In Loving Memory…

This week we are saddened by the loss of the father of one of our River of Hope Foundation Board Members…

Proud Grandpa

Proud Grandpa

Ken Darwood Waltner left our home here on earth to take his place in heaven on February 17, 2012 following a noble two year battle with brain cancer.

Ken was born on July 24th, 1952 and was raised near Freeman, SD.  Ken was baptized in 1969 at Salem Mennonite Church where he was a lifetime member.   He attended Freeman Academy High School, graduating in 1970.  Following a year at Freeman Junior College, Ken volunteered for a two year service project at Kamp Kachese near Seattle, Washington. Upon returning in 1975, Ken began a 33 year career with Grand Laboratories (Novartis Animal Health) in Freeman, SD.  Ken continued to work at Novartis in Larchwood, IA until his own health left him unable to continue.

On October 28th, 1978 Ken married his soul mate, Cindy Wollman.  Soon after, Ken and Cindy moved to Larchwood, IA where they would start and raise their family.

Ken’s love for his wife, kids, and the outdoors, shined through in everything he did.  When Ken wasn’t out fishing or hunting, he was spending countless hours in his basement preparing for his next fishing or hunting trip.  Ken enjoyed reading about hunting and fishing and listening to music, Hawkeye games and Twins baseball.  Ken spent many years playing fast pitch softball where he made numerous and lifelong friends.  He supported his children in all of their activities and endeavors.

During their 33 years of marriage, Ken and Cindy lived a perfect example of what marriage should be.  They enjoyed many fishing trips, ball games and afternoons of watching birds in their backyard together.  Ken’s love for Cindy was immeasurable and unending.

Welcoming Ken to his heavenly home is his grandson, Alexander; father, Gene; and his beloved black lab, Bo.

He will be missed by his loving wife, Cindy of Larchwood, IA; son, Brett (Sarah) and granddaughter, Kendal of Tea, SD; daughter, Jenna (boyfriend Chris Thomas) of Sioux Falls, SD; mother, Joyce; siblings Steve (Ginger) Waltner and Kristi (Jeff) Miller; and in-laws Harvey and Peggy Wollman, Curt (Kim) Wollman, Cletus (Susanne) Wollman, Cheri (Matt) Scharffenberg, Christi (Chad) Tieszen, as well as many nieces, nephews and other extended family and friends.

A visitation will be held at Seeds of Faith Methodist Church in Lester, IA (located at 408 Main Street, Lester, IA) on Monday, February 20th.  The family will be present from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a short memorial service commencing at 7:00 p.m.  Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, February 21st, at 2:00 p.m. at the Salem Mennonite Church in Freeman, SD (located at 28103 443rd Avenue Rural Freeman, SD-approx 27 miles West of the Worthington Exit off of I-29, then one mile South).

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in memory of Ken Waltner to the River of Hope Foundation.  Donations can be made through the family or by making them directly online at www.riverofhopefoundation.org.

Ken’s passing has left a huge hole in our lives.  If we live our lives by the example he set for us, we will be with him again one day.

Please keep the Waltner family in your thoughts and prayers as once again a family member has been taken from us far too early because of this disease that discriminates against no one and has no boundaries.



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Vote River of Hope

Starting on Tuesday October 11th you will have the opportunity to vote for the River of Hope Foundation to win $25,000! Beginning at 4PM CST when The Pinkwell Challenge Founder Lester Smith announces the contest nationally on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, you will be able to go to Pinwkell.org and cast 10 votes per day until Friday the 14th at Midnight. The organization with the most votes will be awarded $25,000 on Saturday the 15th!

If you have always wondered how you can help us, or maybe have wanted to donate but have not had the means NOW is your chance to help! Start spreading the word today! Ask your friends to RSVP to our Facebook Event and share on your own page as well!



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Excitement Is In The Air

We are in for a wild couple of months! Just off of a great showing of support in the Vivint  Gives Back Challenge (we did not win, but finished in the top 50) allowing our supporters to tell the world about us, we look to finish June strong and head into July.

We have just sent in an application for a matching funds grant of up to $45,000 from Pink Well a project started by oilman, author, championship ballroom dancer, and cancer survivor Lester Smith. If selected to be part of this challenge we will need your support both financially, and in spreading the word to help make sure that we can take full advantage of the matching funds.

We have also just released a new program allowing you to send cards to those who need them most, or for any reason really, but mostly to brighten someone’s day. The best part about this campaign is that all cards that are purchased from SendOutCards using the link provided will not only make the lives of those you care about easier, but a portion of all sales will go to the River of Hope. You can tell us about someone that you think could use a “Card Shower” on our River of Hope Facebook Page ( no addresses please, they can be sent to nathan@riverofhopefoundation.org )

Then winding up the month of July is the 10th Annual Parade of Ponds & Pools. In the next week we will be releasing all the info; including sponsors, ticket locations, dates and special events. We are so excited for this year’s tour and hope that you will help us spread the word! Please be sure to share the River of Hope will all of your friends, it is only with your help that we can continue to grow!



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Vote for River of Hope to win $250,000

This week the River of Hope Foundation entered into a contest for $250,000! The best thing about this grant is YOU! That’s right you have the power to give us $250,000. The top 20 organizations with the most votes in each region on June 11th go into the second round of voting, from there the top vote getter will receive $250,000 and the top vote getter from each remaining region will get $100,000. Please cast your vote and share with your friends, co-workers, family, and even strangers by clicking support us below.

