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The Leslie's Story
The Leslie’s story goes back twelve years when the family welcomed twins prematurely.
The twins were admitted to the Minneapolis NICU. The weeks following the birth were
challenging and emotional. Thankfully, the twins were eventually able to leave the hospital.
July 12th, 2007 marked a momentous occasion for the Leslie's – the golden birthday of the
twins – and they wanted to celebrate in a special way. The elder twin came up with a great
idea; a party at the NICU with their former caregivers and a donation in honor of each twin.
The party was an enjoyable time for the family, NICU staff and caregivers from twelve years
earlier. It was particularly meaningful for the Leslie's to visit with Dr. Hoekstra and
nurse Paschke because they were so instrumental in caring for the twins.
Mom, dad, the twins, big brother and grandma remain extremely grateful to Children's
Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota for the care they received.
The Leslie family's donation will help to support NICU patients and families.
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Jared and Katie Drevecky
Jared and Katie Drevecky were engaged in January 2006. As they started to merge their lives, they
realized they had two of everything – two toasters, two pots, two pans, too much!
They decided the best thing that they could do was to give back. That’s when they
discovered idofoundation.org.
With the I Do Foundation, the Drevecky's could still have a registry, but a percentage
of the purchases would go towards the charity of their choice. Jared and Katie chose to
nominate Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in hope that their gift would
stay close to home.
They were married in October, and had a reception in the beginning of November. They
had all the traditional wedding games, with one small twist: all the money collected
for their dollar dance was put towards their gift to Children's.
With the money from the dollar dance, as well as cash received as gifts, Jared and Katie
raised $1000. “We know it’s not much, but we hope that our gift will make a difference. We also hope that other couples will be inspired to do the same. In which case, one small gift could be a part of something larger.”
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Linda Lehmann
Linda Lehmann came to Children's in 2000 as the first Bereavement Coordinator for the hospital.
As a Licensed Psychologist she has worked in the grief and loss arena for over 20 years. Her
role is to carry out the mission of the Healing Quilt program by supporting families who have
had a child die. The image of the quilt aptly portrays its goal: just as a quilt has many
varied pieces and acts as a comforter, the program offers families a variety of services
intended to offer them comfort during the most painful experience of their lives. Since its
inception, Healing Quilt has expanded its programming and is one of the premier bereavement
programs in the nation with such services as Parent to Parent, Dad’s Retreat. Camp Connect for
bereaved siblings, staff education through Compassion Connection, and family retreats to name a few
Since all of the services are offered at no charge to families, Healing Quilt relies on the
support of the hospital and the generosity of the community to carry out its many programs.
In 2002 Healing Quilt collaborated with Hospice for a fundraising event "A Chance to Dance" Each
year since then the fundraiser has continued to support the work of both programs. Linda has been
a volunteer for the fundraiser by recruiting and working with an active group of volunteers as
well as co-chairing the silent auction committee.
Linda says that she continues to be inspired by the courageous spirits of the families she has
worked with over the years and considers it an honor and a privilege to be a companion with
them on their journey of grief. She is a self-proclaimed movie junkie and a frequent visitor
to the North Shore.
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For information on becoming involved as a supporter or to purchase tickets to any of the events, call the Foundation at (651) 855-2835. |
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