A SUPERhero Thank You!

• 44 Fundraising Teams
• 50+ Volunteers
• 75+ Raffle Items
• 800+ Registrations
• $103,000+ Raised

We say thank you dozens of times but it never feels like enough. Our 2024 GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge -Superhero Run, walk, and Kids Dash was nothing short of AMAZING! The forecast called for rain all morning long and we were prepared for a soggy event BUT the morning rain parted ways at the perfect time and left us with great weather, which was a miracle all on its own.

Many people deserve a shout-out for making this event such a success!

Team Captains – Without your time and effort in recruiting family and friends to join you, this peer-to-peer fundraiser and awareness effort would not be possible. Thank you for being part of the challenge and for believing! We always highlight the top 10 teams at the event but please know that every team is valuable to raising awareness for this event and the need for acceptance in our community! A list of all teams can be seen in this previous blog.

Volunteers – with more than 50 volunteers we’re afraid we’d miss someone if we attempted to list them out but please know that if you volunteered YOU are truly part of the overall success of this event. There are so many moving parts and having you there to assist makes the day the best it can be!

Raffle item donors and ticket purchasers – the raffle alone raised over $5000! There were so many great items available and that is thanks to many generous donors. We hope that the new process made the drawing go a little faster and a little less confusing.

Runner, Walkers, and Dashers – Thank you for registering to participate. We hope you had a great time. Wear those pink shirts with pride. We can’t wait to see you out in the community. 5K participants the list of times and standings can be seen here.

Shuttles – Thank you to Sherrard & Alleman Schools for providing shuttles again this year. Parking is always a concern especially when the ground is wet from the rain.

Photographers – Thank you to TSS Photography, Jolene Sage Photography, and Jennifer Johnson for capturing the smiling faces from the day. Photos can be seen here.

Food – Thank you to the following people and places for their generous in-kind donations of food and beverages:

• Hy-Vee
• Lynne Suess
• Diamond Ag
• Andrea Coyne

Planning Committee – Many thanks to the planning committee for putting in the time and effort to plan the event. This is not done in days or weeks but over an entire year!

• Natalie Bates
• Mark Taghon
• Brian Yaklich
• Amy Schatterman
• Chad Johnson
• Pam Lynch

Additional special mentions – thanks to the following for their time and efforts!

• Kate Holsen
• Scooters Coffee Staff, Kelly & Koepke Families – manning the water stops
• Kathy Hall & Ann Weeks
• Brian Lynch
• Amanda Cook (shirt design)
• Sue & Mike Swegle
• Lisa O’Connor (kids dash)
• Jason Kratz (lead bike)
• Dawn & Korryn Taghon and Mike, Stephanie, and Sidney Mudd (handing out items)
• Josh Sherrod from River Bend Productions (announcer)
• End Results Timing Company (5K Timing)
• Fleet Feet (archway, bags, and promotion)
• Primetime Apparel and Promotions (printing signs and shirts)
• Joe Moreno (run and water stop equipment)

We’d be amiss if we didn’t mention Bailey with Best East Bailey & Edison’s Gastro Pub for putting together the amazing after-party at Edision’s. There was yummy food, games, and raffles too! Thank you, Bailey!

Working with these people/businesses is truly a blessing.

While this event is a fundraiser to raise crucial funds for the playhouse, the free programs we offer, and to raise awareness for the need for acceptance; it is so much more than that! It is also a chance to FIGHT for what matters and we believe ACCEPTANCE matters!

YOU make a difference in our playhouse, the community, and the lives of our participants!

If your name was not mentioned please know that we truly do appreciate every one of you but we’d be here all day if we listed the many people that make this event happen. Thank YOU!

Sponsors

On behalf of everyone at GiGi’s, we thank you!

GiGi’s Board Members: Chad Johnson, Kim Nimrick, Kathy Kuhnen, Jenny Juehring,  

Nathan Kessler, Anna Carmichael, Abbey Pocklington, Meribeth Johnson, Tara Wilson, Emi Lynch, and Kate Holsen

Staff: Pam Lynch, Ann Cobb, and Allison Cahill

P.S. As of 6/5/24, our small playhouse was in 2nd place out of all locations holding GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge events. This a true example of how giving and supportive the Quad Cities community is. The overall Playhouse Leaderboard can be seen here.

See additional photos and videos here. Have photos to share? Upload them here!

➡️Help us with future events by providing your feedback on the short survey linked here.