Monday, November 17, 2008

{$5.2 Million}

That's how much money was raised at the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer 3-Day in Phoenix this weekend.
There were 2,000 walkers, 310 of which were men. The
rest were women.



Our friends, Barb and Jason Hendricks, walked all 60
miles! Twenty miles a day. Three days in a row.
They raised $10,000 -- just the two of them!

They passed through Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Ahwatukee.
ASU, and Scottsdale on their journey. Their last city, Scottsdale,
was home to the 3 Day Closing Ceremony. David and I went
down there to gather their bags and cheer them on during
grand finale.


The walkers filed into Scottsdale Stadium with
energy, enthusiasm, smiles, a sense of accomplishment,
and joy! It was pretty powerful to witness. I was
instantly overwhelmed with emotion.


Here is Barb and Jason as they entered with the other
walkers and volunteers. We were so excited to see them!


They all made their way around the stadium to the
area in front of the stage reserved just for walkers.


Signs of support were everywhere.
Barb said there was amazing community support with
people cheering them on in every town they passed through.
Some supporters had homemade signs. Others had items
like Advil and Gatorade to share. A troop of Brownies was
apparently even out chanting, "Brownies for boobies!"


This cowboy waiting to meet up with his walker.

And how cute is this guy?


He was a walker. He had a pink cape draped around
his waist and did a little dance for us as he
entered the closing ceremonies. It was awesome!


Do you see Barb and Jason with the crowd?
That's them at the bottom on the photo dressed in
pink with arms raised.










This is tough to make out. (You might be able to see it better
if you click on the image to enlarge.) You're seeing two groups
involved in the 3 Day. On left are walkers, dressed mostly in
white. They are each holding up a shoe in tribute to the group
on the right, dressed in pink. This group is made up of Arizona
cancer survivors who also walked. Talk about a moment!


It's finally over!! Barb and Jason exit the stadium.


Celebration kiss.


Everyone was decked out in pink.


Jason and Barb -- still smiling after 60 miles!











There were a lot of people out there entertaining,
supporting, and making the walkers smile...

Barb and Jason said these ladies were there all three
of the days with different costumes on. One time they
dressed up as doctors holding waffle irons and a sign
that said free mini mammograms! Ha!!


This is just one of many creative t-shirts we saw.
The guys wearing it told us they designed and sold it
to raise money for his sister-in-law who was walking.





Congratulations to Barb and Jason and the other 1,998
walkers who not only completed the 3 Day but also raised
money for breast cancer research so that everyone else
in our human family has a chance to live this life!!

Have any of you ever done the 3 Day? Do you plan to
do it next year in Phoenix?

9 comments:

Lis said...

oh man! I didnt know about that! I wish i had! Id totally have BEEN THERE! Thats so awesome! What a great post!!!

Kristi @ Mi Vida Ocupada said...

AWESOME!!!!! Barb and Jason are heroes!!! Congrats on their hard work and money raising capabilities...$10,000 is amazing!!!

SplendidlyImperfect said...

You think that you as one (or in this case, two) person can't make a very big difference, but when I read what Barb and Jason raised, I totally got goosebumps.

Then I started to leak. Ironic? :)

TruJen Phtography said...

What a great day!
I love the t-shirts too!
Tatas and 2nd Base!
Great story Sam!
:o)

Unknown said...

This is so awesome!

Kim Kwan said...

AMAZING!
We crossed paths with the masses of walkers at roughly Scottsdale & Indian School on Sunday while returning from the airport - what a SIGHT! A total goosebump moment! Your photos are awesome...what a great story!

Sue Thomas said...

What an inspiring post, Sam!!!! I want to start training and do our local three day next year!! I'd better start thinking of a clever group name too!!!

carlene federer said...

SO amazing of them...I was exhuasted after the Komen 5K, can't EVEN imagine doing 60 miles...great pix and story Sam, I totally welled up several times!

Lindsay Teague Moreno | 5ive Photo said...

go-go 2nd base!