VOTE FOR RIVER OF HOPE

You can vote once per day, but for every person that votes once and gets a friend to vote as well we are that much closer to the prize! Please don’t be bashful in asking for votes if you believe in our cause.



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Spring Is Here…Maybe

We started off the Spring season in great form at the 22nd annual Lawn and Garden Show in Sioux Falls. The days of preparation and construction paid off as we showed the River of Hope story off to nearly 10,000 people throughout the weekend. One of the best things about the show was raising nearly $1000 through our putting contest “Holes for Hope”, silent auction, and “Guess the Fish” contest. Of course the weekend would not be possible with out the great support from our friends at Rock Garden Nursery, Combined Pool and Spa, James Dugan, and Backyard Broadcasting.

While waking up to an inch of snow on the ground put thoughts of winter back into our minds, it was only a brief thought. I was quickly back to thinking about all of the nominations that we have that we are working very diligently to be able to provide healing environments for this year. Our projects average about $5500 each and with over 40 nominations already in and funding tight we are left to figure out how many we will be able to do this year. The River of Hope Foundation truly does only exist with your support. If you or someone you know would like to become a partner, sponsor a project, or contribute financially please contact us for more info. We are making a difference in the lives of those affected by cancer, but to continue helping as many people as possible we need your help!

Thank you,

Nathan



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Janet’s River of Hope Airing Saturday

Watch Janet’s Story this Saturday at 5:30pm on MyUTV. Do to programing changes we will not air on KELO Sunday at 10:30am this week, but Janet’s show will air at the normal times on the 19th and 20th.



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Join us at the Great Plains Golf Expo Feb. 26th & 27th

Be sure to stop out to the Great Plains Golf Expo February 26th and 27th. For $5 you can play 9 holes of mini golf on a custom designed course with all proceeds going to the River of Hope Foundation.

Click for Website



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Michelle’s Story to Air This Weekend

Our first new episode of River of Hope of the new year will re-air this Saturday at 5:30pm on MyUTV and Sunday at 10:30am on Kelo. Michelle’s story of her fight with colon cancer will re-air. Thank you for watching, and helping us share our mission!



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Pay It Forward Day

Although the name suggests you may need money to participate, today is simply a day for all to step outside of ourselves even if only for one day. That’s right, in a world so content on blaming everything on a “down economy” we can all go out of our way to do a random act of kindness even if we have nothing to give. Today is a day when age, race, popularity, social status, or lack thereof have no relevance. Did you see that person with the hood up on their car along the side of the road and say “oh I’m sure they have a cell phone” or did you sacrifice having time to get your coffee to make sure they had someone they could call to help? Was the person walking up to the door more than 10 feet away and going to end up opening the 2nd door on their own anyway? Or was it a great opportunity to say “good morning, I hope you have a great day”? Do you really need that coat that’s been in the closet just in case the zipper breaks on your other two, or is there someone downtown in a hooded sweatshirt hoping the weather man is off by a few degrees? I think it’s safe to say that the list could go on for much more than one day.

Granted it’s easy to say what’s the world coming to that I have to be told to do something without expecting anything in return on a specific day. Or, maybe you already did your good deed for the year yesterday. Maybe you are one of the people who does something everyday, and I applaud you, but please take time to reflect on the meaning behind this one day and see how it compares with the rest of your life.

My father-in-law is a very giving man. He gives his time, talents, and treasures on a daily basis and I’ve never once heard him say “well I just helped someone yesterday.” In fact, most every Sunday afternoon you can find him walking in and out of the nursing home and assisted living center making the rounds, stopping by to visit. You may not think that sounds so great, I visit my grandma there every now and then, but in his case he’s not visiting family, he’s just stopping by to say hi to anyone who may need a friendly face. Random act of kindness, or a way of life?

So today, give if you have something to give, pay for something for someone if you can, but at the very least, stop and give a heartfelt hello with a smile without fear of having to actually have a conversation with someone who may have a story you don’t want to hear.



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The Attic Stache Bash 2010 Raising Cash and Awareness for Men’s Cancer

Movember will be in full swing this Friday night at the Attic Bar and Grill in Sioux Falls! The Attic will be hosting it’s 2nd Annual Stache Bash on Friday November 19th 8pm-close, and this year it will be benefiting Team River of Hope’s Movember team! We will be there collecting donations, and the Attic staff will be selling signature cocktails with the proceeds going to Team River of Hope.

Movember

Guys grow your staches, ladies grow what you can!! The Attic will also have Hamms cans for $1 all month, along with 5 for $10 High Life Buckets, and it’s All Jacked Up Month with $3.75 Jack Daniels. On November 19th, the Rat Pac will be playing from 8pm-close. We will have judging for the best and worst staches with prizes from Jack Daniels, Miller High Life, and Attic Bar Tabs. If you weren’t here last year, you gotta be. Check out last year’s pics in the Photo Album. The best part is all of this fun will be helping raise cash and awareness for men’s cancer!



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We Need Your Help To Fight Cancer

Our generous partners have been instrumental in moving our foundation forward, but we could use your help to touch more cancer patients lives.

Donate To The River Of Hope