Homecoming

Hey everyone! The 2013 Relay for Life season doesn't officially begin until September 1, but Team Dearborn is getting ready for a couple of events in August! Our next one is this weekend- we'll be at Dearborn Homecoming all weekend!


For those unfamiliar with the event, it's a three day festival with food, rides, crafts, music and games (among other things). For full information, check out the official overview. Team Dearborn will have a booth in the non-profit tent. We'll have crafts, bottled water, and a tin can auction. It runs from Friday, August 3 until Sunday, August 5. It opens at 11 AM, and runs until 10 PM (with fireworks on Saturday and Sunday). We'll have lots of information on Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society (including info about the 2013 Relay!), so stop by our booth and check it out! It should be a great time.

Last June, Team Dearborn was coming away from an incredible year. We put in a lot of hard work and raised $18,000. Our team was growing and we welcomed new members with open arms. When we learned our final total, we were shocked. Sure, it was close to our rough estimate, but to hear it spoken out loud was another story altogether. When we started to talk about the 2012 Relay, we raised our personal stakes. We looked at our team, felt the surge of confidence that only comes from a truly crazy idea, and bravely told them our next goal. 

"$25,000," we said. Jaws dropped, eyes opened wider. And then, because these miraculous friends are exactly as crazy as their team captains, they consented. They got on board. It only took seconds, silent seconds ticking by, for the brainstorming to begin. We had a rough year, touched by too many hospital visits and announcements full of sad news. But cancer can't win. Bad news and setbacks will not beat us. So the time had come to rally and fight back the best way we know how: Relay for Life. We Relay all year long. My favorite thing about any fundraiser we do is talking to people. Meeting survivors and hearing their story, talking to caregivers who never take the credit they deserve, watching parents teach their children what we are doing. 

From September until May, I saw Team Dearborn more than I saw many other friends. After a wonderful and busy 24 hours at the Dearborn Relay for Life, our total was over $23,000. We smiled at each other and cheered. We hadn't met our goal, but we had done so much more than that.

Last month we decided to continue. We needed to continue. I remember clearly one of our first meetings after the big $25,000 announcement. Marlene Czerwick, a longtime Team Dearborn member and breast cancer survivor, walked into my house, ready to get to work. "Are we really trying to raise $25,000? I mean, really?" She looked bewildered as I told her that yes, we were--that had not been a joke. It took her a split second to regain her calm composure before she sat down and plugged in her glue gun. "Ok." 

Her reaction was not surprising. Marlene and Henry Czerwick embody the spirit of Relay for Life. Walking around their home, traces of the event are everywhere. Marlene's survivor pins and Henry's caregiver pins hang on quilts by the door. A plastic Relay flag sits in an outdoor planter. Marlene's survivor necklaces hang on hangers in her sewing room, counting her 26 years surviving breast cancer. They are present at nearly every team event in the months prior. They come to Relay and set up tents and tables, helping anywhere needed. They walk the survivor lap, cheered on by family and Team Dearborn members. They spend the day fundraising and walking laps. They participate in a tearful lap during the luminaria ceremony. They yell and clap with everyone as totals are announced and trophies are awarded. 

But life is not always as kind as my neighbors, the Czerwicks. Marlene suffered from a sudden heart attack in mid-June and never recovered. She passed away days later, leaving us in shock. The world stopped. Unable to do anything else, our team gathered. Minutes after the early morning news, we were sitting with coffee in front of us. I didn't taste it as I drank it, but having a warm cup in my hands and my teammates around me helped the universe feel a little closer to normal. We gathered again that evening, and resolved that we were going to reach our goal. For Marlene, who thought we were crazy but went along for the ride anyway, we were going to reach our goal. 

This weekend, we did. Because of the efforts of our team, the support of friends and family, and the endless kindness of strangers, we raised $25,000.

Ugly Up the Avenue- Tropical Edition

It's that time of year again- Team Dearborn is getting ready for our Ugly Up the Avenue Charity Pub Crawl- Tropical Edition! Wear your ugliest and tackiest beach wear and come help us raise money for the American Cancer Society. We're still getting word from some of our participating bars about the specials they'll be offering us, but here's the info so far...

 

Friday, June 29th

Registration starts at 7 PM at Buffalo Wild Wings (Dearborn location, obviously!)

$15 per person for the wristband, which gets you specials all night.

50/50s will be done all night, at each bar!

We'll be leaving BWW at about 9 PM, and moving between bars roughly every hour after that.

 

Here's the route Team Dearborn will be taking, along with the specials we have. Remember, as always, you can follow us or make your own route!

