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Trotting for dollars

Turkey Trot raises $1,000 for Children’s Hospital

Rebecca Young/Post-Writer
Dec. 04, 2008

Kendall Horning and her family organized a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot to raise money for Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The Horning family celebrated Thanksgiving this year by gathering family and friends for a Turkey Trot, which raised just over $1,000 for Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“It was such a great success,” said Kari Horning. “I was really excited we could give money to the Children’s Hospital,” said Kendall Horning, Kari’s daughter.

Looking for a way to give back, celebrate the meaning of the day and get together with loved ones, the Hornings started the Turkey Trot tradition last year.

They invited family and friends to their home, to walk, jog or run one or three miles.

Last year, the family collected four large boxes of food for the Quincy Food Bank and raised a little money for curriculum at the Punkin’ Patch.

“It was great to enjoy a breath of fresh air, be neighborly and be grateful for all the things we have,” said Horning.

This year, Kendall, 9, asked if the family could raise funds for Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The fourth-grader became familiar with the facility while undergoing genetic testing and mapping for an undiagnosed genetic disorder that has left her missing six adult teeth.

She will continue to go there for dental work, dentures and implants, as she gets older.

“We are a really lucky family. Kendall is fully functional and wonderful. But you know a lot of children over there won’t make it. It is a huge financial burden on their families,” said Horning.

The hospital has an uncompensated care fund that offers assistance to the families to cover the medical bills.

Through that fund, Kendall created her own fund-raising guild, a 501c3, to raise money for the center.

“She has really taken ownership and just really wanted to give back. At 9-and-a-half to learn what is really important is pretty terrific,” she said.

Horning said Kendall helped with the event, drafting an invitation, cleaning up trash along the path, decorating and preparing snacks.

“I helped clean up, too, with my mom and dad and sister, Piper,” said Kendall.

Fifty-seven people gathered around a bonfire at 7:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning while the family told a little bit about the cause, then headed off into the glistening frost to trot along.

After completing the course, they ate snacks and visited before heading off to other festivities.

Starbucks in Moses Lake donated the cups for the hot drinks. At the end of the event, the Hornings said they found just over $1,000 had been put into the donation jar.

“Just a little group of family and friends could do this in a tight economy,” said Kari Horning, who said she would like to challenge businesses and other individuals to donate to the hospital as well.

She said just by talking to other families, she was amazed at how many people in the area have been touched by the hospital, having children, grandchildren or other loved ones go there for treatment.

“We’ve gotten a lot of personal satisfaction doing the event and just want to broadcast it so more people can support Children’s,” she said.

In addition to monetary donations, she said the facility can use items like teething toys, rattles, mirror toys, board books, sorting or stacking toys, squeeze toys, sippy cups and stuffed animals for infants; Magna Doodles, Etch-A-Sketch, I-Spy books, Nerf games, Koosh Balls, Legos, toy cars and art materials for school-age children; and nail polish, bath supplies, sports team items, journaling supplies, DVDs, gift cards, teen books and craft kits for teens.

Horning said the family would like to continue their traditional trot for many more Thanksgivings to come.