There is still time to make a donation and/or buy tickets to the 2012 OFTK Cocktail Party benefiting the Cuiching Family.

One for the Kids is helping urge the City of Lemont to help the Cuiching Family.

City Worker helping with the Cuiching Family's Home drainage problem

Bob Lanigan has been a member of One For the Kids for the last 19 years, but this year is anything but ordinary. It is the 20th anniversary of the charitable organization and the board is determined to make this year’s event even larger. With Bob’s charismatic personality, overwhelming commitment to help others, and his larger than life stature, bigger has never been an issue.

When asked what he liked the most about One For The Kids and all the events that are hosted, he explained his love for the honor of meeting the people that receive the funds that have been raised. At the cocktail party, he got to meet the sponsored family and every year at the golf outing he gets to introduce the Special Olympics athletics. Being the master of ceremonies for the golf outing has been one of Bob’s many contributions to the organization and he loves every minute of it.

With his extreme affection for the annual golf outing, it is no surprise that his favorite memory occurred there. Being the master of ceremonies has its perks since one year he got to meet Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lahner and World Series Champion Moose Skowron. That sounds like most men’s fantasies, not to mention it was a weekend filled with golfing, too. Bob says the icing on the cake was watching Ronnie Woo Woo drive a golf cart carrying fellow board member Tom Doyle, into a tree. Ronnie is a popular Chicago Cubs Fan (personality) who is well known for his sustained loud cheering and interesting antics.

It’s safe to say that One For The Kids events are always filled with surprises. Whether it’s famous athletics, interesting attendees, dunk tanks, or cell phones thrown in ponds, there is never a dull moment with Bob.

Regarding the upcoming anniversary Bob said, “I hope to make our 20th year the most successful and most memorable One For the Kids has ever had.” Looks like you have your work cut out for you this year Bob!

For more information about our golf outing please visit our website http://oneforthekids.org/ for dates and times. Please remember the annual Cocktail party is coming up on April 28th. Tickets to the party and raffle tickets are also available on our website.

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Accurate has been involved with Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) since its introduction in 2011. They have extensive knowledge of the program and have mailed millions of pieces nationwide. The program provides an outstanding return on your investment. EDDM is a new program by the USPS that allows businesses to mail a piece for as low as 14.5 cents. You can mail postcards, brochures, menus, product sheets, samples or anything else. Accurate will review your material to make sure it qualifies for EDDM. You do not need to provide a mailing list, the post office will deliver your piece to the mailing routes you choose and geo-targeted by location, zip code or city. Contact Accurate they will supply you with detailed information and help you create a customized mail strategy that will provide amazing results.

Accurate Printing has been a proud sponsor of One For The Kids for 15 years. All of the printing and promotional items are provided by Accurate and its excellent team of people.

The Annual Chicago Polar Plunge took place on Sunday March 4th at North Avenue Beach. This year over 1,800 people plunged into Lake Michigan, well at least part of the way in, to benefit Special Olympics Chicago. The young and the old put on their best dress to strut their goodies for a good cause. Although the weather has been getting warmer, it sure was chilly in the water (38 degrees). Lest we forget, it would not be a “Polar” plunge without near freezing water temperatures. Warm water would take all the fun out of the fundraiser, right?

As always, this year’s proceeds from the Polar Plunge go right back to the Chicago Special Olympics athletes. This is how it works, one-person signs up on the event website http://www.firstgiving.com/specialolympicschicago and starts a team. Then all of their friends and coworkers are able to join their team. Each member is asked to raise money towards his or her plunge. In 2012, the Polar plunge alone raised over $560,000 for Special Olympics Chicago. Donations are still being collected at http://www.sochicago.org/. The money will be used to support the 5,000 Chicago land athletes. Cost includes training, travel, uniforms and everything else needed to help them achieve their Olympic goals.

