Celebrate Life just full of nice surprises

Imagine it is your wedding anniversary. A beautiful bouquet of flowers arrives with a card. You recognize the handwriting as your husband’s, but don’t know how that can be since he recently passed away from cancer. But that is exactly who it is from. With the help of some special angels on earth, he planned this surprise before he passed away. It is a gift.

It is those kinds of gifts that the people behind the Celebrate Life fundraiser enjoy giving people with the funds they receive from their annual event – a fun run/walk across Sandpoint’s Long Bridge.

The Celebrate Life Fun Run/Walk, now in its seventh year, will take place on Saturday, and stories such as these keep people coming back year after year. The event was started by Sandpoint resident Julie Walkington with the help of her co-worker and friend January Tuinstra as a way to honor Walkington’s sister Jenny Meyer, who was diagnosed with cancer at age 26. Jenny died two years ago after an eight-year illness.

“It is clear Jenny continues to live on,” said hospice nurse Shelly Penland of the event. “Look at all these people she has helped through this walk.”

The money the Celebrate Life committee raises is distributed through Bonner General’s Outpatient Clinic, Kootenai Cancer Center at Bonner General and Bonner Community Hospice to help ease the burden of those with cancer. Those working in these departments ask patients if they have a special request for Celebrate Life.

Walkington is a nurse at Bonner General but does not typically work in these departments, so she rarely sees those who receive the funds. But there are occasions when she has the privilege of giving one of Celebrate Life’s gifts.

“I cannot even describe the feeling of being able to give someone such an unexpected gift,” said Walkington, who said her sister always wanted these funds to be a gift. “And Jenny said to always give it with a smile.”

Penland is one of the nurses who helps distribute the money raised at Bonner Community Hospice.

“As a hospice nurse it is so much fun for us,” she said of helping people fulfill special wishes unexpectedly. “It’s those things that may seem little, but to them (patients) it’s huge.”

There are many who request help, and the needs are diverse: anything from flowers being delivered to firewood to keep their family’s home warm. The committee looks at all requests and does what it can to fulfill everyone’s needs.

“We even have volunteers who help (the patients) put together scrapbooks,” said Penland, explaining that the funds do not necessarily go toward necessities. Some patients request a birthday cake or something to leave behind for their loved ones.

Penland shared the story of a young mother who was dying of cancer. Celebrate Life funds were used to purchase a video camera so the woman could record messages for her children.

“We also bought another young mother a stepping stone kit so she and her kids could make their handprints,” said Penland. “It was a project they could do together.”

Celebrate Life brings in $15,000 to $17,000 each year to purchase things like gasoline vouchers, a dinner out to lift the spirits of a struggling family, or massages for cancer patients.

“We are not a big sponsored event, but we make enough to sustain us throughout the year,” said Walkington, who adds she wants to keep the theme of the day simple, the way her sister wanted it to be. The money raised stays in Sandpoint and the surrounding area.

“The money is raised locally, spent locally and given locally,” said Penland.

Many who are involved in Celebrate Life walk in honor or in memory of a loved one. It is always her sister who is at the forefront of Walkington’s thoughts.

“Jenny would never waste a moment and would celebrate each day,” she said.