Credit Union SacTown Run Newsletter - May 2019
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.
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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.
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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
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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!
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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!
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Patelco CU |
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Delta Schools FCU |
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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