We've Moved

Please visit our new blog at The MJB Foundation's new home page.

We truly appreciate your continued support of our foundation!

Kroger and The MJB Foundation

Getting back on track, revising, revamping, and eventually moving this blog over to the website. Don't worry, we'll make an announcement when we do. Check there for updates www.mjbfoundation.org.

In the interim we have this great bit of news to share about The MJB Foundation and Kroger.

Thanks for helping us share our Joy!

The Kroger Company has a program available to non-profit organizations called The Kroger Community Rewards Program. This program donates money to The MJB Foundation based on your use of your Kroger Plus Card. It doesn’t cost you anything to have your card hooked up to The MJB Foundation’s donations. If you are willing to do help us out, please sign up! It’s pretty easy, just have your Kroger Plus Card when you log on.

Here is how you do it:

TO USE THE KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM:

• Register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
• Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up.
• If a member does not yet have a Kroger Plus card, please let them know that they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
• Click on Sign In/Register
• Most participants are new online customers, so they must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.
• Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
• You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
• Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
• Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
• Update or confirm your information.
• Enter NPO number (84231) or name of organization, select organization from list and click on confirm.
• To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.
• REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your group until after your member(s) register their card(s).
• Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
• Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.
• If you are interested in the alternate SCANBAR method of member registration, please call 800-837-4483 and a SCANBAR letter will be mailed to you.
  

Announcing Golf for Joy Trivia 2009

In the week leading up to Golf for Joy I've decided to try something new:

Welcome to Golf for Joy Trivia Week beginning Monday, June 22, 2009.

During the course of the week I am going to Tweet trivia questions from the MJB Foundation's Twitter account@mjbfoundation and post them on the foundation's fan page on Facebook.

What sort of trivia questions you ask?

Why Golf for Joy trivia of course. We have 14 years of golf history and more than five years as a foundation. Demz a lot of details.

Most of the answers will be available via The MJB Foundation website. To keep things interesting, I'll throw out a tidbit or two that's not easily identifiable. Maybe something about Brian's Bail Bonds hockey team adventures (Yeah, we'll call them adventures), on the course at Golf for Joy. It might just be something as simple as a detail about the foundation that hasn't been put into print (yet), for one reason or another. I also might just throw out some general golf questions, especially if they are "still" playing the U.S. Open. (The course is saturated in New York today.)

Okay - Let's get to it. Here's "Da Rulez"

1. Follow @mjbfoundation on Twitter or become a fan of the MJB Foundation on Facebook.
2. Watch for trivia questions, probably 2-3 each day, Monday through Friday next week.
3. Be the first to reply and answer questions correctly by replying to @mjbfoundation, or commenting on the Facebook fan page and win prizes.

That's right prizes - I don't know specifically what prizes yet. In a mini-experiment today I gave away coffee drinks. If you're not local I might send a gift card. This is our first time trying something like this. I'm winging it. Go with me. I will make it worth everybody's while.

ALSO!

I will give away one grand prize. Again - I don't know yet. Work with me. I will announce it as soon as I figure it out.

I think that's it. Simple, right? If I'm missing something or forgetting something we'll deal with that as we go. So here's my disclaimer: I am the judge - All decisions made by the judge are final. All ties go to the runner, i.e. the first correct answer I see.

Everyone is eligible to play EXCEPT the immediate Brochowski family. We are the only folks who have the history immediately available to us. Even our new board members are new enough to The MJB Foundation and Golf for Joy that they can't possibly know it all. (I also want them all to get Twitter accounts. You see my devious plan?!?!! mwhahaha)

Don't have a Twitter or Facebook account? Get one! They are great tools for connecting with people in all walks of your life. They are also required to play Golf for Joy Trivia 2009.


One final note: I will be retweeting and making the questions available from my Twitter and Facebook accounts on Monday and into Tuesday a little. But I don't want to blast those folks who choose not to follow or play along with what will amount to spam at that point and lose them as friends or followers. So after Tuesday at noon I will stop reposting the question from my accounts and only use The MJB Foundation's.

