Inspired
from Rebecca
Our month of HOPE has passed and our word for June is BELIEVE.
When you have Hope, all things are possible. When you BELIEVE, all things are possible... you transition that belief into an action to make it happen, like the little engine that could... I think I can, I think I can... as he climbed the big mountain.... that started out as Faith and as he gets to the middle he has Hope .... I know I can, I know can... as he makes it to the top he BELIEVES, I knew I could.
BELIEVE in yourself and BELIEVE in others to do the right thing.
Through the years, my belief system hasn’t changed and, through grief, there have been times that I really struggled. I think if I didn’t have the (January:) GRATEFUL(ness) in my heart for allowing me to feel and share in the (February:) LOVE of so many people in my life, I would have been lost. I have found a lot of my (March:) HAPPINESS in exercising. Swimming at the Newtown Community Center has become one of my favorite places and things to do. I look forward to the days I get a lap lane. I keep my (April:) FAITH close as it’s the one thing next to my husband that I know I can always count on! For me, (May:) HOPE and (June:) BELIEVE keeps my anxiety under control, and I know I can do anything I set my mind to. Now I just have to be patient with myself, finish healing and keep moving forward.
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In this section for our newsletter we are asking our readers and supporters of CMAK and the Race4Chase Program to submit stories of inspiration emanating from Chase and the programs that he has inspired. CMAK encourages everyone to submit their stories to be published in this section to Kevin Grimes at kgrimes@cmakfoundation.org.. Rebecca provides this month's story focusing on Barbara Krugler and her mission to help Race4Chase:
(Barbara Kruger and Stephen Kowalski with the Barbara's latest bike dropoff)
Inspired by Chase, inspired by her son, Alex, and inspired to get involved with Race4Chase, Barbara Krugler has made her mission one of getting bikes donated to CMAK Foundation for our Race4Chase program and for our partnership with Bikes for Kids who refurbishes gently used bikes. Barbara has acquired over three dozen bikes already and there is no stopping her! She is the Race4Chase bike lady, posting on Buy Nothing Newtown, CT Facebook page along with any other platform that will help her find and gather all kinds of bikes in all different sizes and colors in gently used condition. I asked her why she does this and she said, “because I love Race4Chase, I love the program and I love what you do for children. My son, Alex, has been a part of the Race4Chase program. This will be his fifth year and we love it. Barbara started out donating two new bikes to CMAK as a thank you to the program and would like to continue with the new bike donation, but new bikes are hard to get right now. So she thought outside the box and figured that there were probably a lot of bikes in garages that were outgrown and not used. Thanks to the Buy Nothing Newtown, CT Facebook page, she got her first lead and has been on a roll ever since. She now has people contacting her with their bike donations. We are so grateful to Barbara for her contribution to helping the CMAK Foundation change the lives of children and their families.
CMAK is conducting a bike donation drive in collaboration with the Newtown Community Center, Newtown Rotary, and Newtown Police Department for the week of June 2nd thru June 6th, seeking gently used bikes. If you don’t have a bike to donate and would like to make a monetary donation to the foundation, visit our website at CMAKFOUNDATION.ORG
CMAK: WORD of the Month
CMAK will be choosing one word as the theme for each month; words to inspire, words to contemplate, words to motivate and words to capture our imagination. We will try to embrace these words each month as we do our best to fulfill our mission. We hope they will inspire all to keep life in perspective and Chase in your hearts and minds.
Word of the Month for May: HOPE
Word of the Month for June: BELIEVE
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2021 Word of the Month
January: Grateful
February: LOVE
March: Happiness
April: Faith
May: Hope
June: Believe
July: Amazing
August: Inspired
September: Blessed
October: Embrace
November: Thrive
December: Family
Great Father's Day Gift for CMAK!
Chase Kowalski Memorial Golf Tournament
Save the Date!
The Chase Kowalski Memorial Golf Tournament is set for August 7th, 2021. Anyone interested in becoming a hole sponsor for hole sponsors, raffle donator, etc. can contact sharon.pirhala@gmail.com.
Registration will be available shortly. We will post details of how to register on Facebook, in upcoming newsletters and on our website (cmakfoundation.org) when available.
 Crazy 8 Ride4Chase
Crazy 8 Ride4Chase will be postponed until September 2021 with a tentative date of September 19th. More details to follow in subsequent newsletters.
Shop AmazonSmile Now
We would like to remind you of the DOT Generation Charity Partnership Program for which CMAK is a member. You can express your support of CMAK through contracting for your printing needs with DOT Generation of Connecticut who will in turn contribute 5% of gross sales to CMAK. For more details about the program and a full list of services, please contact our good friend and long supporter, David Stowe, at david@dotgeneration.com.
Race4Chase News
Please submit your Race4Chase stories and photos to kgrimes@cmakfoundation.org.
The 2021 TCS New York City Marathon Race4Chase Team is starting to take shape with five of the six athletes on the 2020 Race4Chase Team receiving entry into the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon. Emily Carr, Susie Johnson, Kelly Agosti, Amanda Erickson and Suzanne Clement will Race4Chase on November 7th, 2021. These five athletes will be joined by additional runners on the team. CMAK will be in position to accept applications for additional entries by mid June. More details will follow once the charity program is launched.
Baton Update
Nothing to report in May.
A big thanks to RELAYBATONS.com for donating all the Race4Chase batons for this program and also for use in our Race4Chase Kid’s Triathlon program.
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