This is one of my favorite pictures in the whole, wide world!!! Can you feel the joy and excitement in this picture? (Probably because they were around the 7th floor and not thinking about the 87 they had left to climb!) These are Kari’s friends – below are several more shots of the people who loved and surrounded Kari, and now they are my friends… I breathe with Kari’s lungs – a gift from an incredible girl, and an incredible family who suffered an unimaginable loss. The pictures also include a chick named Melissa – the heart thumping in her chest is from a precious girl named Chloe…
It’s that time of year again… Registration for the Hustle up the Hancock is only one week away at 8:00am sharp on November 1st!!! Here is my recruitment letter I sent to my team last week:
Ten years!!! 2012 will be the tenth time I’ve climbed 94 floors, 1622 steps, to the top of the John Hancock Center for the Respiratory Health Association of Metro Chicago.
Ten years ago, I met two chicks at a booth at a health fair on Navy Pier – Katie and Gina – they were at the fair representing the Respiratory Health Association of Metro Chicago. I stopped to thank them for what they did for people like me… And I told them about Kari. They told me about a crazy little event they ran – they invited me to climb 1,622 steps to the top of the Hancock! At first I thought, “What’re they, nutzzz??” Then I went home, climbed 10 floors to our unit – and sent a note to them telling them that I wanted in…
I sent a note to Kari’s Mom. They’d sent me pictures of my beautiful donor – I asked her if I could use Kari’s pictures on my Hustle page, and I showed her what it would look like… She said yes – and she also sent it to several of Kari’s friends.
That’s how everything started…
Since then, I’ve had hundreds of you on my team – and more than a dozen of Kari’s friends have come out to join me, and to remember her. I’ve never done this to raise money – I do it to tell people about Kari – but throughout these past ten years, and through the end of this year, we will have raised a quarter-million dollars for RHAMC!!! Awesome, no???
It’s that time of year again… Registration for the 2012 climb is in one week – on Tuesday, November 1st at 8:00am SHARP!!! Over the years, it has sold out in roughly an hour – be there on time! The climb is always held on the last Sunday in February – it will be on Sunday, February 26th, 2012. If this happens to be on or around your birthday, I cannot think of a better way to celebrate! Registration for the full climb this year will be $140. Like last year, I will likely not have a half climb team unless there is a demand…
My www.ClimbingForKari.orgwebsite needs a little updating – I’ll get to that eventually, but the links are going to the right places. I’ve already registered and created our team early by committing to raise at least $1000… So, our team will be available to join at 8:00am on Tuesday, November 1st so there are no delays in registration. DO NOT SIGN UP BEFORE 8:00AM ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST – if you do, you will be committing to raise at least $1000. Registering after 8:00am on Tuesday, November 1st does not commit you to raising anything beyond your registration fee (though, I’m always grateful if you choose to do so!!!) Drop me a line if you’re interested in the Hustle this year – or just join my team on November 1st… I’ll sent you a reminder with links to the registration page a few days before November 1st.
Instructions for joining my team are on my www.ClimbingForKari.orgwebsite… A direct link to the instruction page is HERE… An extensive step by step registration document created for me by one of the lovely RHAMC staff is HERE…
And finally – thank you so much for climbing with me in past years… I spoke about quitting a few times in recent years – I’ve had things I’d like to focus on and this takes a lot of thought and energy (and so much of which falls on Laura’s back!!) But, this is what I do…
I do a fair amount of public speaking about organ donation and about Kari – so much of what I talk about revolves around my participation in the Hustle – around meeting her friends through the Hustle – about the people who come out to support me at the Hustle – about YOU… This climb has become part of who I am and what I do – and YOU have helped make it what it is for me…
Some of you have climbed with me for nine years… Some of you for several years… And every year I have new people. Almost every year I am with someone new who knew Kari, and has come out to remember her with me… Through these past ten years, and by the end of this season, we will have raised over $250,000 – it kinda blows my mind… How many times have you been part of something that raised a quarter-million dollars? Me neither… And it’s happened because of so many people like you helping me. Thank you. And more special than the money will ever be to me – you’ve helped build me a little platform to tell the world about Kari and the gifts she’s given – and you’ve helped me tell others about organ donation…
We’ve had so many recipients, and donor family members, and friends of donors on our team – and when I go places to speak about organ donation, people say, “You’re that guy who climbs 100 story buildings with your new lungs!!!” And so many of them even know Kari’s name – and that means everything to me. I would have never generated that much excitement alone – I would have never generated that much awareness without all of you.
I know that times are a little tough and cash is a little tight for many of us – and if you can’t make it this year, that’s OK – and thank you for the times you have made it! And if you can make it – I’m honored to have you on my team.
Love, Steve
Steve Ferkau
Kari’s Klimbers
www.ClimbingForKari.org
The pictures below are some of Kari’s friends… More than a dozen of them have come out to climb with me over the years. And along with them – hundreds of my friends and family, peeps from Iowa Donor Network and Gift of Hope – have come out to remember her, and honor her with me…
I think she would be so very proud of the friends who have come out to remember her, and honor her… I think she would be honored by all of the people who have been on my Kari's Klimber's team. I know I’m proud of them.
