4th Quarter Newsletter 2014Jamesonsarmy.org

Newsletter Contents

Upcoming Events

-3rd Annual Shamrock Shuffle 5K and Family 1 mile walk, 3/21/2015 at Cecil Park-4th Annual Green Heart Gala, at the Lemont 4/24/2015

-June 2015, CHD walk at North Park

-Meals from the Heart in May 2015

Page 1: Newsletter Contents& Upcoming Events

Page 2: October HappeningsNovember Happenings

Page 3: December Happenings

Page 4: Tail Gate Photos

Page 5: Jamesons Update Thanksgiving

Page 6: Quarterly Super Trooper

October Happenings

NovemberHappenings

-Jameson underwent his routine heart biopsy and it was discovered our soldier has 0 rejection once again!

-A Pittsburgh themed tailgate was held for the staff and families at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh (cover story).

-Monthly goods and food drop were sent to the heart center at CHP.

-A huge thank you to the friends and family of Houston Screen Print for holding their annual food drive to help with our monthly deliveries to CHP. Lots of great items were collected to help the wonderful families at Childrens! Thank you for your generosity.

-Board members Patrik & Danielle McKain and Tim & Jenna Zeh attended the Mend A Heart gala. Mend a Heart is a great organization that helps fund research for CHD.

-Thank you to Karen at Houston Screen Print for holding a toy drive throughout the Washington Co. area. Karen and her troops donated over 100 toys!

-Thank you to Denise Muehlbauer for organizing the BYS Yoga fundraiser in South Side. It was a HUGE turnout and a lot of fun.

-Board members Patrik & Danielle McKain as well as Jackie Bindyke and Scott Kincak attended the annual Zacharys Mission Gala. A fun night filled with dancing and auctions all to help the organization raise funds for their Zach Packs!

-Thank you to FedEx Inside Sales department for holding a month long collection to donate to Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh in honor of Jameson McKain. The group collected toys, snacks, drinks and games for the families to enjoy at the heart center!

-Board members Jackie Bindyke and Danielle McKain had the privilege of touring the new addition at The Childrens Home and Lemieux Family Center. The tour showcased the refrigerators that Jamesons Army donated to the family rooms.

-Will Helbling was at it again!!! Jamesons Army held its 4th Annual toy drive. Thank you to all the volunteers that joined at Cecil Municipal Building to collect, clean, separate and deliver over 4,000 toys! (cover story)

-Jamesons Army had the privilege of serving Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving Day to the families and staff at CHP. Home cooking and plenty of smiles warmed the 4th floor of the hospital. Board members Patrik & Danielle McKain, Allie McGowan and Cindy Fisher helped make the holiday seem a little more real to those spending their time at CHP.

-Thank you to board member Candace Pravati for holding a Premier Jewelry party at The Getaway. The event raised a great deal of funding for Jamesons Army.

DecemberHappenings

TAIL GATENext Page...

-The McKain family spent some time with Katherine Amenta from WPXI filming the Proud to be From Pittsburgh segment. It was a great honor and a perfect way to spread CHD awareness to viewers!

-Monthly drop to Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh including 500 toys, Panera and Philly Pretzel goodies!

-Holiday drop was completed at The Childrens Home of Pittsburgh and Lemieux Family Center. Thank you to SDLC Partners for donating the toys!

-Jamesons Army Board of Directors finished off the year with its end of year dinner. Mentions of 2014 accomplishments and what is to come for 2015 were included.

-Thank you to BNY Mellon and Lisa Podabinski for holding a jeans day and donating all funding plus a company match to Jamesons Army.

-Jameson will be participating in the new C.O.R.E. website re-vamp. Make sure you check out their website to see Jameson and become an organ donor.

-Jameson will also be a part of the Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation fundraiser being held through the month of February. This fundraiser coincides with CHD awareness month. Make sure you purchase your paper heart at participating Pittsburgh businesses.

Tail GateOctober 2014

It wouldnt be fall in Pittsburgh unless were attending a tailgate. Since most of the heart families at Childrens Hospital spend an extended period of time there and cant leave to attend a tailgate party, Jamesons Army brought the tailgate party to them. We served tailgate style food which included, black and gold perogies, kielbasa, and nachos. We decked the room out in black and gold decorations and helped the families forget, at least for an hour, that they were stuck in the hospital.

Jameson McKainUpdate

Life and health have been good to our soldier! Jameson had a great Halloween as Optimus Prime with his big brother Colin who was Luke Skywalker. Each year Jameson gets stronger and healthier and is able to trick or treat at more houses! He was also able to experience his first Halloween party and participated in a parade! Following Halloween Jameson had a wonderful Thanksgiving and an even better Christmas season. With lots of parties, gatherings and celebrations it was great to see Jameson participate in lifes joyous occasions that most of us take for granted. Note, we carried plenty of hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes!!!

To top off a great fall and early winter season Jameson was asked to participate in the wedding of Dr. Matt Bochkoris and nurse Elise Brady this summer. Both Dr. Matt

and Elise have saved Jamesons life numerous times while he had his extended stay at CHP. It will be great to see Jameson thank his favorite doctor and nurse by carrying their rings down the aisle!

Jameson has continued to keep up with Speech and Physical Therapies. He is attending school 2 days a week and will begin T-Ball, with his Dad as coach, this spring. He will of course be #22 (McCutchen). God is so good. Heart Hugs, Danielle McKain

ThanksgivingNovember 2014

No one wants to be stuck in the hospital, especially during the holidays. For the 3rd consecutive year Jamesons Army tried to make the families Thanksgiving a little less difficult. On Thanksgiving Day, we provided a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to the heart families and staff at Childrens Hospital. Danielle and Patrik McKain, along with Allie McGowan and Cindy Fisher served turkey and all the traditional thanksgiving sides; including homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and much more. While it is never easy to be away from our own families during a holiday, nothing compares to the smile on the heart families faces when they see they can still enjoy a traditional holiday meal even while in the hospital.

Quarterly Star Super TrooperBill Crawford

1. What is your motive to help with Jameson's Army?

I want to help Danielle and Patrik get the word out about the great work Jamesons Army is doing. People who help people deserve help from people. Pretty sure that makes sense. 2. How do you see yourself helping with Jameson's Army in your future?

In any way possible. Whatever they need. Danielle is a person with a vision and I am excited to see where she takes JA and will do anything in my power to help her and Patrik reach their goals.

3. How do you feel after youve helped with an event?

Better than I did before. Its like prozac being around these people. Its just uplifting to see the impact of what they are doing first hand. 4. What are some of the highlights you feel Jamesons Army has done for others thus far?

The comfort that they give people in tough situations. Ive seen Danielle comfort a mother who was waiting on a heart transplant for her son. Doctors are amazing at what they do, but to have a parent who has been through the exact same thing as you talk with you and let you know its going to be alright is incredible. The food drops are great too. Its so practical and thoughtful and it really brightens peoples day.

No one wants to be stuck in the hospital, especially during the holidays. For the 3rd consecutive year Jamesons Army tried to make the families Thanksgiving a little less difficult. On Thanksgiving Day, we provided a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to the heart families and staff at Childrens Hospital. Danielle and Patrik McKain, along with Allie McGowan and Cindy Fisher served turkey and all the traditional thanksgiving sides; including homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and much more. While it is never easy to be away from our own families during a holiday, nothing compares to the smile on the heart families faces when they see they can still enjoy a traditional holiday meal even while in the hospital.