are Mike Heffron , Kevin Fahling , and Mary Ellen Schupbach ). It was a “Retro-Run”, so two of us wore the same jacket and one wore the same cap as in 2005. See photos below. After the run, we enjoyed snacks such as banana nut chocolate chip muffins ( Stacy Sheridan ), chocolate chip cookies ( Kevin Fahling ), and peanut butter cookies ( Larry Schumacher ). But one thing was missing – hot chocolate! I forgot to make some, but Tod Williamson saved the day! The total for all 183 ABC runs is $221,867, vastly more than we th
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ABC#182, for Adopt-A-Family, 11-4-23

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  Fantastic!! $2,500 was donated to Adopt-A-Family by the 51 participants, including seven supporters that were unable to attend. This will provide a great Christmas for our assigned family plus enough for up to two more families. This also happens to be the 2 nd highest total of all fourteen Adopt-A-Family ABC runs. Thanks so much to everyone for your heartwarming support and thanks to Lisa & Jay Sparks for doing a great job hosting at their home.   At 8:30, Lisa thanked everyone and told us about the program and that the new name of the program is Brighten-A-Family and that Children’s Home & Aid is now Brightpoint.   After a group picture (thanks to Mike Laffey for taking photos), we headed out for a run/walk on the trail. We were blessed with perfect weather. We were treated to a superb breakfast of blueberry pancakes prepared by Jay Sparks , coffee cake from Laurel Schumacher , cookies from Kevin Fahling , fruit from Rebecca Africano , and much more (OJ, coff
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ABC#181, for Seedling Theatre, 9-9-23

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  ABC#181 on September 9 was another success with $1080 donated to Seedling Theatre thanks to the generosity of everyone involved, including: (a) Laurel & Larry Schumacher for being awesome hosts at their home and for providing several door prizes. (b) 30 participants plus four other donors. (c) Betty Brandt , for getting the Thrivent sponsorship covering the t-shirts and much of the food and drink. Betty also provided the cool Lake Superior “ABC 2023” painted stones. (d) Donna Anhalt for donating tickets to an upcoming performance for our drawing. (e) Everyone who brought food ! I don’t recall all of the food, but Lisa Sparks made the coffee cake, Stacy Sheridan made the casserole & banana cake, Laukrel Schumacher prepared the biscuits & gravy. Other food contributors included Dawn Dieckgrafe , Felicia Harrison , Jane Camp , Paulette Coco , Jeanne Gleason , and Liz Johnson . Seedling Theatre is a wonderful theatrical program for children & young adults &
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ABC#180, for St. Jude, 6-11-23

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 Much thanks to Mike & Dawn Laffey for being super hosts for ABC #180 at their home on June 11. Rain nixed the pool party but a great sum of $2,975 was donated to St. Jude by the 14 attendees plus another 12 that donated online or sent a check. Thanks so much to everyone for your participation, donations, and providing food. A partial list of food providers include Lisa Sparks (coffee cake), Dawn Laffey (casserole, beverages), Laura Hamilton (casserole), Stacy Sheridan (banana bread), Sandra Sharp (fruit), and Betty Brandt (fudge). We’ve held a total of 21 ABC runs for St. Jude and the total of those runs is $40,568. The total for all 180 ABC runs is $217,191 . Merci…gracias…takk…thank you for all of your support over the years!
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