Jacob's Gift

Reorganizing Jacob's Gift

2009-08-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

Our charity will be on hold for awhile while I apply for a 501(c)3 charitable organization designation through the IRS. I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished at Northwest Schools. 270 computers being donated by the Veteran's Administration now will have hard drives installed paid, in part, by our charity.

Corey & I have decided to open-enroll our children at Chippewa Local Schools. I am an alumni. It was a tough decision but one we feel is best for us at this time.

We continue to participate in this community as we can. We have made some great friends and have appreciated the support of those who were able to be a part of Jacob's Gift.

Joanna

Donation

2009-05-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

I sat down tonight to write a letter to Nikki Metzger. I used stationary I had from when Jacob died. I only have a few pieces left and use for special reasons. Jacob's Gift is donating $500 to a scholarship at Northwest in memory of Gregg Metzger.

This is so completely bittersweet. Just last year, Gregg thanked me publicly at a Northwest School Board meeting (he was a member) for our donation of laptops to the elementary school. He said "Joanna, you rock!". I thought that was so wonderful of him to do that & with so much energy. He also bought a NW fball jersey for me to wear before the first game in '08. He dropped it off at 9:00pm on his way to work because he wanted me to have it for the game. Now, I am donating funds for a memorial scholarship for him. It's hard to believe.

You see, people like him are far & few between unfortunately. We all aspire to be positive, giving, caring, charitable, compassionate, etc. It takes work to want to help your community & trudge through the resistance that is there. Gregg was willing to do that. Now, Nikki is.

I am a better person for knowing him. I will continue to help Nikki raise funds for his scholarship if she would like me to. I know Gregg would have done the same for me.

A Community in Unity

2009-05-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

This morning I had the honor of being part of something really special. I ran in the Rotary 5k. What was so great was all the people wearing yellow Livin Strong for Gregg t-shirts. We ended up selling over 300 t-shirts that the Metzger family will be seeing around town for quite some time. His wife Nikki & their families are so incredibly kind and I know they appreciated all the support our community showed them today. It was just so wonderful.

Shelbi's Sweets & Treats truck was there too. I'm going to spend more time helping this great cause as well.

This week we had two residents from Echoing Ridge come in again to the elementary. They have cerebral palsy & it was so neat to watch the kids become comfortable talking to them.

My PTO days are winding down. A new president has been elected & our kids are moving on. I am leaving it in more than capable hands. We have been able to give the Northwest kids some really fun events.

Jacob's Gift will be in a transition mode for awhile. A certain resident of Clinton has made my life pretty miserable since January. His paranoia that our charity somehow is using taxpayer dollars has created a situation where I must move our charity from the schools. I'm working on setting up a 501(c)3 but it will take time & money. I will get to it when I can & recreate my charity as well as the goals of it. We will still benefit kids mostly. They are what's important.

In our two years in existence, we have been able to donate $20,000 back to this community. We are currently helping get 200 computers donated to Northwest. 200 much needed computers!

I am beyond disappointed that this recent levy failed. For the life of me, I cannot understand any parent in our district that would vote no. I will be challenging these people as I know names & overhear conversations that leave me so angry. I have spent countless hours away from my family on levy committees, with our charity, PTO, etc. trying to make this community come together and be better. I see what goes on inside the schools and I can't believe any parent would not want to support that. We kind of knew a few years ago when a renewal levy failed that there may be a lack of community support for the schools. Unfortunately, we were correct. Times are tough, I know. They are also tough for the school. No new money since '92. I took my children to the rally on Monday. My son, Luke said after it failed "Mom, we did all that for nothing?" Well, no we showed our support. We tried. I watched our bus driver pull up with tears in her eyes & I could tell she had been crying alot. She lost her job. Just makes me so sad.

I'll continue to do what I can to volunteer, promote volunteering and helping others. I hope I have inspired some to do the same. :-)

Until next time.

Joanna

Latest Update

2009-03-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Two events to write updates about. We've been busy. One is the Knights & Super Heroes Ball that was held on Feb. 21st at Elm Ridge Party Center. We had over 100 children mostly up to the age of 10. Billy the Kid did another great magic act. This year he juggled swords & flaming batons. The kids were excited & some a bit scared! lol They danced along with their parents which was so much fun. We had alot more prizes too which they loved. Thanks to Pizza Hut for donating pizza! Jacob's Gift donated funds to pay for the DJ & magician. The PTO provided cookies & decorations. Great community event.

Today we had our elementary carnival for the PTO. I'm whooped but it went really well as last year. Jacob's Gift paid for the bounce house & speed pitch game. This is the only fundraiser for the PTO. Over 60 high school students came and volunteered to run over 20 games. We had parents, teachers & our principal volunteer too. We invited the local preschools & it was nice to see them come. Another great community event.

Taking a little break for now. The PTO has book fair/ice cream social coming right before spring break. Then we have Munchin With Mom & NW Pride day before school is out. This will be my last year as PTO President at the Elementary as I will not have a child in that school next year.

If you read this, please say a prayer for Gregg Metzger and his family. He is a friend and also a school board member at Northwest. He's in his 30's with a wife & 3 young children and is battling cancer. He's the most wonderful guy you could meet and I respect him so much. He was so kind in supporting us when we were launching Jacob's Gift.

Until next time....

Joanna

Check out our article!

2009-02-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

The Canton Repository wrote a really nice article on us. You can check it out on their website under the Canal Fulton Community tab. I had written all my peeps & asked them to have my back if the negative bloggers attack. lol

I again have to say I appreciate so very much my wonderful friends, men & women alike, we have in this community. They are so incredibly supportive to us, it's so helpful and comforting.

