2020 Year in Review

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Wow what a year 2020 was! Social Distancing is Temporary, Love is Permanent When I reflect back on 2020, it is terrifying to relive those early days of so much unknown with COVID. Now imagine having a child fighting cancer, that has weakened immune system and a worldwide pandemic strikes! I have been able to relate in so many ways to the families we help and with what they are going through. In many cases, we have walked the same halls at the hospital, worked with the same oncologists, experienced the same scan anxiety and carried the same fear of the unknown with us every day. But one thing I cannot imagine is experiencing a pandemic that preys on those with a weakened immune system. The intense worry for your child with cancer but also the worry about the entire family and them bringing the virus home. It’s a whole new level of fear I cannot fathom! We knew at GG our support was desperately needed during this crazy time. We cannot express the gratitude we feel towards our loyal supporters. The cancellation of our biggest annual events like the Soccer Shoot Out and our Gold Tie Gala could have crushed our opportunity to carry out our mission but the opposite happened. We were able to continue to help every family with $1000 of financial support for bills, we continued our Brighten your Day gifts, hosted our spa day for our bereaved moms and captured beautiful family photos during our EVERett Lasting Memory photo shoot. Social Distancing is temporary but LOVE is permanent. Griffin's Guardians was built on Love and has carried on because of that LOVE! Thank you for sharing your love with us when we needed you the most! We continue to all be in this together! Build-A-Bear February 2020 In February 2020 we hosted our 2nd Annual Build a Bear event through our Grace's Sibling Sunshine program. Each child was given a gift card to purchase their very own bear & accessories. It was a day for the siblings to all be together to make memories together. "The greatest gift our parents ever gave us was each other" Inaugural Charity Golf Event 2020 Our Inaugural Charity Golf event took place in August at Lakeshore 1860 in Cicero, NY. This was a sold out event with 144 golfers in attendance, raising close to $40,000. The golfers enjoyed the sunshine, the beautifully maintained golf course, samples from Three Chord Bourbon and competing in the putting contest using a hockey stick! Save the Date for the 2nd annual event for August 2, 2021 at Lakeshore 1860! Can CRUSH Cancer! We "Can CRUSH Cancer" bottle and can drive was inspired by Kevin Toms. He recognized the financial loss that GG was going to experience with the cancellation of our events due to the Pandemic and wanted to help. The "bottle and can drive" was held in September and was a HUGE success raising $4500! Virtual Boilermaker We were so honored to be chosen as a charity bib holder for the Virtual Boilermaker Road Race. We created a "race" at Onondaga park for our 10 runners to run the race together in September. The 10 runners committed to raising atleast $500 each in donations which went directly to GG's mission. They far exceeded their team goal raising over $8000! Bereaved Moms Spa Day October 2020 we were able to host our 2nd annual Bereaved Moms Spa day at Mirbeau Inn and Spa in Skaneateles, NY. We hosted 10 moms who were able to not only connect with other moms who "understand" but it also was a day filled of self care. We were able to bring a little light into their dark days. Everett Lasting Memories In October, Katrina Lynne StoryOgraphy was able to safely photograph 5 amazing GG families through our EVERett Lasting Memories program. This program was created by Everett Engle, Griffin's younger brother. Everett was just 2.5 yrs old when Griffin passed away so for Everett "a picture is worth a thousand words". Through this program we are able to capture not only the beauty but also the strength of the entire family! "Every picture tells a story" Meet the Ladue family! “Lights on the Lake” County Executive, Ryan McMahon and Galaxy Media “Lights on the Lake” presented Griffin's Guardians with a check for $3030! The money raised was from the Griffin’s Guardians charity night at "Lights on the Lake's" very last night of operation! UPCOMING EVENTS: Soccer Shoot Out- June 2021 TBD Charity Golf Event at Lakeshore 1860 August 2 2021 Gold Tie Gala at Marriot Downtown Syracuse, September 18, 2021