A huge Thank You to credit unions and business partners throughout California and Nevada. More than $210,000 was raised for the 11 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in both states! Below are a few more stories and highlights of this year’s event. Looking forward to the 2020 SacTown Run!

Save the date for next year’s Run: April 5, 2020

WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES 

Thanks to donors, such as you, the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) provides grants to people like UC Davis Children’s Hospital neonatologist Kristin Hoffman. With the help from a 2014 CMN grant, Dr. Hoffman was able to expand the webcam program in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital that she developed. The program enables parents to see their infants remotely when they are unable to be in the unit.

The webcam program allows parents to see their infants remotely.

 

Dr. Hoffman was able to increase the number of webcam units and their reach, as well as upgrade the software through another grant in 2018.

She was selected earlier this year by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to receive the CMN Achievement Award, a national honor that goes to one caregiver, team, or unit that has significantly elevated the care of children and has specifically been impacted by Children's Miracle Network Hospitals’ funds.

Dr. Kristin Hoffman shows how the NICU webcam program works.

 

“I’m so thankful that the Children’s Miracle Network gave us the money to do the project in the first place. I’m so thankful for all the work that the rest of my team has done,” Hoffman said.

“It really is a well-deserved honor. She really has put a lot of effort into developing this system. I think the real winners, though, are the families, when I recognize that parents who aren’t able to be at the bedside as much as they would like to be can view their baby from home. It really has improved the connections and bonding between families,” said Mark Underwood, division chief of neonatology at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.

For more information on Dr. Hoffman’s webcam program, click here. 

HIGHLIGHTING A SPECIAL RUNNER

Leora Roscoe-Moses right before the 5K race at this year's SacTown Run

 

Leora Roscoe-Moses’s grandson has spent his entire life in and out of children’s hospitals due to a very rare condition called “A-T” or Ataxia-telangiectasia.  When he was first diagnosed, they gave him six months to live. In March he celebrated his 16th birthday—an amazing feat considering most kids with his condition die before they’re seven or eight years old.   

“He’s such a fighter!”, said Roscoe-Moses, who is a member of OE Federal Credit Union.

As soon as he took his first breath, the disease caused the cerebellum section of his brain to begin to die, according to Roscoe-Moses. At 16 months, while he was still a normal kid in many ways, he wasn’t walking yet. And then in kindergarten, he would continually fall off the chair and eventually couldn’t remain seated. At first, doctors thought he had cerebral palsy, but he didn’t completely first he category of that disease. Eventually, doctors discovered Roscoe-Moses’ grandson was born with missing chromosome 11 and diagnosed him with A-T. He was six years old by then.

His condition is so rare, only 400 kids worldwide have it. It’s not even recognized by Social Security as a designated disability. Roscoe-Moses’ grandson is now confined to a wheelchair due to the muscular issues of his disease. He also has bilateral nystagmus (an involuntary to-and-fro oscillation of the eyes). Though he is not blind, his field of vision differs from those of others. Intellectually he’s a normal teenager though he is unable to write and must do his homework/classwork verbally. Because his body is in a constant state of movement, he also has to consume a minimum of 5,000 calories a day!, according to Roscoe-Moses. 

One thing that’s happened from his condition is doctors have been able to use his blood samples to help discover cures for some cancers. 

Roscoe-Moses, who’s run in other races, said she heard about the SacTown Run from the branch manager at the Sacramento branch of OE FCU. The Run’s cause hit “really close to home” for her and she decided to participate in the 2019 event. 

“I participate because I try to do my part,” she said. “That’s what I need to for him.” 

In June, she’s planning on participating in another race in Sacramento, and this time her grandson and daughter—and other family members—will be joining her.

 

CONGRATS TO THE WINNING CREDIT UNION TEAM!

Bay FCU BeFit

 

The 2018 winning credit union team in the event’s 5K race retained its championship “crown” this year:  Bay FCU Be Fit.Communications and Development Manager Jason Stidham, Technology Services Manager Joey Coffman, and Human Resources Generalist Shaylene Schmidt joined forces for an average team time of 27:10.4 to take the 2019 Credit Union 5K Team title. The SchoolsFirst Team 2 of Kevin Russell, Christina Wilkerson, and Gholam Wahab came in second with an average team time of 28:09.0. While SchoolsFirst Team 3 (Stephanie Como, Wei-Der Huang, and Jeremiah Butalid) came in third place with a time of 35:44.4. 

“This is one of our favorite events,” Stidham said. “The credit union philosophy of ‘People Helping People’ is perfectly captured by everyone here. It’s a real inspiration. 

“We are humbled and so excited to be repeat Credit Union Team Challenge winners,” he added. “This is such an amazing event and we are honored to be a part to support local Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.”

Coming in fourth through sixth place, respectively, were the teams of Andy's Angels (Natalie Del Sarto, Jason Mertz-Prickett, and Linda White); SchoolsFirst Team 1 (Joshua Smith, Tony Silva, and Diana Valdez); and Great Basin FCU (Missy Gillispie, Jennifer Denoo, and Gerardina Rodriguez) 

IF I WERE A GIANT 

I could leap over

The hospital.

I would have a golden bathtub

As big as the ocean.

I would drink a Coca Cola bottle

As big as me.

If I were a GIANT,

I would wear a fancy dress

As big as a bakery.

Isabella, age 6 

FROM: Swinging Into the Branches, a collection of children’s poems written at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. 

TEAM KINECTA: CHAMPS IN ONLINE FUNDRAISING! 

Team Kinecta never lost hold of its frontrunner status, raising nearly $5,000! MarquisBoochee from Xceed Financial CU was the top individual fundraiser, having received more than $1,000 in donations—besting his goal! 

REMEMBER: If you have any additional fundraising efforts, going on, you still have until the end of May to donate. Click here  to donate. 

T-SHIRT DESIGN BRAGGING RIGHTS GO TO… 

This year, the favorite T-shirt design goes to Patelco CU. Cheers also to second-place winners (tie)--Delta Schools FCU and Great Basin FCU! 

Patelco CU

Delta Schools FCU

 

Great Basin FCU

THANKS AGAIN TO ALL THE SPONSORS OF THE 2019 SACTOWN RUN!

Antioch Community FCU

CalCom FCU

CoastHills CU

CU of Southern California      

Delta Schools FCU

Desert Valleys FCU   

Diablo Valley FCU     

Eagle Community CU

Financial Horizons CU           

First Tech FCU

Frontwave CU

Golden 1 CU

Great Basin FCU

Greater Nevada CU

Heritage Community CU       

Inland Valley FCU      

Kaiperm Diablo FCU  

KeyPoint CU  

Kinecta FCU  

LBS Financial CU      

Nikkei CU       

OE FCU         

Pacific Service CU

Patelco CU     

PostCity Finanical CU

Provident CU 

Redwood CU

Sacramento CU         

SAFE CU

San Diego County CU                       

San Mateo CU           

Schools Financial CU

SchoolsFirst FCU      

Sequoia FCU 

Sierra Central CU      

Siskiyou Central CU  

South Bay CU

Technicolor FCU        

Travis CU       

Uncle CU       

United Catholics FCU

Upward CU    

USC CU         

USE CU         

VA Desert Pacific FCU          

Valley First CU           

Wescom CU   

Western Healthcare FCU      

Xceed Financial CU   

CO-OP Financial Services    

CU Direct Corp          

VISA   

CUNA Mutual Group  

Fiserv

Autoland         

California Members Title        

Catalyst Corp FCU    

Inspired Staffing         

Oak Tree Business Systems, Inc      

QwickRate     

TruEdge Builds