Take Steps for Crohn's & Colitis

May 17, 2008

Dean Brooks, my Brother-in-Law, suffers from Crohn's Disease. I know little about it, so here's the web page:
http://www.cctakesteps.org/Home.htm
Take Steps is a fundraising and awareness event put on by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. The local event was held at Colt State Park in Bristol, not far from where he and my sister live. It involved a three mile walk around the park. I brought Peter, my 12 year old Boy Scout, and Colin, my 6 year old. We met up with my parents, my other sister, and my niece and nephew. We all pitched in some donation money at the start.

The walk itself is rather uneventful. Three miles, mostly over paved walkways. My feet hurt, I think because of the pavement. Peter disappeared to the front of the pack while I hung back with Colin, who wasn't entirely enjoying the experiencing.

What he DID enjoy was the inflated bouncy-thingie (what are those things properly called?) He also got a temporary tattoo, which was free of charge. (I got a Chinese pictogram for the word 'Clarity', but told my parents I got a tramp-stamp saying 'Juicy'.) Everything was free of charge except the raffle. We were offered sandwiches, bottled water, coffee, fruit, cookies, and other snacks after the walk, and we all got t-shirts and bandannas. I bought five raffle tickets with my remaining five bucks. I didn't win anything. We were talking about which raffle item we wanted but didn't get. PawSox and Trinity tickets were what I put in for. Dean said he was hoping for a cure, so I guess we all went home empty-handed. Except for the snacks and water and use of the bouncy-thingie and the t-shirts and the ... with all of the free give-aways, it appears like they gave away all the money they raised. In reality the stuff was all donated by companies like (reading back of T-shirt) Starbucks, Rite Aid pharmacy, and Citizens Bank.

This was a well run event and the weather was great. I feel like I got a lot of the little I donated. I will ink this on my calendar for next year, and next time bring a little more money to donate.