I write about negative bloggers because even our Kiss the Pig event was blogged about. People were concerned about the condition of the pig. I was mortified when I read it because I didn't want the pigs owners to ever see it. They are so very kind and actually rescued that pig. I just think there are times when you don't need to share your comments unless asked to do so. I see them with Piglet & they are so loving. The kids loved seeing their teachers kiss an actual pig. It's such a cute event. The school raised over $1,300 to help our service men and women with plane fare home.

The article didn't mention it but Jeff Rhodes of Studio Rhodes Photography is taking free photos again. Also, the Dawsons are donating Elm Ridge again. I mentioned all of you, really! I thank them so very much.

We have 100 volunteers on our baking list but about 20 of them are baking for this event. She had mentioned all 100 are baking for this which would be alot of cookies. lol :-)

I do appreciate the article and the reporter was extremely kind as well as the photographer. I love the photo of some of the items in Jacob's memory box. It's such a trip down memory lane.

I'm so excited about the dance this Saturday. Tickets are selling great & we will have a full house again. No child will be turned away. It's a nice community event for our kids during such a rough and uncertain time.

I'll write after Saturday!

Joanna

Please stop & say a prayer....

2009-02-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

for baby Caroline & her family. I had blogged earlier about her. She passed away at the NICU last Saturday. Her mom & I had been in contact during her short life. I felt really honored to be able to share what I thought may be helpful to her if she lost Caroline. The best thing was that she received a memory box Lily, my 7 year old daughter, had painted a few months ago when I took some girls to Children's. Lily's box had a garden scene and I just knew a bereaved family would just love to put their baby's treasures in it.

My friend Nancy who is a nurse there told me she gave it to Caroline's family & I just cried. It's so great to know it went to them. Lily is so happy & proud too.

Joanna

Just trying to do something positive......

2009-01-30T21:03:00.000-08:00

Honestly, I am really just a person who would like to do something good for Northwest and the kids here. I have worked so extremely hard since March of '07 when we launched Jacob's Gift to create a charity that I can be proud of. A charity that can give back to our youth.

I blog about where our money goes but do not put out large press releases. We have privately donated to families in need. Most recently a single mom with 2 children working two jobs. We have made it possible to have family friendly events where parents come together with their children. We have made it possible for countless numbers of students to volunteer at safe events supervised by me to show them what it means to give back.

I am currently working with 3 other non-profit charities to help them with their fundraising by sharing all my documents I've used for our Night at the Races as well as getting theirs up and running. I'm helping a mom at Children's Hospital go through what may end up the loss of her baby in the NICU.

I am passionate about what I do and I love it. Why someone would pay for an ad which questions my charity about a donation to Code Red is beyond me. Why this person failed to contact my treasurer or myself about this donation is beyond me. Why this person is accusing my charity of being some kind of "front" for the school to donate to Code Red is beyond me. I donated to Code Red because saving our schools is important to our youth. The school was kind enough to host my fund and help get me off and running. I do not have separate checks that say Jacob's Gift. Our money is separate from the school's. Our money is private donations only, no taxpayer dollars.

I was so completely disheartened when I read this paid advertisement that appeared in the Independent yesterday. I will never write the persons name here, they don't deserve my keystroke.

My good Catholic friend Julie Barkey has always told me, "Where there is good, the devil will show up". It is so true but I will not be deterred. I know what we are doing in our son's memory is such a positive thing. I know when I take girls up to Children's to paint memory boxes for parents who have babies in the NICU, it's a wonderful thing. I know when we can have events like the dance on Feb. 21st and seeing all those kids dressed up with their parents, it's a wonderful thing.

I sincerely thank all my wonderful friends in this community who have been so supportive especially these last 2 days. I have truly made some awesome friendships.

I will continue to support Northwest and will vote Yes Tuesday.

Peace, love and joy to all (at least all who are nice people),

Joanna

What's going on....

2009-01-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Almost February already! We have a fun event coming up that Jacob's Gift is co-sponsoring called a Princesses & Super Heroes Ball. It's at Elm Ridge Party Center again, thanks Joyce & Daryl! Same as last year with DJ Jake Matthews, photographer (thanks Jeff Rhodes for donating photos!), Billy the Kid magician & facepainting. It's mainly geared towards preschool-2nd-3rd grades. I'm wearing my ball gown again. Let's hope I remember my change of clothes this time so I'm not running a sweeper in my gown again!

Jacob's Gift is paying for the DJ & magician. I have some wonderful 7th grade girls volunteering to facepaint. Mr. LaRiccia, our principal, is our greeter again. I'm hoping families of preschoolers will attend also.

I'm in the process of donating a large portion of what was raised at our Night at the Races to Stinson Elementary. I guess there is a need for some technology related items so I will keep the blog posted.

H & R Block is running a promotion if you are a new client to them, they will donate $25 to a charity. I am working with the Athletic Charity Committee at the high school on this. A flyer is being sent home with more information. I have donated to the ACC in appreciation of volunteer efforts of our athletes.

Mr. Hexamer at the high school is working on a beneficiary of $500 that was to be donated to the band for their volunteering efforts at our PTO's Dinner With Dad. They wanted me to keep the money so I've decided to find something in one of our schools that related to music to donate that money towards. Once again, I will post what is decided.

