Latest Information
The handbag sale held in early May was a great success. The Cheer Guild made $4,300 and had very excited customers shopping the sale.
Sunday, May 22nd was our 1st time participating the the 5K Walking for Dreams held on the Canal in dowtown Indianapolis. There were 44 non-profit organizations participating in the event to raise money for their organization. The Cheer Guild had 30 walkers and brought in $1,433 in donations! These donations will help us further fulfill our mission of enhancing the experience of a hospital stay for patients and families. We do this through our largest project called the Toy Room, where we distribute over 14,000 gifts each month. We also support The Cheer Guild Music Therapy Progam @ Riley Hospital and the Art Therapy Cart @ IU Simon Cancer Center.
There were pools of rain before registration began, but it held out throughout the actual walk until most people were headed for their cars. The kids who cam were entertained by Radio Disney, a face painter and a balloon artist. It was also very friendly to pets and there were dogs in every direction you turned. Please check out our photo gallery for a picture of some of the participants in our inaugural year of Walking for Dreams!
Cayman's 3 on 3 is coming up. In addition, they have added a family fun 5K walk that same afternoon. Below is some information:
The 6th Annual Cayman and Tyler's 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament to benefit The Cheer Guild will be Friday, June 3, 2011. It will begin at Noon and will be held @ 96 E Harriman Avenue, Bagersville, IN. There will be more than 100 kids participating in this 3 on 3 basketball tournament.
Cayman began his fundraising efforts 6 years ago when his friend Tyler Genneken was diagnosed with Leukemia. Cayman visisted Tyler at Riley, where he realized there did not seem to be enough toys and entertainment for the patients. At that moment Cayman made it his mission to help raise money so that more toys coud be purchased, therefore the money raised from this event goes to fund the Cheer Guild Toy Room at Riley Hospital.
In 2009 Tyler Genneken lost his battle to Leukemia which only made Cayman work harder to raise money for The Cheer Guild. In 2010 Cayman doubled his fundraising goal from the prior year and successfully raised a little more than $20,000! His goals for 2011 are to raise $28,000. to increase the number of kids participating and to get celebrity participation at the event. In addition, we are trying to find youth groups, summer clubs or any other group of kids who would like to start their own 3 on 3 basketball tournament, put on a free throw contest or any other fundraising event to help raise money for The Cheer Guild Toy Room. Cayman has made it another goal to try to "franchise" his fundraising event so that money will continue to come in to The Cheer Guild as we move into the future!
In addition, this will be the first year that they will have a 5K family walk which will take place toward the end of the 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament. Registration will begin at 3:00pm and the walk will start at 4pm. This is an unscored, untimed event that is purely for having fun and raising additional funds for The Cheer Guild Toy Room. The registration will be at 96 E Harrisman Avenue, Bargersville, IN.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can sponsor or participate in the 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament or the 5K Family Walk, please contact Heather Dawes at 317.948.3584 or hdawes@iuhealth.org
