$5,900.00

"Love that's been turned into grief does not lose its urgency,

it spends all of its days searching for ways to be seen, felt and expressed.

It has so much to give even though so much has been taken away." - Liz Newman

Why: I stroll because our late daughter Grace motivates me. I stroll to show support for so many patients and families fighting illness and injury. I stroll to show appreciation for each dedicated and compassionate employee of our hospital.

How to support: If you are reading this and considering donating - thank you. To simply make a donation to my efforts click "Donate". To run or walk in person or virtually with us and donate that way click "View My Team" then "Join The Team".  *New this Year*: When asked in the donation process where to direct your donation please select "GCH Family Connection Program". This will help support the work I've contributed to to empower the voices of our hospital families and grow peer support: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/publications/strong-kids/centering-the-family-voice

Details for Saturday, June 1st: The event is at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester. 

*Leave plenty of time to park in one the lots off or near Kendrick Drive. You can also put "520 Intercampus Drive, Rochester, NY" into your GPS. 

Walk to the park and find our team HQ (look for the pink) set up near the Roundhouse Shelter.

• Registration (if you haven't already registered) for the 5k begins at 7:15 a.m.
• The 5k race begins at 8:30 a.m.
• Registration (if you haven't already registered) for the Stroll will begin at 8 a.m.
• We'd like to assemble at our team HQ spot at 10 AM for a team picture. We treasure these team photos!
  
• The Stroll will begin at 10:30 a.m.
• Kids activities will begin at 9 a.m.

History and Social Media: This will be the 13th year we've done this Stroll as a family. Grace wasn't even born when we did our first stroll in 2011 but my belly bump was hard to miss as we joined other families and hospital staff who were mostly strangers at the time but who quickly became like family. We held out hope that year that, despite the long odds with her Congenial Diaphragmatic Hernia, we might be carrying Grace in our arms for the Stroll the following year. Thanks to incredible care we got our wish: with an oxygen tank in tow Grace was at the Stroll in 2012. See the picture on our team page.

It's been hard to not shed a tear each year since with her absence but we know she watches over us and we love hearing all the ways she has inspired so many of you. She inspired me to start a new career at Golisano Children's Hospital in 2019 as the Director of Family & Community Outreach where I'm working to bring the voices of families with diverse diagnoses, outcomes, backgrounds and experiences into the decision-making process. I'm honored to again be the Honorary Chair of this event.

We'd love it if you would join our pink army and share on social media your stroll training, your fundraising or the ways Grace, other patients and/or the great staff at Golisano Children's Hospital have inspired you by using #StrollForStrongKids.

On behalf of our family, the hospital staff and Grace, THANK YOU!

- Jennifer