I'm organizing a class reunion the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year for my high school 20 yr reunion from Chippewa. We are having a Mass Class Reunion with classes of '86-'91. I thought would be really fun & lots more people. We're doing a 50/50 during the reunion to benefit a scholarship at Doylestown. Anyway, I'm not sure when I will do my next Night at the Races since this event will take lots of my energy. Probably next January. It's cold & we need something fun to do then, right? The races just take a lot of time planning & gathering items so I want to have time to devote to it.

I will not have any children at the elementary school next year so I will not be PTO Prez. I really want to focus on Jacob's Gift & expand lots of our outreach. I'm really benefitting from name recognition now with our charity so I don't want to lose momentum.

If you live here, please vote Yes on Feb. 3rd for our school levy. Please also support the next call for more funding to finish our building projects. If we do not obtain the $29 mil from the state by August, we will lose it. It will be really disappointing.

I am really proud of my fellow PTO board members and our efforts this year. Our hearts are in the right place. We have tried to welcome new Kindergarten parents with fun activities & create fun community environment. We all have worked our tails off in planning some awesome events. Carnival is just around the corner. Jacob's Gift will once again be providing a Sponge Bob Bounce House & Speed Pitch game.

I've been emailing a mom who is currently at Children's Hospital waiting test results of an MRI for her daughter. She is a newborn in the NICU. They do not know if she will be ok or if they will have to make a decision like we did with Jacob. My heart just breaks for her and even though it has been 10 years for us, it's like yesterday. I want to give her a hug and tell her it will be alright. I want to magically give her a wonderful outcome and save her from what we have been through. It is just so unfair.

I've also been working with Shauna Martin, Shelbi's mom. Shelbi is a 5 yr old in Heaven. She passed away last year of a brain tumor. She has twin sisters who's girl scout troop painted memory boxes at their meeting last week. I'm taking their troop up to Children's in a few weeks so they can hand them out to babies in the NICU. I know it will be hard on Shauna but I really think she will benefit so much from this trip. They are planning a Night at the Races to benefit their ice cream truck that will be up & running soon. Proceeds benefit Wishes Can Happen. I will post information when it is planned & I hope to be able to help them make it an awesome event for all.

We have been transferring old home video tapes to DVDs and watching them. How times goes by so quickly. How we get involved in so many activities, we forget to stop and enjoy the down time. I'm trying to plan more down time which for those of you who know me, you may think impossible. I do enjoy all the great things I get to be involved in. I love giving back. I love helping others. I see these qualities in my children and I pray it sticks.

Until next time......

Joanna

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

Long time, no post I see. Been a little busy. We had a Dinner With Dad event for grades K-2 held at the high school. Over 40 high school band members volunteered and did wonderful. I was really impressed by their hard work and how well they listened to my directions. I wanted to donate $500 to the band boosters for their efforts. I made the offer and through their band director they gracefully requested we use the money for another Jacob's Gift cause. I am currently checking to see where in one of our music departments we can donate it to in their honor.

We also had a Fall Funfest at the elementary school through PTO. Some high school football players, cheerleaders and majorettes came to volunteer. The cheerleaders also volunteered for a pep rally we held to kick off Northwest Pride. Jacob's Gift was able to donate $250 to them as well.

Corey & I have been discussing where to dispurse some of our current funds. I'm checking with Stinson & the Intermediate staff to see if we can donate it to either the Science or Math departments. We really feel these are two areas where it can only help. I will let you know what we decide.

This past weekend we held a Cookies & Cocoa With Santa event at the elementary school through PTO. We needed lots of volunteers. I went through my PTO list & still needed more. I emailed Mr. Masowich, the band director & his students once again came to help. We also had cheerleaders volunteer at the face painting table. They did some incredible work!

I really feel good being able to work with the older students in volunteer projects. It's so nice to see one of our main goals being accomplished.

I also went into speak to the advanced Health classes at the high school recently. It was mostly focused on talking about genetic defects as that's what they were studying and Jacob had a chromosomal abnormality. I discussed what we've learned from losing a child also. It was fun being back in school even if it's been 19 years! Boy did I feel old. I'm hoping to be invited back to the next Semester's classes.

I received a Character Counts award from the Stark County People of Character. I was nominated by Mr. LaRiccia, Principal of the elementary school. I was really honored and humbled. I really just do what I do for the kids in our community.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Sincerely,

Joanna

Updated final amount.....

2008-10-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Happy to report that a revised total for the Night at the Races will be over $10,000 including some corporate matching funds! Yeah!

I'm starting to get calls/emails about helping other charities with their fundraising. If anyone reading this would like to be on a volunteer list when events come about, please let me know. Jacob's Gift is taking off in ways I never imagined but am so proud to be a part of. I hope you will join us!

2nd Night at the Races - More Cowbell!

2008-09-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

Last night we held our 2nd annual Night at the Races. Money is still coming in but we're going to clear over $9,000!!! It was really so much fun again. People around here are really crazy & I love it. The auction horse race yielded more money in bids this year. Ross & Sharon Blankenship's horse, Doggie won. Total payout for them was $670. They donated all of it back to Jacob's Gift! Made me teary eyed let me tell you. They are such a wonderful couple and the owners of State Street Tire so please go to their business if you can.

In addition to the races, we had 50/50, sideboards, raffle baskets, $20 boxes, $5 balloons to win a night at Kalahari (Congrats Shannon Waggoner!) and door prizes. My volunteers were all so wonderful. (Linda Holl, Troy Lindeman, Craig & Sheryl West, Michelle Howell, Nicole Hamilton, her friend & Liz, Dean & Shelley and John & Suzanne Foughty) They really make things easier for Corey & I.

