The Rowan Jameson Windham 2013 Christmas Giving Project

It's our favorite time of year...time to buy, wrap and deliver gifts to Methodist Children's Hospital patients and their parents who will be in the hospital with them during the holidays.

 

Rowan helped me get started by stocking up on big fluffy "Won't Go Flat" pillows. 

We also had some "Sleep Number" Pillows donated this year.

After stuffing them into some nice soft pillowcases, we had some great gifts for the parents.

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to add to the parent gifts this year and gave them travel coffee mugs and Starbuck's gift cards so they could go get coffee in the food court, or refill at the hospital nourishment room whenever they wanted.

 

 

 

The Child Life Department had let us know that teenagers and infants were sometimes overlooked,

or that they didn't have age appropriate gifts to give them.  So, we tried to fill that need this year too.

 

For the older kids Rowan signed cards and gave them I Tunes gift cards inside.

 

We also bought t-shirts, sports memorabilia, games, crafts and magazines

for the children who were a little older.

 

I had lots of fun buying bath time products and bright colorful infant toys for the littlest patients.

 

Then, as we have done every year, we also stocked up on lots of fun flavored chap-sticks

and brightly colored socks for all ages and sizes, to comfort the kids while they are in the hospital, and stuffed animals to bring some comfort and cheer.

 

 

More toys and crafts for school age children...

 

And of course we couldn't leave out the wonderful nursing staff, that care for these children daily, and even miss spending time at home with their own families to do their job at the hospital.

 A little chocolate can go a long way on those long shifts:)

 

 

 

We wrapped box after box of goodies for both the patients and their parents,

and got them ready to take to the hospital a few days before Christmas.

 

Our car was loaded to the brim, and one of the other Foundation Board Members

also had her truck filled with all the pillows and 60 blankets that were made by the Linus Project

and donated to our Christmas Giving Project again this year. 

Thank you "Linus Project"!

 

 

Rowan was pretty wiped out at first, but he perked up once we started delivering the goodies.

 



Thank you to the amazing Child Life Staff for helping pick up all the boxes from the parking garage and for delivering them to the patients and parents who so deserve to be treated and pampered.

You have blessed Rowan and I again and again during our long stays, so it is an honor to give back.



 

 

 

Thank you to Sandra, Stephanie, and Maris for your work on the Board

and for helping make my dream of turning Rowan's Story into something good,

for helping him help others like himself.  We couldn't do it without you!

 

 (Thank you to our daughters for helping us make this day happen as well:)

 

Merry Christmas from the Rowan Jameson Windham Foundation

 



 

 

As if this day wasn't already a blessing and a joy to be a part of,

today I received a remarkable package in the mail from New Orleans.

Rowan's fireman friend Matt Ducote, and his wife Megan Ducote,

had been collecting blankets and chap-sticks as well, to add to Rowan's Christmas Project.

 

Look at all the soft beautiful blankets and chap-sticks that they sent us!

 

Looks like Rowan and I will be making another trip to the hospital for New Year's Eve!

Thanks for helping us bless even more patients!

 

(By the way Matt, did you notice what shirt Rowan wore to deliver presents?

He is honored to wear your Fire Department's shirt and your personal badge number.)

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Rowan

and The Rowan Jameson Windham Foundation!

 

Toughest Dog Competition Appreciation Dinner

Last night was the appreciation dinner to say thank you to all of the organizers, sponsors and volunteers who helped make the first annual Toughest Dog in Texas Competition Event and Fundraiser. It was a great night, and we really enjoyed getting to see and thank everyone who worked so hard on this fundraiser.  Below are pictures from the evening.

First of all, we cannot thank the Comal County Sheriffs Department enough, especially Deputy Duane Buethe, Sheriff Bob Holder and the entire K9 Department.  If it wasn't for Duane's idea, vision and hard work, the event would have never happened.  The Department, and the community then rallied around him to chip in and make the first annual dog run a HUGE success! After event expenses they were able to give us a check for... $9,500.00!!!!! All for The Rowan Jameson Windham Foundation.  This money will all go to help other children who deal with life threatening illnesses and spend a lot of time in the hospital, and their families.  It will allow us to expand from just serving children in San Antonio, to also adding children in New Braunfels hospitals as well.  We were blessed beyond measure and completely blown away, not just by the monetary total, but by the tremendous outpouring of love and support for Rowan's cause.

 

 

 

To help celebrate, I made the cake (and some special jello jigglers for Rowan)...

 

 

 

The evening just kept getting better and better. 

Rowan was presented with a very special gift from Constable Shane Rapp...

 

 

and he CANNOT wait to go up in this aircraft!

 

As if all this wasn't great enough...just look at the gift I was blessed with, from another event sponsor, Artist Bernice Brown! An original portrait of Rowan that she did from a photograph she found on the website.  She truly captured his shining eyes and precious grin.  I was in tears of course, and Rowan couldn't stop looking at himself:)  What a priceless, treasured gift.

 

 

Thank you Comal County Sheriff's Department, Deputy Duane Buethe, Sheriff Bob Holder and the multitude of sponsors and volunteers who helped raise this money for Rowan's cause.

 

 

We are so grateful, and very excited to be able to help bless even more medically fragile children and their families this year and in the years to come.

 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,

Rowan Windham &

The Rowan Jameson Windham Foundation Board of Directors

~

Carrie Windham

Sandra Malcolm

Maris Wise

Stephanie Barter