Fundraiser For Tristan

My big sis, Amy, has a good friend from growing up who has a son named Tristan. Tristan has Ewings Sarcoma {bone cancer in his foot}. Amy has a big heart, and decided to do a fundraiser for Tristan.

The fundraiser would consist of a yard sale, raffle, silent auction, bake sale, and snow cones. So... about the beginning of June, it was decided the fundraiser would take place on June 30th. We got to work!

We had to spread the word about the fundraiser via facebook first. LOTS of people donated LOADS AND LOADS of stuff for the yard sale. Then, we asked businesses if they would donate a gift basket of their products or services. We had a lot of local businesses willing to do that. The bake sale consisted of my mom, Amy, my sister Heidi, and myself making treats to sell at the event. We also had a few others {a local bakery included} that wanted to donate some cupcakes. Yum!

There was an incredible amount of people who were so willing to help this young boy and his family. Some people heard about it from someone else, and wanted to donate something. By the time the event came, we had about 15 gift baskets for the raffle, TONS of yard sale stuff {some of it brand new!}, brand new items for the silent auction like; a china hutch and dining table with chairs, a super cute wooden rocking horse, two end tables, a painting, a kitchen table, and that's all I can think of right now. All of that was donated! When we had to print flyers, and laminate posters, the businesses who we went to donated the flyers and laminating, just by reading about the event on the flyers. I could go on and on about the good people who were so willing to donate! There are so many awesome people around us.

In the end, everything we used for the event, and everything we had for the event was donated! Amazing right? So amazing.

When the day finally arrived, we had a lot of stuff to set up, and get organized. My family woke up to be at the park by 6 am to help put the whole thing together. All of the men hauled and unloaded stuff, and once they were done, we were expecting them to go home. Well, they were great and stayed the whole day to help. Spencer went home so he could watch Gavin, but Spencer helped so much too.

We started at 8am, and right away it was busy, busy. It stayed busy all day, with a continuous amount of people coming and going. It was so thrilling to see all of those people there, especially after all of the work and stress we put into it.

We raised WAY more than we thought. I'm not going to give the total, just because I'm not sure if it should be shared, but just know, it was thousands of dollars!

More about Tristan:
He is only 10 years old. The cancer was mainly in his foot. After going over their options with several different doctors, it was decided that the best thing for Tristan would to have his leg/foot amputated. He and his family were at great peace about it, and knew they had made the right decision. Tristan had his foot amputated the day after Independence day. He will have to go in for check-ups every 3 months for the rest of his life.

His mom took this picture after he was out of surgery. Tristan was still a little out of it, but mustered enough energy to shape his hands like a heart for his family. What. A. Sweetheart! Oh, and can you tell he's a Ute fan?!

At the fundraiser, I was able to introduce myself to Tristan. He is just like any other 10 yr old, and I couldn't help but imagine if it were my son/nephew in Tristan's shoes. It would not be easy. Tristan seemed totally happy and content that day, like cancer, and getting an amputation was no worry to him. He also had snow cone after snow cone after snow cone. Haha. 

The day after surgery, Tristan was already up and walking the halls of the hospital. Strong little man, that's for sure.

This whole thing was such an awesome experience. I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it. And huge props goes to Amy for all that she did!