Thanks again to Darrell & Joyce Dawson for the use of their hall. Thanks to Santangelo's Catering for giving me a great deal & delicious food. Thanks to Pizza Hut of Canal Fulton for donating pizza. Thanks to Laurie Foulk for the yummy gourmet cookies! Thanks to Jeff Rhodes photography for taking pictures for me as a donation. Thanks to Lawrence Twp. police dept.

This year I had red cowbells on all tables as noisemakers. I bought a t-shirt online that said "I have a fever and the only prescription is More Cowbell!". If you've seen the skit on Sat. Night Live, you'll get it. I let them know the most obnoxious bell ringer would get the shirt later. Jill (sorry, don't know your last name) rang her bell till her knuckles bled. Her husband was begging me early in the night to just give her the shirt. She had 2 going at once. My friend Nicole was by her at the raffle table & begged me to give her the shirt. Finally at the end of the evening she was awarded the shirt. It was so funny though & I appreciate her enthusiasm!

It went just as I had hoped. I really wanted to create a nice event that the adults in the community could come to and have fun for a few hours. My friend, Michelle Glauthier did an awesome job again with all of my signs & special touches.

I heard from some business owners afterward who were there to contact them next year that they would like to sponsor us. That's awesome for me because it helps with all the time I devote to collecting items & getting sponsors. I heard how fun it was and people really appreciate the experience we could create. It really was crazy but made me feel so good about the people who support us and what we are doing.

I'm switching gears now to the Pedal for a Purpose on Sunday, Oct. 5th 1-4pm at Heritage Park. I'm helping them with the carnival part of it and having my booth with the football players again.
Please view info at the link on our home page. It'll be a fun event!

Thank you again so very much for all who support us and Jacob's Gift. We really appreciate it!

Joanna

Will You Help Us?? Please...

2008-08-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hi! Thanks for checking out our site and Jacob's Gift. We have donated over $7,000 back to the Northwest Schools & students so far. We've been able to have opportunities for students to volunteer at numerous events & continue to add new events all the time. I can say now that I think people really know who we are and what Jacob's Gift is all about.

I feel people really understand that we want to make a difference here and have our child's short life mean something. Basically, we just want to do good things and have been blessed to be able to do so. I've received wonderful support from the Northwest community. I heard of an organization who wanted to plan their event on the same night as our Night at the Races and changed the date so they wouldn't compete with us. That is awesome! I am completely honored and am helping them with their ticket sales at my event.

Our Night at the Races is Sept. 27th at Elm Ridge Party Center in Canal Fulton. (Thanks to Darryl & Joyce!!). I have tickets available now for $20 each (includes dinner & full bar). I'm also selling horses for $10 each. You pick the name & win $50 if your horse wins the race. I'm always in need of sponsors, basket donations, silent auction items, etc. I've been out begging for awhile and can highlight Club Level Browns tickets for the Cinci game in Dec. (total value over $240), 4 club level tix to a Big Ten OSU basketball game (over $400 value) and many baskets.

We are also having sideboards. One high value sideboard will benefit the Michael Barkey "Do The Right Thing" scholarship. Julie & Hal Barkey are also donating a corn hole game made by Hal for the silent auction that will benefit the scholarship as well. I think it is so WONDERFUL that I can help out other great causes at our event.

I am really hoping this event is attended by many in the community & that we can come together one night, have fun and do some good things for our kiddos.

I wanted to thank busy, busy Derek Pullen of Cedar Creek Construction for going together with Jacob's Gift to put a 20 x 20 cement pad at the elementary school. He went above & beyond with donating all but materials as well as stamping, coloring and putting an "NW" on the pad. I honestly just envisioned a gray square but it's really nice. Stop by sometime & see it.

Last Spring Derek & I spoke at a rollerskating party and he asked if there was something he could do to be a part of our charity. We've laughed about it now that you should be careful offering up help to me as I will probably take you up on it. I would definately recommend him if you have some work that needs done.

Oct. 5th is Pedal for a Purpose to benefit Echoing Ridge. They are really close to getting enough money for that bus! I'm having the booth again with the football players getting whipped cream pies thrown at them, water dumped on them & whatever else comes along. Should be alot of fun!

Thanks so much again for all of the support & I hope you will be able to be a part of an event with Jacob's Gift!

Joanna

Jacob turned 10 this week.....

2008-07-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe but it's been 10 years since he was born and died. I had sent out the following to friends and family:

Ten years ago we were blessed by the birth of our much anticipated first child, Jacob. Five days later, as we held him in our arms, God’s plan was set in motion. While over the years we have questioned this plan many times, we can now say we understand.

We have been able to find joy and peace from a time in our lives that was so very painful. We were able to have four happy, healthy children subsequent to Jacob that weren’t in our original life “plan”. We’ve been able to meet some wonderful people along the way including those at Precious Parents who also understood what the loss of a child was.

We find happiness in other’s success. We’ve been taught the true meaning of compassion, caring and sincerity all from a child who lived such a short time. Because of him, we have lived differently.

Please take a moment out of your day to hug someone special in your life in honor of Jacob’s 10th birthday in Heaven. Take another moment to tell them you are there if they ever need a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear.

Happy 10th Birthday Jacob! We all love and miss you so very much.

Love,
Daddy, Mommy, Luke, Lily, Whitney & Grant

I shared our story at church at our "Do You Have a Story to Tell" night. It was nice for me to be able to speak of him again and share with others what we have learned from losing a child. I can vividly remember being at the cemetery and walking away from that tiny casket with empty arms questioning what my life would become.

