St. Mel's craft show

As you might know, craft fairs/sales are something of a Team Dearborn staple! We've got some very talented people on our team, so we do a lot of events like this. Next weekend, we'll be at the St. Mel's craft show in Dearborn Heights. There's no admission fee, and they've got over 50 local crafters! There's also a bake sale, which is always a good thing. Here's the important info:

St. Mel's craft show (at St. Mel's church)
Saturday, September 29
9 AM until 3 PM
7506 Inkster Rd., Dearborn Heights

We'll have our usual items (photo albums, tissue holders, etc.) as well as some new things. It should be a good time, so come check it out!

Getting started for 2013!

The 2013 Relay for Life officially started on September 6, and Team Dearborn has already started fundraising! If you've been following us here (or on Facebook), you know we've been hard at work since June. Between our pub crawl, bowling fundraiser, and Homecoming, we've already raised over $4,000 for the American Cancer Society! We're working even harder to bring awareness of everything the ACS has to offer, and we're finding many different ways to do that. We've started a Twitter account to make it even easier to connect with us and stay updated on our events, and we've started a mailing list to keep people informed of our events via email (email teamdearborncares@gmail.com if you want to get on that mailing list! We promise not to email you eighty times a day or give anyone else your email address. We're very responsible). 

You can check out our official Relay for Life page for full information on our progress or to make a donation. This year, we're trying to raise $27,000 for the cause. I know it's an odd number for a goal, but we've got two very good reasons for it. Number one, that's how much Dr. Gordy Klatt raised back in 1985 when he did the very first Relay for Life. The second reason is much more personal to our team. You might know that we lost a teammate back in June. Marlene absolutely loved Relay, and was truly at the heart of this team. This year would have been her 27th year as a breast cancer survivor, and we thought that making $27,000 our goal was a great way to honor her. 

In true Team Dearborn tradition, we've already got events lined up! Full posts with all the details you could ask for will be coming soon, but here's what we've got confirmed right now. On September 29, we'll be at the St. Mel's church craft fair in Dearborn Heights. On October 13, we'll be at the open house at Fire Station #2 on Outer Drive. We're also working on putting together another scavenger hunt/road rally, and, of course, we'll be having our Ugly Christmas Sweater Pub Crawl in December! It should be a fun fall for Team Dearborn, so watch this space for more info!

Homecoming recap

It's nearly September, which means that the 2013 Relay season is almost here! We've had a busy summer (with more coming next month!), and it's been a lot of fun. The biggest event we've done yet was Homecoming, back at the beginning of August. Though it was pretty hot, we all had a great time. We got to talk to some really amazing people, we got into a marshmallow fight with the superintendent of schools (he started it!), and we raised about $1,500 for the American Cancer Society! Plus we could see War perform from where our table was, so that was an added bonus. 

Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend. The first is our table set-up from the first day. We rearranged things a bit every day, so if you were there, this might look different. The second picture is of the beautiful handmade quilt we raffled off that weekend. 

Overall, it was a great event! Check back here next month for details on another event we're working on. Team Dearborn will be in a craft show at the end of September. 

Bowling fundraiser

Hi everyone! Team Dearborn had an amazing time at Homecoming this past weekend. We met some great people, raised over $1,500 for Relay, and shared a lot of information! Now that we've had a couple of days to recover, expect a full post about the weekend soon. For now, though, we've got another fundraiser coming up this Saturday. 

Join us at Skore Lanes in Taylor (22255 Ecorse Rd.) on Saturday, August 11 for fun and fundraising! Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under. (Families welcome!!) Price includes two games of bowling, shoe rental, pizza and pop. Check in takes place between 4:00 and 5:00. 

If you want to bowl with a group, just let us know and we'll put you on the same lanes. Tickets available from any Team Dearborn member.

We'll be doing a 50/50 as well!

Proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society through the Relay For Life of Dearborn.

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.