Lily Anderson Cancer Fund

The Anderson Family

Lily's Run - A Great Success!!!

To all members,
 
First of all, Heike, Lissa and I, want to personally thank all of our members for the awesome job you all did at Lily's run this past Sunday.  The gym has now raised over $32,000 in the past month just on the active.com donation site alone.  Not to mention another $54,000 raised at the run.  We started this whole venture with Kevin Reed, Heike, Lissa and myself with the idea of raising money by having a charity run.  Kevin and I felt that we could raise a good $10,000 with about 200 runners.  The organization of the race itself was very stressful in the beginning, with taking donations, working and trying to communicate with all who were involved with the organization of this event.  One of our long time members, Mike Lisk, actually volunteered to take over the run so that Kevin I could focus on covering other areas.  Mike went above and beyond the call of duty with Lily's Run which started with about 200 runners and ended up with over 1,000 runners less than 4 weeks later.  Kevin Reed took charge and jumped all over the donations and logistics of what would be needed to make the run take place.  These two deserve a huge amount of credit along with Heike and Lissa.  Wendy Sklenka and her husband, Doug, were out there getting all the restaurants involved with gift certificates and proceeds from their sales going straight to Lily's fund.  They have also been responsible for the care of Jen's younger daughter, Audrey, while Lily and Jen were in the hospital and receiving  treatment as well as over the next 10 days while the Anderson's are in Tennessee at St. Jude hospital.  Everybody in the gym helped in their own way and we can't thank you all enough.  Jen is not just a gym member, she is a member of our family and would take care of each of you in the same way if needed.  What we all accomplished by pulling together should make all of you very happy.  The story about Lily's run was even covered on Fox 5, CBS news as well as CNN and on the radio.  So when people tell you how great it was what the gym did for Lily, you can be proud to say that you were a part of that.  Whether you were there at the run, donated online, or just spread the word about how much she needed any and all help, you were a part of it.
 
Thank you for all you have done.
 
 
Sincerely,
Marshell Davis

Lily Anderson is the daughter of one of our members here at KBX and is also a very good friend of Marshell, Heike and Lissa.  As many of you know, our members are like family to us.  One member imparticular,  Jen Anderson has been with the gym for going on 4 years and we have known her daughter Lily, for about the same.  Some of you may know Jen, as always having a smile on her face when she is here at the gym.  On Saturday, September 5th, Lily went to the doctor after complaining of stomach pain and was later admitted into Atlanta HealthCare Hospital when results of her blood work came back abnormal.  A CAT scan revealed abnormal growths in multiple organs as well as the bones in her arms.  The biopsies and test results revealed an extreme form of cancer known as "Neuroblastoma".  This rare cancer develops in the embryo or fetus and is usually diagnosed during infancy and rarely in children over 10 years.  Because Lily is 8, the cancer has developed substantially and she is  now facing aggressive chemotherapy over the next year and a half.  The Anderson family needs your help.  Jen and her husband, Joey, work independently and they have limited insurance coverage.  Hospital bills for this type of care are outrageous, as you can imagine.  Please show your support to Lily and her family by making whatever donation you can.  Every little bit counts.  Joey, Jen, Lily and her sister, Audrey (2 and a half years) all appreciate your love, support and prayers.  Please pass this along to all of your friends and loved ones.