I'm proud to be able to have been a part of Precious Parents at Children's Hospital having the opportunity to help other parents who've lost a baby. I'm proud to be able to do all that we have done and continue to do with Jacob's Gift.

Today, July 31st in 1998 was the day we learned we would go into the hospital and hold our son while he died. I can say now I understand and am honored to have known him those 5 days. I met parents at the July Precious Parents meeting who had just lost their child and my heart breaks for them. I can't convince them it'll all be fine and their life will be okay. I wouldn't have believed it at that point either. All I can say is "I'm sorry" and "I understand".

So if you've made it this far and aren't too bummed out, I thank you. I really appreciate all who have been so kind and supportive of me.

Our Night at the Races is Saturday, Sept. 27th at Elm Ridge Party Center in Canal Fulton. Tickets will be on sale about a month prior and are $20 each (includes dinner & full bar). I'm already working on collecting all the gift certificates, tickets, autographed items, sponsorships, raffle baskets, etc. that goes along with this event. It is our only fundraiser other than receiving private donations.

I'm always searching for connections to items we can use for raffles or Silent auction so if you have anything, please let me know.

Hope you can join us!!

Enjoy the rest of the Summer,

Joanna

We'd love

Busy, busy, busy....

2008-06-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

Before I forget, Youth Football Night at the Races is Saturday, Aug. 9th at Occasions Party Center. Tickets are $40 each or $75/couple. Email me & I can get tickets for you.

The Teacher Appreciation Luncheon went so well! We had an empty kindergarten transformed into a fiesta complete with an outdoor dining patio. Casa Perez brought enchiladas, chips/salsa & rice. We served the slushees & fried ice cream w/ chocolate syrup. The teachers had their pictures taken with a sombrero on & we posted them on our bulletin board. It was really fun & great to give back to our wonderful teachers. Thanks to Dawn Wyles for lending us her music and decorations. Thanks to Michelle Glauthier, Tiffany Craney & Megan Flickinger for helping me!!

I have to say I was a tad bit nervous for our Munchin With Mom dinner but it went better than I could have expected. We served about 550 moms, grandmas & children. I had over 50 high school students work as servers in the high school cafeteria & practice gym. They worked so hard & I really appreciated their enthusiasm. Alot of the servers were football players & it was so funny to see them with their little notepads & taking orders. The photographer, Studio Rhodes, came w/ two camera stations and the pictures turned out so cute. The food service staff of our school district worked so hard helping me plan and running the event that day. They are awesome! We had some really nice baskets donated and our dads did a great job selling tickets for those and the 50/50. Teachers came and helped set up as well as made all the desserts. Seemed like everyone had a great time! We hope to do it again next year.

Ryan's breakfast went so well. I have to say we really have some wonderful people in this community. Julie Barkey worked her fanny off collecting donations and running the event. She is truly amazing and an inspiration to me. We had over 70 raffle items & over 20 silent auction items. We collected over $15,000 that day. The Knights of Columbus kept up with the large amount of people & did such a nice job. There were over 500 breakfasts served. I would recommend eating at SPJ's some month for breakfast. One nice donor bought a signed Cavs ball for Ryan. The Trewins were quite overwhelmed by all the support and donations. We just really wanted them to know how many people are praying for Ryan and wanted a way to support him. Tons of bake sale items were donated & sold too. Please continue to pray for Ryan and Shelbi Martin as well.

My goals for Jacob's Gift continue to be to help promote volunteering in our community. I've been very lucky to have the support of the high school students in events and I hope I help inspire them too. We are helping Echoing Ridge again October 5th for their Pedal for a Purpose event. I'm going to ask for football players again to come volunteer at our booth. I'm hoping to publicize the event more for them to have more support to help them buy that bus they desperately need.

I have some other events in mind for next year and I'll get them posted when we can work out the details. Thanks for those of you who were able to support us and continue to be kind to our cause. We've donated almost $7,000 back to Northwest kids of all ages so far!

All for now,

Joanna

In the words of Kevin Bacon...."Let's Dance!"

2008-05-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, think Footloose. For those of you too young, rent Footloose - you'll get it.

The Knights & Princesses Dance went very well and was so much fun. I was very happy to see all of the kids dressed up and so many parents too! I was worried I'd be the only one but there were alot. Let me get another thank you to Daryl & Joyce Dawson for allowing us to use their hall, Elm Ridge Party Center. They are such wonderful people! See our "Links of Interest" page for the others who made the night so special.

We sold over 125 tickets to the kids (parents were free). The DJ was great and taught the kids some new dances (me too). The kids were so mesmerized by Billy the Kid (magician). It was so adorable. They were asking for his autograph afterwards. I walked him out to his car and a couple boys came out in the parking lot to say thanks. It was sweet.

I heard such great things from those attending that we will definately do this again next year if at all possible. Moms, keep those bridesmaids dresses!!

Monday, I was able to be a part of something so incredibly special. Two residents from Echoing Ridge who have Cerebral Palsy came in to read to Luke & Lily's classes. It's called the ABC Project (Acceptance Begins with Children) and is such a neat program. They were Jamie & Kim, 25 & 41 (although, I hope I age half as well as Kim - I guessed her as early 20's!). They were both so friendly & great with the kids. They'll read a book, tell the kids about them, answer questions and show off their wheelchairs. The kids asked some really awesome questions and after a few minutes stopped gazing at their wheelchairs and listened to what they were saying. I think it's so neat and really showed the kids they were just like them but in a wheelchair.

