A Weekend of Hope

I never really thought about what it would be like to be a young widow until a day in the late spring of 2008 when I came across Matt's blog.  It's amazing to look back and see how far we have come since a group of people scattered across the country started helping a scruffy looking new widower and his beautiful little girl.

This weekend I left my family in Houston and traveled to Minneapolis for The Liz Logelin Foundation's Celebration of Hope and 5K.  It was amazing to see friends that I count among my closest and to meet many people in person for the first time.

 

The Celebration of Hope was a fun and inspiring event.  I was able to meet some of the widows and widowers that have applied for help and I was humbled by their stories. Much like last year, it was a night of tears, laughter, and amazing people. 

The morning of the 5K was sunny and cold.  It was a great day for an outdoor event!

Danielle and the dedicated volunteer army did a fantastic job planning the 5K. This was the first year that we hired a race coordinator and certified the course.

Generous sponsors donated power bars, water, and even ice cream! The Robot was there, too, if course.

Kelly got to start the race with the air horn, and they were off!

The first place runner came in at about 19 minutes, I think, which sounds insanely fast to me.  It was a wonderful and amazing day.  The temperatures were quite cool by the time we packed everything up, so we decided to warm up with some cheese curds. (Yes, they were very good.)

The Liz Logelin Foundation is unique in that it does not put stipulations on how grant money is spent and it doesn't judge the relationship that made the applicant a widow or widower.  Partners and fiancees are welcome to apply.  They just want to help a grieving families with children.  The people that need help are your neighbors and your coworkers.  They sit next to you in church and on the subway.  They pass you in the grocery store.  The next time you read an article about someone who has been killed and has a family that mourns them, think for a few minutes about how life would change for your family if something tragic and unforeseen happened to you or your spouse.  The LLF wants to bring hope to people that grieve and have to keep going for their kids.  I am so proud to be a part of that.  It has been deeply humbling and I hope that it continues to grow.

The online auction is still going, so please check out the items and bid if something catches your eye.  You can also donate here.