What this whole thing was about...

When I started this project, I worried a little bit about asking the participants (and me) to trust in people they didn't know and to have their money go to a cause that they probably wouldn't get to choose.

I wasn't sure how people would respond, but I was amazed at how quickly and generously people got behind what we were doing. The faith in God and the faith in other people that was shown was very encouraging and something that I was thankful to be able to see up close.

The Williams Clan

After the drawing last night, I spent some time talking to Ed and Sarah Williams. They live in Houston, attend Grace Presbyterian Church and are the parents of four beautiful children.

When I learned what they wanted to do with the prize and why it was important to them, I knew that everyone who had contributed had made a good decision.

Ed and Sarah wanted to support the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation.

This foundation, based in Houston, supports brain cancer research at M. D. Anderson Hospital. The support given to this foundation goes to fund individual clinical trials and other related research.

Please take a look at the great work this foundation is doing at http://www.runfortherose.com .

Ed and Sarah also let me know that the Run for the Rose (benefiting the foundation) was coming up this weekend, and that they were participating to support a particular person, Kimberly Richter. They asked me to make their donation to her team.

I asked Ed and Sarah to put into words why they supported the foundation and specifically Kimberly.

Kimberly Richter

Here it is in Sarah's own words -

"I first heard Kimberly Richter speak to our Women In the Word group last year. She spoke about her battle with brain cancer and having participated in the Marnie Rose Foundation's Run For the Rose. I was touched by her strength and her committed faith in Jesus Christ. She is a living testimony to the power of God's healing hand and his abundant blessings. Kimberly spoke of a disease that had taken my grandfather just a couple of years earlier and for this reason I felt a deep connection to her story. Kimberly probably doesn't know who I am, but I've had her and her family on my heart ever since I heard her speak. When I saw a notice about sign-ups for this year's Run For the Rose, I was nudged to participate. Our family will be walking in honor of Kimberly and in memory of my grandfather, Herschel Kilpatrick."

This morning, I made a donation for $1,746.42 in support of Kimberly.

And now, for the thing that I didn't tell anybody...

Throughout the project, I had a little surprise up my sleeve.

It turns out that my company will match this contribution 3:1. That means that The Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation will receive an additional $5,329.26 in honor of Kimberly Richter.

This makes a total contribution of...

$7,075.68!

Before making these donations, I was able to speak with Terry Richter (Kimberly's husband) to let him know what Ed and Sarah had asked me to do.

Here is Terry's reply to the news -

"Ed, Sarah and Paul,

Kimberly and I are simply in awe… This is the single largest contribution we have had in 3 years (since we began). I want you guys to know that what you are involved in is REAL.

Kimberly was diagnosed 3 ½ years ago. She had some real success with treatments and went for almost 2 years treatment free. When she was re-diagnosed last November, MDA began treating her with protocols that were not available 3 years ago…. All because of research funding…. AND… brain cancer is not like “breast”/other cancers where it is high profile. RFTR (Run for the Rose) began a short time ago and has made a significant difference in the lives of the growing population affected by this terrible disease.

All that to say.. Thank you… and “God is Good”… I’ll let you know when I write about this on Kimberly’s Caringbridge site. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/kimberlyrichter

See you guys soon."