It's just something I really wanted to work on with Jacob's Gift in teaching the kids to be compassionate to others, to learn about others and to give back. We're going to do it again in the fall and maybe wrap some other teaching events around it. Makes me really proud to be a part of it.

Tuesday, I'm taking 5 6th grade girls from Northwest up to Akron Children's Hospital to paint and decorate memory boxes. We received one when Jacob died and I cherish it. All of his items from his stay in the NICU are in there. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to have the girls volunteer, learn something about others and gain some compassion. They're getting a tour of the NICU also by my friend who's a nurse there and head of bereavement. We wanted to give the boxes to babies who also go home. The money for the boxes, etc. comes from the PTO's Kiss the Pig money we raised in February. All of the $1,300 was earmarked for the NICU. A small portion will go to this but I'll make sure it all goes to very worthwhile causes there.

Monday, the PTO is throwing a thank you luncheon for our teachers at NWE. It's a Cinco de Mayo party. Casa Perez is catering, we're making fried ice cream for dessert & I rented a slushee machine with a discount from CJ Dannemillers in Doylestown. We wanted to do non-alcoholic margaritas but thought it may be too much for school. :-)

Next Friday is our Munchin With Mom dinner for grades K-2. It'll be at the high school and the principal expects 600-700. I'm really working hard to pull it all off and make it a nice event for the moms, grandmas, etc. who attend. I have about 40 high school kids who volunteered to be waiters so I'm happy about that (thanks Vic!). I'll post how it goes but say a little prayer for us!

Ryan's breakfast is sold out! Didn't take long at all. Julie Barkey has collected a lot of wonderful donated items so I'm excited to see them all & bid. Luke will want the CAVS ball signed by the team but it should go pretty high. You can still come and bid, buy raffle basket tix and support the family even if you don't have a ticket. Thanks to all who have worked so hard on this! It's been a great community effort.

Just sent out a flyer on Northwest backpacks & picnic baskets we're selling for the PTO as a fundraiser. They are really a great deal and would help us raise funds as well. I'll be selling them all summer too.

Once again, thanks for checking out our site and supporting Jacob's Gift!!

Joanna

Moving Right Along.....

2008-04-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy in the Metsker household since my January post. Our elementary PTO carnival was March 1st. It went really well & we raised $3,700! It's our major fundraiser for the year. Jacob's Gift donated funds to pay for the bounce house and speed pitch game which were items we didn't have at the carnival before. That's one of my goals for the charity is to be able to provide kids with items or events that they normally wouldn't have due to a lack of funding. The owner of Great2Inflate was really kind and gave me a wonderful deal on both items. He even delivered them the night before while we were setting up. We had fun trying it out!

Jacob's Gift also had the opportunity to be a part of the "Rally for Ryan" we had at the elementary school for our friend, Ryan Trewin. We funded the magician who came and performed. I found his link on the internet. He lives in Cleveland and was on the Ellen Show & Good Morning America. When I called him, I figured he would be too expensive but when I told him of our charity and the event for Ryan he gave me a really low rate. He's also coming to perform for a low rate at our Knights and Princesses dance next Saturday which I will explain later. Ryan was at Rainbow Children's in Cleveland for 4 weeks with surgery to straighten his spine. I'm happy to report he came home yesterday to continue the work but at least he is home now. We're so proud to be able to support Ryan and his special family.

I guess I feel a little strange telling people what we've funded with Jacob's Gift but I want them to know not for kudos for us definately. I feel I need to let others know what we are up to and where their donations and support are going. It's already been over a year which I cannot believe but I am very protective of our reputation as a worthwhile charity.

Next Saturday is our Knights and Princesses dance Jacob's Gift is hosting along with the Northwest Elementary PTO. It's a dance mostly for preschool through 2nd graders just for fun. On the flyer I had asked moms to wear their old prom or bridesmaids gowns while the girls will be all fancy as well. My girls have gowns, gloves & tiaras! Who doesn't want to be a princess? It's at the Elm Ridge Party Center in Canal Fulton. Once again, Joyce is donating her hall and we appreciate it so much. We're having a DJ, facepainting, prizes and the magician. Buehler's of Jackson is donating cookies and McDonald's of Canal Fulton is donating the punch. Studio Rhodes Photography is donating a free photo with frame for everyone and the possibility to go order more on his website later. Some moms were nervous they had to dress up but it's just a suggestion. I thought it would be funny and something you wouldn't normally do with your kids. Casual dress is definately OK. I'll blog more after the dance with the results.

We are having our next Night at the Races on Saturday, September 27th at Elm Ridge again. This is our only fundraiser. Last year was so much fun and I'm looking forward to it again. I'm hoping to sell tickets to parents in our community so they can come and have fun together while supporting a charity that benefits Northwest kids. I am going to work all summer collecting gift cards, items for silent auction, etc. If you have any "connections" and can help collect items that can be donated, please let me know. I've hired the same caterer as last year, Santangelo's. He's very kind and gave us the same rate. The food was yummy too! I wanted to do some side boards this year too. I went to the baseball Night at the Races and it was really neat how they did it. I love going to other fundraisers to get ideas. Can you tell I love event planning?

We ended up sending over 300 pairs of gloves to Afghanistan the second time with the help of the elementary parents and St. John's Lutheran church in Canal Fulton. Thanks so much!

Anyway, thanks for reading this far if you made it. Thanks so much for supporting our charity. It's growing and it's great. Continue to pray for Ryan and for little Shelbi Martin, a 5 year old with brain cancer. They are the ones who need it most.

