Blog - Jack's Caregiver Coalition

Written by Kyle Woody | January 15, 2018

Our future's so bright, we gotta wear shades!

Wasn't 2017 friggin' awesome?! Remember that insane total solar eclipse? Or all those dirtbags brought to their knees by the #MeToo movement? Or the inspiring acts of heroism, generosity, and neighborliness in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma, Harvey, and Maria?

We sure do. We also remember it as our 3rd year sharing those 3 simple words that a cancer caregiver named Jack said, "Serve the caregiver". Jack had lost his loved one to cancer and he, like so many others, knew first hand how overwhelming and underappreciated the cancer caregiving experience can be. When Jack said those 3 words he was talking to my friend, and the caregiver he was talking about was me. My life hasn't been the same since and neither have the lives of so many others.

2017 will also forever be etched into our memories as the year Jack's really took off! We're so excited to share the news that the airplane we've been tinkering with is now airborne!!!

On behalf of everyone on our team, I'm honored to share with you just a few of our success and failure stories from 2017. . . .

Caregiver Cards Against Humanity?! "If we're gonna sit in a circle it better be around an ice fishing hole"

At our ice fishing outing in February on Lake Minnetonka we had Lord Fletchers bring us the delicious grub to our ice houses. And of course we played Cards Against Humanity!

"Thank you so much for the belly laughs guys, I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard"
-Caregiver-

Caregivers nail 27 pheasants Hunting guides and "Therapy" dogs Magnum, Jill, Turbo, and Kia do all the dirty work.

Our second annual fully guided pheasant hunt in October was a great way to start our fall season!

"Thanks for including me....that was a great escape for a few hours. It's been a tough day today"
-Caregiver-

Cesarek wins the Caregiver Cup The swanky golf trophy you can win even if you suck

at golf.

C'mon guys, get a room! Dustin Cesarek sucks at golf, but he doesn't suck at caregiving. Just ask his wife Kim and his daughter Reagan. He snatched the Caregiver Cup title from Dan Guider, last year's winner who actually is good at golf. Do you think you have what it takes to get your name etched into the Caregiver Cup? Did we mention Dustin sucks at golf? Like really sucks, like it's hard to comprehend how bad he sucks really. Matter of fact it's probably dangerous to be anywhere near him while he's playing so we're all hoping he sticks to caregiving in 2018.

Caregiver Klatch, a partnership with Angel Foundation

Uh - what the heck is a Klatch?!

If you wanna know what it means, google it! And if you wanna prevent a guy from getting support, ask him to go to a support group! Klatch is our way of avoiding that dirty, tired, and worn out phrase "support group" and if you ask us, our version is way better than taking turns talking about your feelings. Here's the deal, we aren't counselors or therapists, we're just dudes who've been there. But you don't have to take our word for it........

"As devastating as it has been to be faced with the cancer diagnosis of my wife, and all that comes with it, Jack's Caregiver Klatch has been the first outlet I have found that really gives me comfort. I want to be the best caregiver possible for my wife, and part of that is taking care of myself - Jack's gives me the ability by allowing me a comfortable and safe outlet with people who understand what I'm going through. I'm already looking forward to the next one!"
-Caregiver-

Greet and Eats at Gilda's Club
NO agenda, only good food and good company

"Sometimes when we get together we don't talk about cancer or caregiving at all. Sometimes that's all we talk about. Sometimes we just shoot the shit. It all depends on who shows up."
-Caregiver-

All of these stories were made possible by our incredible teams of volunteer leaders!

Our 2017 Best Failure!
Failure Flowers, the Non-profit volunteer prize you don't have to feel guilty about tossing in the garbage

We love it when our volunteer leaders aren't afraid of screwing up. Heck our founders have screwed up a lot of stuff since we got started and learning from it is the only thing that's gotten us so far so fast. This year we awarded the "Best Failure" flowers to Rich Strobel. He had an idea for the "main event" at our annual fundraiser, and he executed it. Return on the investment? Not exactly. But we all see the potential in his idea and we learned a lot from trying it! Way to go Rich!

NOBODY won "Volunteer of the Year"
Caregiving is a team sport and so is Volunteering

We're a team of teams, and so we celebrate our "Volunteer Team of the Year."

This year that was our #JCBC Team led by our JCBC Chair Rachael Oelke who is really good at letting her team be the magic! They raised over $33,000 in one afternoon!

As we ring in the new year we promise that 2018 will be even better than 2017 was. We're committed to improving our existing programming and are excited to be launching more innovative programs throughout the year!

As our leader I try hard to measure and communicate our impact to all of our stakeholders, but the reality is the impact we're having on our community is far beyond our ability to measure or understand. And what gets me really excited is that while the plane we've built may be airborne, it's a million miles away from what it'll ultimately become. Much like the Wright brothers could've never dreamed what their invention would lead to, we simply can't imagine all the good that Jack's will ultimately lead to. . .

But I'll close with a dose of reality. Jack's is not just an idea who's time has come, it's an idea that's way overdue. And I believe all of us have a responsibility to turn that idea into reality. That's the hard part. Please consider this your personal invitation from me to join us as we strive to make our vision a reality, we're gonna need all the help we can get!

Kyle Woody,
Executive Director

Our Vision:
A community for men who are caregivers

Our Mission:
To improve the way men think, feel, and act in their role as a cancer caregiver

The Work We've Done

How We Did It

"Thanks again to you and the volunteers for all your hard work, our backyard feels so much bigger and our littlest Dani loves the extra space to drive around in her motorized car. Thank you also for being so inviting to my family, they have enjoyed attending your events with the support they receive from others in attendance"
-Stage 4 Colon Cancer survivor-

"How do we being to thank you and your team? We are wowed, not only by the finished product (beautiful!!!) but by the generosity of spirit that went into this to help our entire family! It's HUGE! Please relay our heartfelt and sincere thanks to all who worked on this project. Words can't adequately express our appreciation"
-Stage 4 Kidney Cancer survivor-

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