Client Spotlight: The Impact of Your Dollars
Kolby was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 15. Using personal fundraising pages Kolby and his mom Kimberly found a fun and easy way to run their own fundraising campaign to help Make it Stop. For Life.
At the young age of 16 Kolby has had to make a lot of adult decisions. Having been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and finding that a variety of medications were not enough, he was faced with a total colonetomy. For 4 months he lived with an iliosotmy and followed by another surgery to have a J pouch constructed.
Resilient and upbeat Kolby is adjusting to his new normal and looking for ways to assist those around him. He donated his unused ileostomy supplies to those who are struggling with the cost and started to think of other ways to make a difference.
That’s when his mom, Kimberly, got involved. She created a personal fundraising page to share Kolby’s story while raising money to help others who are living with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Kimberly was already thinking of donating her long blonde hair to a local cancer charity so this seemed like the ideal time to motivate people to donate.
By letting people know that she would shave her head if she reached the goal of $2,000, Kimberly received an overwhelming response. She surpassed her goal in no time at all! Knowing she could do more she raised the goal to $5,000 and has passed that goal as well.
“I have to say that I am so happy with the support we have received. The awareness has been amazing. Everywhere we go people bump into Kolby or myself and they have a story for us. It’s been great! I am shocked by the amount of people that suffer or know someone who has Crohn’s or Colitis. It has been so good for Kolby as well. As a 16 year old going through this he feels very alone but this has made him realize that he is not alone.” – Kimberly
Congratulations to Kimberly and Kolby for their hard work and amazing success!