Peace,

Joanna

First 2008 Update

2008-01-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

I wanted to announce our first major purchase from Jacob's Gift has been delivered. I am just so excited, proud, thrilled to see the fruits of so many long hours. Last March, I had the idea of Jacob's Gift. It was going to be a once a year donation by Corey & I to the schools for the kids. I talked to my Luke's 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Holl and asked her to check with the other teachers and let me know what is something they would like to have but knew may be difficult to ask for due to budgetary concerns. They all met and showed me the Alphasmart Neo Laptops.

The price was much more than my once a year donation could cover and hence Jacob's Gift was born. I just really wanted to do something to give back to these wonderful kids in our community in my son's name. I wanted to look back at those horrible times in the hospital and being told that he would die and say, "It's okay, I see the reason now".

My saying lately has been "Accept it and move on". I've faced some really interesting challenges even recently and I am pretty proud of myself I must say.

Anyway, back to what we purchased. I emailed the vice president of the company last April to see if these could be donated or discounted for our charity. Nothing could be done and I set off planning the Night at the Races. After our event, I emailed the VP again and was referred to the Regional Manager. He read my letter and say what we accomplished. (I was basically begging for any kind of discount). He gave me his own personal discount that he would use for his child's school. It amounted to $1,000 off so I was pretty excited.

We ordered 30 Alpha Smart Neo Laptops with the mobile lab cart. The teachers were so excited and I was there when some of them opened it. The kids can work on their writing skills, spelling, etc. and information can be downloaded to the teacher's computer. I'm going in soon to see them in action so I'll give more info then.

I recently ended up as our PTO President after being VP for the first 1/2 of the year. It's taking up some time away from some of my Jacob's Gift projects but I'm trying to keep my goals in sight. I recently collected gloves/mittens from friends to be sent to a local soldier in Afghanistan. His dad is our superintendent and I wanted to know what he may need for himself that we could collect. He said the children there need gloves. I'm sending out a flyer in the backpacks to see if other parents may want to help too.

I'm also in contact with the Echoing Ridge Residential Center again. They have a program called the ABC Project where residents there come in and read to the kids. They are special needs adults and many in wheelchairs. Corey & I adopted 2 of them for Christmas and went there with the kids Christmas Day to deliver presents. I really want my children to be comfortable talking to people with special needs. I could tell they were a little standoffish and with more exposure will be more understanding. I'm going to have them come into Luke and Lily's classes in February and see if it can expand to more then.

We're sponsoring some BOOST grants this year also. It's a grant that any teacher in K-12 can apply for. The school used to do them a few years ago. The school is helping me facilitate them so I'm excited to see what we get to review. I have a board of 2 parents and 2 teachers for Jacob's Gift so this will be their first "official" duty.

I'm really wanting to do something that will benefit some scholarships at the high school also. I have some ideas and if not this year, I can work on them for next.

We had 3 Senior football players here New Year's Eve to play with the kids out in the barn. There were at least 15 kiddos with them. I went to pay them at the end of their shift and they told me to donate it to Jacob's Gift. It is just so incredibly touching and makes me feel good that my own children can turn out to be such great gentlemen someday. Thanks so much to Tony Barkey, Kyle Ridenour & Paul Hensley.

Please read Jenni Trewin's blog off our our main page and continue to Pray for Ryan. They have some challenging times near and will need much support and prayers from their community. Ryan's such a great kid. He tried to run me over at school the other day in the bike he rides there. (He's such a funny kid!) Just pray for them, please.

I started a basketball open gym at my church just for women. I haven't play since my ACL tear injury game in 1988. (Yes, that's 20 years!!!) I'm actually not too bad. It kind of comes back to you. My friend that I played with in high school comes & plays and it's too funny. I really like it though.

That's all for now. Look for another Night at the Races coming this Fall. (If you'd like to help collect items or donate a basket/silent auction item let me know) It'll save me some legwork.

Thanks for checking in on Jacob's Gift and for supporting us!!!

Joanna

Night at the Races Huge Success!

2007-11-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we finally held our first fundraiser, A Night at the Races. I've been working non-stop planning for this since July and I couldn't have scripted it any better. Everything went great and we will clear at least $10,000!!!!!! I was thinking we'd make maybe $6,000 so I'm overjoyed with our results.

I want to thank all of my volunteers who really came through for us the past few weeks. Joyce Dawson, owner of Elm Ridge was so awesome in not only donating the hall to me but putting in alot of her time helping me decorate and set up. She was awesome during the event too taking care of all the behind the scenes stuff so I could focus on other things going on. Michelle Glauthier helped me by stamping all of my signs to make them look so nice. She has the same attention to detail that I have so it was neat to have someone as concerned as I was as to how everything should look (same w/ Joyce too). It was really important to me not only to have alot of items for auction and raffle but to have an atmosphere where people felt alot of thought went into the planning. Lisa Laterza's expertise in running a Mardi Gras every year for Victim's Assistance was great especially when it came time to close the silent auction.

The following people volunteered their time for the evening running betting booths, selling tickets and working their hineys off. Michelle Gainer-Howell, Linda Holl, Troy Lindeman, Craig & Cheryl West, Nicole & Tiffany from Precious Parents, Jim & Wendy Ray, Suzanne & John Foughty, Chuck & CrisAnn Work, Mr. Dawson & his nephew (sorry, I forgot his name but they donated back 1/2 of their tips!) and my cousin, Charlie Ries who helped so much giving me advice the past few months and helping Corey with the payout window. He has run many of these for Special Olympics in Barberton over the years. I thank you all so very much for giving back and helping make the evening better than I could have imagined!

