By Guest Blogger, Boris Bunich
Like most people, I would never have heard of KinderMourn without having something happen that made this wonderful organization come into my life. In February of 2007, I sadly lost my wife, who was the co-founder of Charlotte Smarty Pants, to an unexpected illness. While I was lucky to have so many friends and family in the area that supported me, none of them had been through a tragic event like this in their lives. Almost immediately, I was contacted by KinderMourn with a lot of information about all of the resources that their organization had available to me and my 2 1/2-year-old (at that time) daughter.
It’s impossible to put into words all of the emotions that I went through when my wife passed away. On top of losing my best friend, lover and partner in life, my daughter lost her mother, the single person whose love, caring and dedication could never be replaced. Therefore, one of my biggest challenges moving forward will be to explain to my daughter, as she grows older, what happened to her mom. In addition, I will need to help her through her grieving process as it changes through the years. KinderMourn provides a perfect resource for all of those stages. They offer grieving parents and grieving children a wide collection of educational materials, support groups, advice, counselors and ideas for healthy grieving. In addition, I have also discovered that they have been a valuable resource to my in-laws as they cope with the loss of their daughter.
The Hope Floats Duck Race is KinderMourn’s largest fundraiser and provides an incredible opportunity for all of us to support an organization that hopefully we will never need, but is always there for those of us who do. The race will be held at the US National Whitewater Center on April 19th, from 2pm to 5pm and is a great place to take your family. I took my daughter last year and she had a blast participating in all of the activities there. And there is no way to describe the look on everyone’s faces when they see thousands upon thousands of ducks coming down the channel “racing” to the finish line.
Last year, Charlotte Smarty Pants was one of the largest fundraisers for this race as they put together a team in my late wife’s memory. This year, we hope to do even better. I hope that everyone reading this will buy a duck or two (or ten) for the CSP team. On top of supporting a wonderful cause, you may even win a Smart Car, or as we like to call it, a Smarty car!
The 5th Annual Hope Floats Duck Race is on Sunday, April 19, 2009 from 2p-5p at the U.S. National Whitewater Center (820 Hawfield Road, Charlotte, NC). To adopt ducks for the Charlotte Smarty Pants/Jen Bunich Team, click here. Adopting ducks is really easy. Once on the Kindermourn site, click on the ducks and that will take you through the adoption information. Make sure you check the Charlotte Smarty Pants/Jen Bunich Team at the bottom of the page. You can also keep track of how the CSP team is doing by going to the home page, click on the link at the left called “2009 Team Adoption Update” and you will see how many adoptions have been made so far. Pretty Smarty!
Cost: individual duck ($5), Quack Pack (6 ducks for $25) or Flock of Ducks (12 ducks for $50). The team that sells the most ducks will win a catered meal for 20, compliments of Anderson’s Catering. If the CSP/Jen Bunich team wins, we will use this for our Playdate in the Park on May 9th, details to come, so mark your calendar.
Let’s get Smarty for the Jen Bunich Team!
Don’t forget to register for our latest giveaway! Click here to register to win your $100 shoe-shopping spree at Tootsies Too. Deadline to enter is 11pm on Wednesday, 4/1. Don’t worry if you don’t win – Tootsies is offering a free pair of fun socks for every pair of shoes you buy in the month of April (starting next week). You have to mention CSP to get them.
4 comments
That picture of all the ducks is incredible. It brought tears to my eyes. Best of luck to the Jen Bunich team this year.
thanks for posting this. KinderMourn is an invaluable resource for families facing loss– loss of a parent or a child. Many of us find our way through grief thanks to this incredible organization. For all you Smarty Pants, please join us in getting your racing duck for this event, in memory of all those we’ve loved and lost, to help support KinderMourn.
I lost my father when I was but 4 years old. I have 3 older brothers. My late Mother struggled all her life to make our lives better. There is no way I can NOT help this great cause.
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