August 2020 News

Please continue to register through the WMF website for upcoming activities andevents. If we feel that we need to cancel, postpone or reduce the number of

attendees due to the current status of COVID-19, we will notify you.

In the event that we need to reduce the number of attendees, those thatregistered first and in order will be given the opportunity to attend.

We're Moving our Social Bowl to March!

Due to the current status of the virus, we have decided to postpone our SocialBowl to 2021.

We will look at this as the perfect opportunity to once again have our Social Bowlduring the month of March which is Brain Injury Awareness month.

The Social Bowl will take place on March 7th, with our Annual SurvivorCelebration Picnic being moved to March 21st at which time we will also have ourSocial Bowl "Wrap Up" and award prizes to the top individual and teamfundraisers.

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Please view more details about the Social Bowl below.

Social Saturdays Continue

We have had some fabulous hosts for Social Saturdays which have been takingplace virtually through Zoom since April. These Socials have been such a big hitthat we are now scheduled through the month of September.

Join us August 1st and learn about the various sports and recreational programsoffered through Arizona Disabled Sports. Hosted by Rhonda Carlson, AzDSExecutive Director.

Everyone is welcome to attend!

Social time will follow.

August & September Social Saturday Schedule

REGISTER FOR SOCIAL SATURDAYS

Adaptive Watersports Update

With the uncertainty of the status of COVID-19, it us understandable that we havehad some cancellations and lower registrations for this annual event.

At this time, we do not have enough participants registered to warrant both datesoriginally scheduled. September 11th has been cancelled.

WMF is still planning to attend on Saturday 9/12. Measures are being put in placefor social distancing including assigning a limited number of participants duringdifferent sessions. For complete details of changes for this year, please visit ourwebsite.

There are only a few spots left.

Bartlett Lake Marina Carefree, AZ 85377

Survivors ages 18+

Cost this year is $85 and WMF is paying $60 of this cost.

REGISTER FOR WATERSPORTS WITH ARIZONA ADAPTIVEWATERSPORTS

JUST ADDED! WMF is headed to the Phoenix Zoo!

September 27th

“ Pop Up Activity” – Cruise the Zoo!

7:00 am - 12:00 pm (11:00 am cut-off time to enter zoo)

Are you and your family tired of sitting at home? We would like to provide anopportunity for you and members of your household to get out and have somefun. We have purchased a limited amount of tickets which are available for FREEto survivors and members of their household. (1 carload pass per householdonly)

Note: It will be your responsibility to make arrangements to pick-up the carloadpass from Ronda.

REGISTER FOR CRUISE THE ZOO

PJ's, Breakfast & Games - October 3rd

10:00 AM — 1:00 PM

Café Cultivate 5025 E. Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85034

A twist to your typical game “night!” Wake up and head on over to Café Cultivatein your PJ’s for breakfast and games!

This Social is FREE for survivors of brain injury ages 18+ and includes a varietyof breakfast burritos (2 per person), fruit cup, variety of sweet breads and (1)specialty drink. The coffee bar will also be available.

Family/Caregivers or those transporting are able to hang out in a separate areaduring the Social. Breakfast and drink options will be available to you, but will beat your own cost.

Registration Deadline is 9/30/20

NOTE: PJ’s must be appropriate

REGISTER FOR PJ's & GAMES

Up North Adventure - October 15th - 17th

IMPORTANT NOTICE. We will make a determination on September 7thwhether to proceed with our Up North trip or whether we will cancel.Everyone registered will be notified by e-mail with the final decision.

Everyone Welcome!

Too many details to list – check out our website.

All rooms at the Lodge are currently rented out.

Everyone else needs to make reservations for their own place in or around BisonRanch in Heber/Overgaard. Make sure to find out what their cancellation policy is– just in case! Suggestions are on our website and you should reserve ASAP.

Those not staying at the All Seasons Lodge with us are invited to the Lodge forsocial time, board games, yard games, card games, crafts, yoga, bike rides,s’mores etc. between the hours of 9:00 am and 9:00 pm.

Everyone needs to sign-up to let us know they are attending, as we will beproviding food one evening.

Our Lake Day at Willow Springs will now be Saturday 10/17.

