Our First Gala

So we knew that we had to raise money before we could start our mission; Again Brother Jacob came to the rescue and we started trying to organize our first large fundraiser that we called a Gala.

We scheduled it for Sean’s birthday and were blessed that Willow Creek Baptist Church donated their church for us to hold the event.  I need to say that Kara Strabala was our blessing from God.  She took on the getting items for the silent auction and hit it out of the ballpark.  We had over 50 baskets for the gala!!

I did not handle this well, I was missing Sean more than anyone can imagine and we were holding the Gala where we held our meal on the day of Sean’s funeral.  I had 3 times when I ran to the bathroom and bawled my eyes out, but again Kara was there to hold my hand, get me tissues and help me stand up when all I wanted to do was crawl into a ball and cry.  And everyone else picked up my slack to create a successful event.  

In Fact, the Gala was a huge success, beyond our expectations and gave us the ability to send 4 people to IRBC Church camp; start working on the S.M.I.L.E. program and start toward getting our Foundation name and logo trademarked!

Thank you to all of the volunteers for being there and picking up my slack - I can never thank you enough!

Live Life Joyfully

Sean Lived His Life with JOY – Here is a link to a video of Sean at the Special Olympics a few months before he passed away.

Before You Judge Me

This is one of my favorite quotes; I have been asked numerous times if Sean was ever sad and I had to answer ABSOLUTELY – but he will never let you see that.  Being his mom I saw it more often than I wanted; whether it was because someone made a promise and they broke it; someone bullying/making fun of him or when the pain would get so bad that he just couldn’t hold up the happy demeanor any longer – all of which resulted in us cuddling up on the couch and letting him cry with me crying with him. 

Don’t think that he wasn’t honest with anyone because he always was, the minute he saw a friend or someone that treated him nicely so he became their friend instantly he was happy…genuinely happy – because that person was so incredibly important to him and seeing a friend made him the happiest.  But I hope everyone takes this quote to heart and before you have a negative thought or say something that is less than encouraging think of this quote and think again.  Sean was the strongest and most courageous person I ever knew and he was someone that I looked up to and he was my hero.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother’s Day was another “No Ordinary Day” in Sean’s world but honestly as I look back – everyday with Sean fit that description.  Grab a hold of his coat tails and hang on for a wild ride.  His hand made cards made my whole world because I knew that for him that was a lot of hard work and so I knew it was made with more love than my heart could understand.  

On the Mother’s Day after Sean was diagnosed my Grandmother gave me this poem from Erma Bombeck and I kept it hanging on the wall to remind me that I was blessed by God when he allowed me to be his mother.  I didn’t realize it at the time how profound the paragraph “I will permit her to see…”  

How Did We Start The Foundation

After making sure that everyone was willing to work on this – my notes say Next Steps?????  Luckily Brother Jacob advised we need to create this foundation and start raising money so we can move forward.  Everyone was to send me ideas of how to raise money and we would meet again on the ideas.  We were all planning to get together at Fuddruckers (Seaner’s favorite cheeseburger place) on Sean’s 1^st birthday in Heaven.  

Auntie Maria called me a few days after the meeting and suggested that we have a fundraiser at Fuddruckers.  Fuddruckers’s agreed that if we have enough attendance they would donate a percentage of the receipts and we prayed that it would be enough to pay for an attorney to get the foundation set up as a nonprofit.  Bill and I had donated to 107.1 to dedicate the day to Sean and they announced the fundraiser throughout the day. 

The day of his birthday brought 8 inches of snow and we were certain that it was going to be a bust.  From having Kris Smith and I struggle to get his Birthday Banner up – we must have tried everything and finally Mark Smith came to the rescue; to being certain no one would show and everyone trying to help me keep it together (I only had a few crying fits).  

But again with God’s grace people came and helped me get through the 1^st birthday with Sean in Heaven and was an incredibly successful!  We even had complete strangers that heard the announcement on the radio and came out to support us.  Fuddrucker's was so touched by the crowd that came even with the storm that they gave us an extra percentage of the receipts and we had enough to get started.  

So Bill and I contacted an attorney, Ron Pogge, and got the documents drawn up with Jacob, Kara, Josh, Bill and I as officers of the foundation.

A Person With Special Needs Requires

Miracle League for Ages 19+

Miracle League is starting a new league – it is for people with disabilities AGES 19 AND OVER!!!!  WHOO HOOOO!!!!!  They tried last year but it didn’t come together because they didn’t have enough coaches – so I hope that it comes together this year - Do you have a few hours each week?  Can you help by being a coach or a buddy?  Sean LOVED playing in a league but wasn’t interested in playing for special Olympics unfortunately once he reached 19 years of age there wasn’t a place for him to play.  Another example of resources no longer available after graduating High School.

Adult League

UPDATE!

We’re gearing up for adult players this spring.  Want to be a Detroit Tiger? Or how about a Pittsburgh Pirate?

Men and women, 19 and older with special needs, are eligible. Games will be played on the same days as our regular league–Saturdays.  And all games will begin at 4 PM, with the exception of opening day when the game will begin at 4:30.  We will have no extra “practices”, but game day attendance is needed.  And please plan to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled game time to check in at the front gate.

 So, just like our regular KML games, our adult league will be coed and non-competitive, playing two innings where each player gets the chance to bat and score.  And, of course, every game will end in a tie!

We’ll be a bit different from the regular KML games, though, as our adult games will be BYOB!  That means Bring Your Own Buddy.  So, if you need assistance, please bring your care giver.

Also like our regular Kiwanis Miracle League, there are no fees.  All you need to do is register, show up with your buddy on game day, and have a great time!  Let’s play ball!

Click here (or copy the link and paste it into your browser) to begin the registration process:

https://kiwanismiracleleague.sportngin.com/register/form/353450217 

See you at the KML ball park soon!

Happy Easter

Why We Decided on the Foundation Name

The minute we decided that we would start a foundation I knew that somewhere in the name we would use the phrase "God’s Got This®."  

Why this name?  The one thing that Sean always did that astounded me was whenever he faced a struggle or challenge (and they were numerous) and he saw that I was scared or worried he would grab a hold of my hand and look at me and say “Don’t worry Momma – God’s Got This”. 

I knew this endeavor would be a challenge and we would need to overcome a lot for it to be a success.   So to me that phrase said it all - not just how Sean lived his life and how he managed to stay positive and loving even to the very end but how we as a foundation would get through the tough spots and yes the ONLY way I would be able to get through life without my reason for living.  

Sean's belief in God gave him the strength to confront and overcome the challenges in his life and that is how this foundation will get through them too.

When I spoke up I remember everyone looking at me a bit odd and didn't know why and I found out later no one wanted to disagree with me for fear that I would start crying J .  We did talk about it and it was decided that we would add Sean Nielsen Foundation so everyone knew that yes we are a foundation that believes in God but that Seaner didn’t care if you knew Jesus or not he would include you, help you and make you smile.

April is National Autism Month

Don't Forget to Give Someone a Seaner Style Hug to Celebrate National Autism Month