 

Buffalo Wild Wings- 25% off your ENTIRE bill (food AND drink!). NOTE- they run $3 beer/drink specials after 10 PM on Fridays, so after that time only food will be discounted.

 

Biergarten- $2 domestic bottles, $1 specialty shots (washington apple, red headed slut, sex on the beach, kamikaze)

 

Post Bar- specials coming soon!

 

Bailey's- $4 Blue Moon summer seasonal pints, $3 Miller Lite pints, $5 Patron shots, $5 top shelf Long Islands

 

Double Olive- specials coming soon!

 

We always have a good time on our crawls, so come check it out! If you miss us at BWW but still want to join, just find us at any of the other bars and you can join in on the fun!

 

As you might know if you've been reading our posts, our RFL goal for this year was $25,000. We came VERY close to hitting that goal at Relay. While we had been debating just leaving our final total where it was and focusing our efforts on 2013, we've recently suffered a loss. One of our team members passed away this month from heart problems. A 26-year breast cancer survivor, she was at every craft meeting and event we had, and was incredibly proud to be a part of this team. She was a wonderful person, and we're all better for having known her. She loved Relay, and was completely determined to meet our seemingly ridiculous fundraising goal. We've decided to meet that goal in her honor. 

Dearborn Patch Article - June, 2012

There was a nice article in the Dearborn Patch recently that referenced the commitment of Dearborn Public Schools to "Going Green". 

Notably, all of our schools and even the administrative service center have achieved "green" designations for their commitment to teaching, learning and using energy and ecology-appropriate strategies.  

Not mentioned in the article is the fact that the project was initiated by Team Dearborn member, Dale Werth.  While the important part of the story is the result achieved, it is a good example one of the quiet efforts of Team Dearborn to make a difference in the community. 

Relay for Life 2012

Hey everyone! The Dearborn Relay for Life was last weekend, and we had an amazing time! We've all had some time to recuperate and reorganize (the time leading up to the event is always a bit crazy). Team Dearborn did really well- we had set a pretty high goal for ourselves ($25,000), and we actually came very close to it! Our team raised roughly $23,200, as of Sunday morning at the closing ceremony. We've still got some silent auction money to turn in, since some things weren't picked up until this past week. The number is probably going to be somewhere close to $24,000, but we don't know the exact total yet. The Dearborn event as a whole did great as well- the total as of closing ceremony was $81,000!

Everyone on this team did an outstanding job this year, even though our goal was (seemingly) ridiculous! With this many dedicated and motivated people, it's no surprise that we came so fantastically close to reaching that goal. Once we get ourselves a bit more sorted, we'll get some pictures posted to the blog. If you're a fan of ours on Facebook, there should be an album up already. If you're not, what are you waiting for? 

Thank you to everyone on this team, as well as everyone who supported us- even if all you did was stop by one of our many fundraisers and say hi, we appreciate it! Thanks also go out to everyone on the committee and who helped run and organize Relay this year. Extra special thanks to Mayor Jack O'Reilly, Superintendent Brian Whiston, Wayne County Commissioner Gary Woronchak, Dearborn High School principal Chuck Baughman, and Steve Worden, the chair of the Dearborn Firefighters Burn Drive- these amazing gentlemen participated in our Four Pies and a Poncho fundraiser at Relay, which helped us raise over $1,200! They were great sports about it, and they all had a great time. We're immensely grateful that they helped us out. 

The final 2012 numbers will be posted when we finish turning all of our money in. Rest assured, though- we'll be starting fundraising for our 2013 Relay pretty soon. Keep an eye here for more details! :D

Buffalo Wild Wings dine to donate

I know there was a whole post about our Yellow Brick Road Rally, but I wanted to do another quick post with the dine to donate flyer. Even if you don't want to participate in the rally, you can still help us raise money! Just print out this flyer and give it to your server on Sunday, May 6 at the Dearborn BWW (on Michigan Ave). Team Dearborn will get 20% of your bill (including alcohol). 

Christus Victor's 5th Annual Spring Fling

Adding to our flurry of pre-Relay fundraisers, Team Dearborn will have a table at the Christus Victor Spring Fling! On Saturday, May 5, Christus Victor will be hosting their 5th annual craft sale. There will also be a bake sale and raffles. It runs from 10 AM until 3 PM. The church is at 25535 Ford Road in Dearborn Heights MI. Team Dearborn will have a bunch of our crafts for sale, including photo books and zipper jewelry! There should be over 30 crafters/vendors there, so come check it out!