This year’s highest earning plunger was Jennifer Kramer, who is the new President of the Special Olympics Chicago Board. This was her ninth year participating in the Polar Plunge and she was able to rack in over $34,110 for the cause. This marks an achievement of over $100,000 raised by Jennifer in her time with Special Olympics Chicago. Jennifer wrote to all her friends to inspire donations this year and here is just a sample of her words:

“It’s been said that Special Olympics is humanity’s greatest classroom. Lessons of ability, acceptance and inclusion are taught on the fields of competition by our greatest teachers, the athletes themselves. They practice and compete, and in turn I learn, grow and get inspired. I am passionate about Special Olympics. Not just because it’s a sports organization for people with disabilities, but because it’s a catalyst for social change.”

One For The Kids has been bestowed with the great honor of being connected with Special Olympics Chicago for the last 20 years. They are a major benefactor of our annual Golf Outing in August and amazing supporters of our mission. Every summer Special Olympians come and compete in our golf tournament to the cheers of a large, excited crowd. The Special Olympics is dear to many Chicagoans heart, since this is where it all began back in 1968.

The very first Special Olympics were hosted at Soldier Field in Chicago. Mayor Richard J. Daley was in attendance and was famously quoted as saying “The world will never be the same after this.” With the Annual Polar Plunge his message lives on. You are truly never the same after your first time dressed up in a duck suite running into freezing water for charity.

The Heart Institute for Children (THIC) was founded in 1987 by a group of Pediatric Cardiologists from the University of Chicago, Northwestern University (Children’s Memorial Hospital) and Loyola University. These physicians, all of whom had professional appointments at their respective institutions, felt that they could provide optimal care for their pediatric patients in a differently structured environment. They created THIC at Christ Hospital Medical Center in Oak Lawn, IL, with the hope that a dedicated pediatric hospital would be built in the near future.

Hope Children Hospital was completed in 1998. The name was selected by a group of parents whose children had received care at this hospital. One of our very own board members, Hugh McLaughlin has experienced Hope Children’s dedicated care, when his daughter Grace had to undergo 2 heart surgeries following her birth. The Heart institute for children has grown and evolved. Recognized medical training programs in Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery were added, and after the merger of Evangelical Hospital System and Lutheran General Hospital to form Advocate Health Care, THIC began a close cooperative relationship with the Pediatric Cardiology Section of Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

THIC now has 20 Pediatric Cardiologists and 4 Pediatric Cardiac Surgeons, covering all subsections of this field. US News and World Report recently ranked THIC/ Advocate Children’s Hospital among the top 50 programs for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery in the country. It is their goal to maintain and improve upon this ranking by bolstering their research with support from the THIC Research Foundation and donations of charities like our very own, One For The Kids.

THIC is a large organization that partners with several hospitals to insure children get the best care possible. If you are interested in learning more about Hope Children Hospital or the Heart Institute please visit their website at www.thic.com. This summer is the annual THIC picnic to support Hope Children’s hospital and the Advocate Health Care organization. If you would like more information please contact Dr. Frank Zimmerman at (708)- 684-5580.

This year is the 20^th Anniversary of One For the Kids. A few years ago we began hosting an annual Cocktail party. This will be our fourth year and we are beyond excited! The tradition is that every year we elect a host family to be the main benefactor of our cocktail party fund raising. This year we have chosen the Cuiching family from Lemont. Check out our website for their family story and photographs from their journey.

Being a big anniversary for us we want to raise the bar. One For The Kids has enjoyed consistent growth as an organization from a few friends who wanted an excuse to get together and golf; to a booming group of successful men and women who have over the years acquired the contacts to make the unbelievable a reality. In these hard economic times many families are struggling to get by. When you add sick children and property issues to the mix, the unmanageable becomes the impossible. One For the Kids seeks to bridge this gap for one family every year.

Last year at our annual cocktail party we added new raffle features, such as the fishbowl auction. There were also large price raffle tickets with trips to Las Vegas, televisions, and best of all cash. All of that great stuff is back plus much, much more! We will again be holding the large raffle along with silent auction items and fish bowl raffles. Don’t worry ladies, this year there are a lot more items we know that you will love. We upped our game this year and found an amazing live band, so we can all dance the night away to our favorite hits. Never fear they will take requests, so start your playlist now!

