January 5, 2020
Re: First Annual Report – The Rebecca Buchanan Brimmage Foundation
Dear Family and Friends,
Today marks the second anniversary of our celebration of Rebecca’s life. Such a short time, yet feels like an eternity. We have come through the bittersweet holiday season with continued sadness at our loss of Rebecca, but with great comfort in the many wonderful memories we have of her and with her. We are so thankful for the time we had with Rebecca, and we enjoy telling and hearing stories about her.
The close of 2019 brought an end to the first full year of the Foundation. And as a direct result of the unbelievable and overwhelming generosity from each of you – what a year it has been!
As many of you know, throughout her life and even during her many cancer treatments, Rebecca continued her volunteer work and spread her own acts of kindness with a growing emphasis on pediatric cancer patients. In turn, after her diagnosis Rebecca was the beneficiary of many acts of kindness from people all over who contributed their effort, time, and money to “Rally For Rebecca.”
We started the Foundation in Rebecca’s memory to honor her and continue her legacy of kindness and giving. As a reminder, our family pays the costs for all expenses so we can ensure that 100% of every donation goes directly to one of the Foundation’s purposes. We very much appreciate how so many have transitioned from “Rallying For Rebecca” to contribute to the Foundation and now “Rally With Rebecca” to continue the work to which she was so dedicated.
Below are some significant events over the past year that have resulted from so many of you “Rallying With Rebecca.”
RallyWithRebecca.org and Social Media
Early last January, we finally got the website up and running. We owe a huge thanks to Meredith and Andreas Reshoft of Killswitch Collective, LLC for designing and creating the website and the RallyWithRebecca.org logo with the orange butterfly. We have adopted that wonderful logo for all purposes. And, as of today, the Foundation is also on Facebook and Instagram. Please follow our updates throughout the year.
The Foundation was the Beneficiary of Two School Fundraisers
During the past year two schools selected the Foundation as the beneficiary of their annual school fundraisers.
Highland Park High School Student Council Parents’ Night Out
In April, the HPHS student council – led by our daughter Elizabeth as the Treasurer – selected the Foundation as the beneficiary of its annual Parents’ Night Out fundraiser. Many participated in that event – including many of you. During a pep rally before the entire student body, the Student Council presented the Foundation with a very large check for $16,750. Can you believe it?
The high school was a special place for Rebecca. We very much appreciate the continued generosity and kindness from so many at the school, including the Student Council, student body, faculty, staff, and all those who contributed to this event.
University Park Elementary School Turkey Trot
In November, the University Park Elementary School – the elementary school attended by Rebecca, Elizabeth, Trey and currently our 4th grader Cat – selected the Foundation as the beneficiary of its annual pre-Thanksgiving Turkey Trot fundraiser. Prior to the Turkey Trot, Elizabeth spoke to the students about “Gratitude,” and the family spoke to the students about Rebecca and the importance of being thankful and giving to others. The students then presented the Foundation with an enormously large check in the amount of $25,665. Wow!!!
We very much appreciate the Panther Nation’s continued generosity and kindness to the Brimmage Family and to all those who participated in this event, including the student body, faculty, and staff, and with a special thank you to Jackie Pittman, Tammy Hyde, and Kacy Ellis who spearheaded the entire effort.
The Foundation’s Progress Towards its Three Purposes
Children’s Medical Center Holiday Adopt-A-Family
During the last two holiday seasons, the Foundation has continued Rebecca’s practice of assisting pediatric cancer patients and their families at Children’s Medical Center through the Holiday Adopt-A-Family Program. This past December, the Foundation adopted a family of a teenage girl who has been battling Ewing Sarcoma (the same diagnosis as Rebecca) and is now receiving palliative care. As you can imagine, being able to assist her and her family was especially meaningful. We can only hope that the extra support to this family during a difficult time brought some level of comfort and peace.
Endowed Make-A-Wish Annual Wish Grant
In July, the Foundation made a commitment to endow $150,000 with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to award an annual wish grant in Rebecca’s name to a pediatric cancer patient in the Dallas area. Due to the generosity and kindness of so many of you, by the end of 2019 the Foundation had funded $80,000 of this commitment. Every penny of every donation in 2020 will go directly to funding the remaining obligation to that commitment. As soon as the endowment is funded in full, the first wish can be granted.
Endowed Scholarship for a Graduating High School Senior
In February, the Foundation endowed a $1,000 annual college scholarship at Rebecca’s high school for a graduating senior who has i) overcome adversity, ii) demonstrated a commitment to community service, and iii) excelled academically. See https://www.hpef.org/scholarship-details for more details. We hope to grow the scholarship over time.
At the Senior Awards Ceremony in May, Elizabeth, as a senior class officer, announced the purpose of the scholarship and awarded the first scholarship to McKenzie Hansen who is attending Colorado College. The recipient shared a class with Rebecca when she was a senior and he was a sophomore. In his Scholarship application, he wrote about the following interaction he had with Rebecca:
“I was extremely blessed to be able to interact and be inspired by Rebecca. My sophomore year, I was lucky enough to have a class with her. I sat right next to her in Problems and Solutions (Ms. Mallard's Class) and her great smile made my day better each and every day. Her positive outlook on life and energy was infectious and I never saw her have a bad day. One moment I will never forget in my life was a speech Rebecca gave in my class about adversity and understanding others. After her speech Ms. Mallard asked her a question, “How do you feel when other classmates complain about their simple problems when you experience a ton of adversity every day?” Rebecca’s response was of something you see in a movie. She basically said that everyone has their own stuff and issues that mean a lot to them. For some people, staying up late is really tough, for others it’s the loss of a loved one or even just failing a test. She went on to say that it is extremely important to be understanding of the fact that everyone experiences their own problems and we must be understanding to everyone. She said that while her issues are sometimes difficult to deal with and look a lot bigger than other people’s issues, they have the same general effect. For some people their life is so great that the littlest thing can feel monumental and she said we must be understanding of it. That speech and response she gave was something that will resonate with me forever. She was such a blessing to this community and will have a long lasting effect on my life and many others.”
We are so proud of our Rebecca and wish McKenzie Hansen the best in his college studies.
Conclusion
In our family, Rebecca’s birthday is up next – March 20. She would have turned 21 – a legal adult but always and forever our precious first born child and oldest sibling.
We very much appreciate all each of you have done to support the Foundation and your ongoing and continuous generosity and love. With your continued support, we look forward to continuing to spread Rebecca’s message of love and to lifting up those in need.
Sincerely,
The Brimmage Family