I've received such nice feedback from everyone and how much fun they had. That was important to me because I want them to come to our next event. We had $220 donated back from race winners. The guy who ran my races said he had never seen a payback jug with a light and buzzer in his 12 years so I thought that was neat that I impressed him.

The food from Santangelo's was really yummy and Chili's delivered tons of wings, sandwiches and quesadillas. They donated them which was so nice! We put them out at 8:00 & I think they were all gone at 8:15. It was too funny. I had some hungry people there.

There were about 20 silent auction items and 20 baskets for raffle. I was still collecting items Friday afternoon & calling Michelle Glauthier to make one more label at the last minute. It was so crazy getting ready for the evening but so worth it when it was over. I really enjoy event planning anyway so doing this for our charity was so rewarding.

I've already met some wonderfully great people through Jacob's Gift that I probably wouldn't have had we not started the fund. One is Julie Barkey who lives in Canal Fulton. Those of you who know her know what a special lady she is and her husband, Hal is so nice too. Her son, Michael was killed in Iraq in 2004. She has 3 other children and her youngest, Tony is a senior on our Northwest football team. Luke looks up to him so much, literally and figuratively. He's 6'5 and 300lbs! He's a really nice boy & came to a few of Luke's flag games. Luke makes sure to see him after every Varsity game. Julie helped get the word out about Jacob's Gift to the football parents and coaches. I really want to model her when my kiddos are in high school. I appreciate her support so much and am planning on doing an event in the future with her. (After our football team goes to state and things settle down).

We were able to purchase awareness bracelets for Ryan Trewin and they were passed out last week to the kids in grades K-2. I know it meant alot to Jenni and Jose and I was so happy to be able to do this for them. We gave them to the football team and coaches too and some of them showed me Friday after the game they were wearing them which was so awesome. The Trewins are truly one of the nicest families you will ever meet and I feel honored to be able to be a part of getting prayers for Ryan. Check out Jenni's blog off of our home page.

Thanks again to all who attended, sponsored and supported us! Keep watching our website for future events.

Joanna

How things are going......

2007-10-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in the past few weeks. We sponsored our first volunteer event called "Pedal for a Purpose" to benefit Echoing Ridge and buying a bus for them. It was so much fun. I personally thank all of our friends who came especially Lisa who brought Hallie and Shannon and Alan who brought Logan, Lauren & Chloe. Oh, also Remington our little kindergarten player on Corey's flag team. We helped them raise $7,000 towards their goal. I want to thank the 10 Northwest football players who came also. I'm telling you, these are the nicest, most polite high school kids you will ever meet. They have every reason to have inflated egos (we're #1 in the State!) but they are really down to earth. I laughed so hard at Danny Beers #20 chasing little 7 year old cheerleader Hallie with a cooler of water. (He didn't catch her but ran the ball 30 times last night so we know he's a good runner) Luke was hitting the guys with whipped cream pies square in the face from 5 feet away.

Last night we handed out our pom poms at the football game w/ our website on the handle. Thanks so much to Jose, Jenni, Andrew & Ryan, Mrs. Holl, Lisa, Hallie, Mandy, Rich & Michelle G. I also had a board up with all the photos of the players who volunteered at Pedal for a Purpose & our elementary dance the night before. I'll put some up on the site too. We were introduced at halftime and Andrew & Ryan Trewin went out with us also. It was awesome. We were wondering if people were really listening but then when they announced how much we raised for Echoing Ridge, people started clapping so it made me feel so great. Then they asked for prayers and support for Ryan who is battling cancer and is a first grader at the elem school. He really wanted to walk out there & I was so lucky to be able to stand with him. I could feel the love and support from the stands to him. It was so special & made me tear up a little. Mostly because I really had no idea how Jacob's Gift would be received in the community and to be standing there with Ryan after starting all of this in March it was truly better than I could have ever expected. Ryan has his picture taken with all of the cheerleaders and he had the biggest smile on his face. It makes me smile just thinking about it. (Luke & Andrew's little heads were in there too - it was too cute). It makes me so motivated to continue on and do good things with Jacob's Gift.

My first blog post!

2007-09-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Jacob's Gift has launced and we're on our way! How exciting! This began in March of '07 with an idea of reaching out to the wonderful kids in the Northwest School District in memory of Jacob. I had no idea how I was going to do it. As corny as it sounds, I was inspired by an episode of Oprah where a woman volunteered at a shelter for kids. The kids would sleep in their clothes and had no idea what pajamas were. They never had them. She collected tens of thousands of pajamas to donate. I just watched and cried. It was amazing how people gave and helped her with her passion.

Jacob's Gift is my inspiration and I hope to pass this along to all those who will receive it. I really just want to give back and make Jacob's short life mean something even if it's just to me. I look back now on what Corey & I went through when he died and I ask myself how we went did it. People say that all the time, I cannot imagine losing a child. I can't believe I'm one of those few that have. I truly believe Jacob came into my life at that time to teach me lessons that I have come to understand. I sincerely feel I am a different person than I would have been had he not died. I have such an appreciation for life and the people around me.

We hadn't "planned" on having 4 children. We were going to have Jacob, wait three years and have another. I would continue working and we'd be the 2.2 kid statistic and life would be lovely. I was so innocent. We should be that innocent. Babies shouldn't die. They do, and through Precious Parents, I have helped others go through the loss of a child as we were aided when he died.

I will continue to post positive happenings with Jacob's Gift and hope to inspire others as we have been inspired by Jacob. Thanks for reading and being a part of our journey!