For the love of Zombies

Last weekend I witnessed something amazing – a community fundraiser for a little girl battling leukemia. It started as a random Facebook status from a girl I know, and quickly grew into a huge event that brought people together from all over the territory – a 3k Race/Walk where the runners were chased by Zombies.

In two weeks, a group of about 15 people communicated via Facebook, email and text messages; everyone bringing to the table whatever they could offer in terms of their talents and resources. Some people brought food, some people were able to raise resources and bring in a lot of financial donations, and others like myself had the means to spread the word like wildfire. Come out, have a good time and help out a family in need.

The event was a huge success. With the contributions from the entire community over $13,000 was collected to help the family with medical expenses to care for their child – and more continues to come.

At the end of the event members of this little girl’s family came up and gave a thank you speech to the crowd. As soon as they spoke I began to cry, and truth be told I had a hard time containing myself afterwards. What I witnessed; what we all witnessed was the power of love that we have for one another in this community.

The love among us – one of the very roots of our Haudenosaune identity – was very publicly demonstrated this weekend. As much as I believe all of us on the committee gave of ourselves to make this event happen, I think its fair to say that everyone at Chiefswood Park received greatly this weekend because of the love that was there: love for our children, love for one another, love for this rez and love for the faces yet to come.

My story is short this week because in all honesty I am still brewing with emotion from this outpouring of love. So I’m just gonna sit back and enjoy it. Not overanalyze and not try to pick it apart but instead embrace it and let it permeate every piece of my being. We are blessed to be a part of a passionate people who are changing and growing, proving we are more than stereotypes. #goodmindsstandup

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