We will also have wine tasting, photo booths, and amazing food and beverages, for all. We have put together a short video, so everyone will be able to see how your generous donations are being used to help those in need. Consider this year our rebirth and renewing of our commitment to raise money and enjoying ourselves while helping others. Everything is easier to do when you are having fun.

Check out our links and photo galleries to see the interesting evening we will have in store for you. Our site also has photos of the Ellie’s Make-A-Wish cuisine with Disney and much more.

Every year, One For the Kids selects a special family in need to benefit from the annual cocktail party. This event is a night filled with fun, prizes, music, great food, and an even greater cause. This year’s host family is the Cuiching family from Lemont. The Cuiching Family was chosen out of several families due to their extreme circumstances and truly heart-breaking story.

Kyle and David Cuiching have two small children, Ellie who is 7 years old and Jake who is 6 years old. Before this past year, the family was largely focused on Kyle’s Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The medical bills alone for her daily treatment can easily reach over 2,000 dollars a month. In January of 2011, the family was dealt another devastating blow. Ellie, their oldest child, fell ill and the doctors were unsure why.

Ellie’s symptoms began as headaches, which would only hurt in the mornings. Ellie would complain of pain in her head when she woke up and Kyle would keep her home from school. Yet, by the afternoons Ellie was out of bed and playing. Kyle thought maybe Ellie was having problems with friends at school and was just pretending to be sick, so she could stay home. Since this is a common situation with children, Kyle would try her best to get Ellie up and out to school.

When the complaints seemed to become more frequent and Ellie began to look very tired and affected by these pains, Kyle took her to their family practitioner. The physician recommended that they get an immediate CAT scan that day. The scan uncovered their worst fears; Ellie had a tumor. A day after bringing Ellie to her physician, she was at Children’s Hospital for a nine-hour surgery. The tumor was the largest the operating doctor had ever performed surgery on and it took up over half of her brain. It was the obviously cause of her headaches.

The surgical team was able to remove about half of the tumor in the first surgery. A few days later they went back in to remove the rest. Unfortunately two percent of the tumor was not removable due to its location. In the last few months they have discovered that Ellie is in need of 12 more months of chemotherapy, since the tumor is fast growing and has returned. She has recently also gone in for a third surgery to remove the new growth; a racquetball sized tumor.

These devastating circumstances alone would crush even the strongest of person’s spirits. Yet, this is merely the beginning of their tragic story. Ellie’s mother Kyle, who has MS, has had to forgo treatment lately due to medical costs for Ellie’s surgeries. They fear Ellie will reach her life-time deductible on David’s (her father’s) health insurance plan soon. This means they will have to begin paying much of the costs out of pocket. As it stands they have spent over five hundred thousand dollars on surgery and have gone into over one hundred thousand dollars in debt due to medical bills.

In recent months their son Jake has been experiencing some trouble coping and has been diagnosed with sensory integration. This is a neurological disorder that affects his ability to deal with change. This is often seen in autistic children, but Jake has not been diagnosed with autism. He is very sensitive to transitions, which makes even the simplest daily tasks, such as going to school, a very real struggle.

The family also bought a new house recently. Only to find out the lot is positioned in such a way that the garage and living room floods during thunder storms. This has led to a large mold problem and the living room is no longer inhabitable. David has extreme allergies to mold and it causes his eyes to become very swollen. The living room had to be sectioned off and divided from the home using plastic tarps to keep the mold from circulating.

Every time it rains, Kyle and David have to hurry outside and stack up sand bags around their driveway to make sure the flooding does not get too bad. Being on a tight budget, they saw this new home as a blessing. It was on sale for an affordable price in a nice part of Lemont, but and the previous owner disclosed nothing about the flooding issue to them. One For the Kids as been looking into legal options for the family to obtain some means to fix their home problems.

This Cuiching Family is in much need of our help and support this year. As it is our 20th anniversary year, we would like to do more now, then ever before. One For the Kids has set goals in an effort to up the anti for this family and really take some financial burden from them. Ellie and her family have been receiving a lot of support from the Lemont community and we are striving to make this impact even larger by branching out to our friends around Chicago to spread the word. Every family has its struggles, some more than others. This is true. As a community members and an organization, it is our mission and duty to help those that can no longer carry the load alone. This family’s story has touched our hearts and gotten us all motivated to raise some money and help a little girl and her family. We hope you feel the same way.