REGISTER FOR UP NORTH

Day in the Country - November 7th

REGISTER FOR DAY IN THE COUNTRY

Annual Dinner & Dance - December 5th

REGISTER FOR ANNUAL DINNER & DANCE

2021 SOCIAL BOWL

Thank You Sponsors!

We are grateful for the support of our wonderful sponsors that help us serve thebrain injured community and their families.

The Breslow Foundation

Sun Lakes Lions Club

Everlasting Community Services - Brain Injury Assisted Living Homes

Barrow Neurological Institute / Dignity Health - St. Joseph's Medical Center

Tom & Joan Nielsen - parents of Marc Nielsen, TBI Survivor

Neuro & Brain Performance Centers, LLC

Valley Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Sante

Thank you to the following teams for signing up early!

1. AlleyCats

2. BeachBowlers

3. CrazyKidsGang

4. EverlastingCommunityServices

5. FBLA6. Friends

ofSunLakesLionsClub

7. GoGetHers

8. ICan’tBelieveIt’sNotGutter

9. Katie'sAngels

10. KingPins

11. Let’sGoStriking

12. LivinOnASpare

13. FriendsofNeuro&BrainPerformanceCenters,LLC

14. FriendsofSunLakesLionsClub

15. PinHeads

16. Potpourriof

EclecticSouls

17. QueenPins

18. Rock&Bowlers

19. SanteMesa

20. SplitHappens

21. StrikingForce

22. TeamDBA

23. TeamWoody

24. That’sHowWeRoll

25. TheBallers

26. ValleyPhysicalMedicine&Rehab

Please remember that the fundraising portion of our Social Bowl is done online inadvance of the bowling portion on 3/7/21.

You can make a donation towards a bowlers fundraising goals or make a generaldonation. You have the option to post your name in order for the one you aresupporting to know the donation was from you. You can even leave a personalnote of encouragement if you would like. Or choose the option to remainanonymous.

The auction portion of the Social Bowl is still up and running. Please rememberthat when viewing items, the initial amount shown with the image is NOT thestarting bid of the item. You must click on the item to view starting bid, current bid,value of item and the "Buy Now" option.

If you see something you really want - you are able to use the "Buy Now" option,process your payment and we will make arrangements to get your item(s) to you.

We still have room for more teams and we would love as many more sponsorsas we can get! Help spread the word!

FIND A BOWLER TO SUPPORT

MAKE A GENERAL DONATION

VIEW SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

VIEW AUCTION ITEMS

Community

While we are not able to meet in person at this time, listed below are just a few ofthe many organizations providing virtual opportunities for you to engage in socialinteraction and have some fun.

Ability360 Arizona Disabled Sports AZ Spinal Cord Injury Association Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona Daring Adventures Mikey's League Miracle League of Arizona

August 3rd 2 - 2:45 pm Alive, Fit & Free Virtual Class Yoga + Dance Fusion with our new instructor Gina Moussa. It will be a really funclass where you can rock out and practice some yoga moves all at the sametime. Class is adaptive and can be done standing or seated.

REGISTER TO ATTEND - FREE

August 5th 10 - 10:45 am Virtual Class Yoga for Daily Life Movement with our new instructor Gina Moussa. It is a more

traditional yoga class that focuses on movement and strength. Class is adaptiveand can be done standing or seated.

REGISTER TO ATTEND - FREE

August 5th 6:00 pm Join Daring Adventures for their next VIRTUAL ADVENTURE! Their Virtual Tour Guide, Noriko Nagahori put together some pictures andinformation for you about the Higashifuchie Garden that they will be touring liveremote from Japan.

RESTER TO ATTEND - FREE

MEET FEATURE SURVIVOR - JUSTIN KAISER

“I moved from the Chicago area about 3 years ago and was very enthusiasticwhen I found out and joined Ability360. This club has allowed me to remain activeyear round and participate in many activities such as personal training,swimming, rock climbing, terrain hopping and yoga (both indoors and in thetherapy pool.) In Chicago, I was limited in what I could do due to the weather andtrying to get around in snowy or wet conditions. I have CP and found that inChicago I would be much tighter and my back, legs and feet would often crampup or go numb in the cold.

I also found out about groups and events based on Ability360 partnerships. I amalso active in Daring Adventures, Barrows Neurological Institute, We’re MovingForward and Adaptive Watersports. At Ability360 I also volunteered at theexercise desk, at special events they hold and also participated in a Men’sGroup.

Ability360 is part of my weekly schedule for exercising and also is a great socialasset. I have made friends with my peers and with the staff at Ability360.Ability360 has opened up new doors for me, and for that I am grateful. By keepingin shape, I was able to do my first 5K ever this year at the Rock & Roll Marathon.I walked the entire route and it was one of the most special events for me and myfamily. I couldn’t have done it if I wasn’t in shape and didn’t set goals and didn’treceive the personal training I received leading up to it. “

Justin Kaiser

MEET KATHY FULTON - FEATURE VOLUNTEER

If you have not already met Kathy Fulton, you are probably new to We’reMOVING FORWARD! Kathy, her husband Bill, and their son Daniel have beenparticipating long before we became a nonprofit organization.

No matter where Kathy goes, she constantly keeps an eye out for people thatmight have some sort of brain injury and has no issues with going up andintroducing herself and checking to make sure they are connected to valuableresources, including WMF.

Kathy is always one of the first ones to ask and make sure we have enough helpat our events and has worked hard over the years to help make our Annual SocialBowl fundraising event to be a success by helping to get bowling teams signedup, obtaining items for our silent auction and raffle and helping to get donations.

Along with volunteering for WMF, Kathy also helps many other organizations byvolunteering and donating to them as well, including her handmade PeeWeeTeePee’s.

Kathy also loves to ski and is looking forward to traveling and spending time intheir new motorhome.

We are very grateful for all the love, care, attention and time that Kathy has putinto our organization. Volunteers like her are a rare find indeed and very muchneeded to help our all-volunteer organization succeed.

From Kathy: Like most of us who volunteer with We’re Moving Forward, my involvement canbe traced back to a life-changing event of a loved one. For me it was a phone callin December 2009. My son Daniel, who was living in Telluride, had been in asnowboarding accident. We did not know much, except that he was alive andbeing airlifted to a hospital in Grand Junction.

I first remember going to a movie with a very small group of people. At the time,

there was no foundation, no group name, just a bunch of us sharing ourexperiences and watching our boys start new friendships. As someone who hasalways enjoyed helping to make a difference in people’s lives, it did not take longfor me to realize this group was special. We’re Moving Forward helped us allrecognize that we were not alone in our new normal – and that there was nothingwrong with it.

I have met wonderful people through my time working with WMF. Ronda, Linda,and Tara have all worked so hard in making the foundation what it is today. Ienjoy helping whenever I can – whether raising money or helping with fun eventslike the Social Bowl and golf tournaments. When I think back on all the friends, Ihave made through WMF, the loving caregivers I have been fortunate to watchand learn from, it is truly remarkable. (As is Linda Countryman’s photography!) Itis the personal connections with the other survivors and their loved ones thathave made my decision to spend my time with WMF an easy one. In someways, I feel destined to help this group, as I had my own brain issues nearly 30years ago. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had it removed, only to have itcome back a year after Daniel’s accident.

2021 SAVE THE DATES!

Sunday, February 28th Annual Play Ball - WMF & AZSCI

Sunday, March 7th Annual Social Bowl and Auction

Sunday, March 21st Annual Survivor Celebration Picnic & Social Bowl Wrap Up

Thursday, June 3rd through Saturday June 5th Annual Up North Adventure

Sunday, July 18th iFly

Saturday, November 6th Annual Day in the Country

Saturday, December 4th Annual Dinner & Dance

We're MOVING FORWARD! Contacts

Ronda Alcorn, Founder/President (480) 209-7663 ralcorn@wmforward.org

Tara Pepiton, Founder/Treasurer (602) 909-7330 tpepiton@wmforward.org

DONATE

WISH LIST

VOLUNTEER APPLICATION

We’re MOVING FORWARD! is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profitorganization that is dedicated to enhancing the lives of Arizonans impacted

by brain injury. Our goal is to promote community integration throughsocial and recreational activities, provide support and help make valuableconnections for survivors, families, and caregivers that create an overall

sense of inclusion.

©2020 We're MOVING FORWARD! | 501c3 Nonprofit Tax ID #47-2199053 Gilbert AZ

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