For ways you can help visit our cocktail party link. Tickets are for sale now as well as raffle tickets to win prizes at the event. Donations are welcome and sponsorships are available at all different financial levels.

Hugh McLaughlin is a founding member of One For the Kids and has been an active member for over 20 years. He fondly remembers the groups beginning as a small group of friends just looking to help. “We had humble beginnings, but the group really enjoyed spending time together and more importantly we learned that we had an opportunity to help others along the way. “ He considers this combination of fun and genuine wanting to help as the equation for their 20 years of success as a charity.

Looking back over the last 20 years Hugh says one thing continues to drive him, “ The smiles on the face of the Special Olympics Athletes as we tee off on hole #1 of the annual golf outing, as all the participants watch and applaud. It’s the single best sight of the outing year after year.” This and several other factors play into each and every board members personal relationship with One For The Kids. Sometimes while doing good you also receive amazing opportunities. One year Hugh received a big surprise just for showing up to the golf outing.

“I was walking in the parking lot of the golf course prior to the event and a car pulled up next to me and the driver asked “are you on the golf committee?” I replied “yes” and the next thing I know Johnny Lattner, the 1953 Heisman Trophy winner from Notre Dame is handing THE Heisman trophy to me to carry into the clubhouse. After the outing, Mr. Lattner let us use the trophy for a week or two until his next scheduled public appearance. We had a blast parading around with the trophy on the Southside.”

As the organization continues to grow it takes on more charities and causes along the way. Hope Children’s Hospital has been a long time benefactor of One For The Kids events. Many board members have intimate connections with the charities they work so hard to donate to; Hugh Mclaughlin is no exception to this rule. When his daughter Grace was born she ended up spending 2 months at Hope Children’s Hospital, to under go two separate heart surgeries. Grace is now 14 years old and doing great, thanks to the care she received at Hope Children’s hospital. “ Its an honor to be a part of an organization that gives back to all of our charities and Hope in particular” Hugh explained when asked how he felt about One For The Kids over the years.

As many of the board members agree, the main goal for Hugh is to help One For the Kids to continue to grow and flourish. Hugh also wanted to thank the board “I want to thank all the board members who have picked up extra duties on my behalf, I moved to Wisconsin 12 years ago and I am still able to participate on this board because of their efforts. In case anyone is wondering, I am still a fan of DA BEARS! Although the last 20 years have seen many changes in location, attire, and hair lines; one thing remains the same the commitment to the cause and the friendship that helped it all begin.

Since Auto Nation’s founding in 1996, when entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga invested in a waste management company, the company has experienced growth year after year. In that time, Auto Nation has acquired more than 300 new vehicle franchises. This has positioned them as the first nationwide auto dealer in the United States, as well as the first to go public. Today, the Auto Nation is the largest, pure-play automotive retail company in America.

Auto Nation has continues to receive rewards for its inception due to its overwhelming commitment to its customers. Fortune Magazine named them several times over “Most Admired Retailer.” Paralleling their commitment to customer service is also a dedication and commitment to their community. The following excerpt from the Auto Nation website exemplifies their community philosophy:

“We believe in giving back to the markets we serve through community outreach efforts geared at making us good neighbors. We are committed to helping communities become better places to live. We support local community efforts that focus on the health and welfare of the family with special emphasis on the education and safety of children. “

Auto Nation’s involvement is not limited to tag lines, but includes sponsoring groups like: Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, Give Kids the World, and One For The Kids. Whether it’s through cash donations, event sponsorship, material donations, or volunteering Auto Nation has been closely involved in One For The Kids growth. At one time, donations made by Auto Nation accounted for a large part of the budget for One For The Kids annual events, which has grown substantially in the last 20 years. Looking back on One For The Kids’ humble beginnings, it’s not hard to see the debt of gratitude owed to our great sponsors. Thank you.