Questions? Comments? Let me know here on the blog.

Hit 'em Straight!

Jimmer

I am Meghan's grandmother. Each year I am awed by the commitment that Jim and Annette have to this rememberance of their daughter. I am one of the lucky mothers who never had to have a memorial for a daughter. When I married Annette's dad I became the mother of four daughters! Annette and Jim worked very hard with their brain damaged daughter. They loved her as much as Kailey the "perfect" twin. I remember when they were born. We weren't expecting twins. Those of us in the waiting room got really nervous when the emergengy C-section took a very long time. Each time we went to the nursery to inquire they asked if we were talking about the twins! How dumb were those people! Finally, "grandma" went into the delivery area again to inquire and ran into the OB. He told me all about the twins and the fragile state of one of them. Twins! We thought she (Annette) looked big and were we right! That day began the struggle to keep Meghan alive. For 15 months the family worked with tube feedings, medically alert night times, and the heartbreak of a handicapped child. Hard to imagine it was more than 15 years ago. Rest in peace little one. We will continue to remember you with our golf outing!

Talking about Meghan

Frequently during the time of year leading up to Golf for Joy I find myself meeting new people, shaking many hands, and handing out business cards. Friends introduce me to their friends and tell them about the outing and the foundation, how cool it all is, and what a good time we always have...

And... I appreciate that so much, that my friends want to share, and want to help.

But I met someone this weekend who made that exchange even more special. I sent him this email to thank him.

Hi Touby,

Just wanted to say how nice it was to meet you Saturday and talk about our outing and my daughter Meghan Joy.

People often ask about the MJB Foundation and Golf for Joy. They don't often ask about Meghan. While I understand that, in that they don't want to make things feel uncomfortable it does mean that much more each time somebody does take the time to ask.

I am truly grateful for those times.

Hope you have a great week!

Take care,
Jimmy

When the party is over... When the money has been raised and donated... I still miss my little girl.

Today I want to thank everyone who helps me to remember.

Anxious

Hard to believe it's already June 2nd and Golf for Joy 2009, our 15th annual tournament is only 25 days away.

Wait a minute... Does that say 15 years? Wow! Now I feel old.

It seems like just yesterday we had our first outing with 21 golfers and a small little after party at a friends house. Heck, I can still recall our 2nd year after we'd just moved into our new house and we were worried about the kids getting all muddy with no grass yet on our lawn.

Time has flown by.

And here we are...

The month before the tournament is always our busiest and most anxious. Since we started our foundation in 2004 the latter part of May and the greater portion of June each year consists of the frantic gathering of supplies, donations, and raffle prizes, the preparation of same for distribution, the making of signs, ordering hole signs, securing hole-in-one insurance and waiting for our field to fill out.

To date this year we have approximately 50 commitments to play in Golf for Joy. Of those 14 have paid.

Like I said - Anxious.

We're always so glad that so many want to participate, but none of us is very good at collecting dues. After all for our family we are just honored that people think of our Meghan Joy and want to remember her, let alone come and spend a day with us.

The truth is if we could we would pay you to come and help us celebrate a day for Meghan Joy.

We are honored this year to seat a new board, and they have been incredibly helpful and supportive. Creative in these tough economic times, tireless in their efforts to secure all that is necessary to put on our outing, they have gone above and beyond to be sure that K and D and Netter and I feel like we can share the load. This is the first of many times I will say this I am sure:

A great big thanks to all of them.

The day is almost here.

We had a meeting last night to set our deadlines and prepare for the final push to the tournament.

Deadline for golfers to sign-up and pay their dues is Saturday June 20.

Sign up here.

Deadline for sponsorships of all kinds is Wednesday June 17.

More info can be found here.

For more details as the day approaches, keep an eye on this space, or your email inbox if we have have it. Check out our Facebook Fan Page. or find us on Twitter if you want to follow us.

Inspiration

Tonight we are attending the Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities Early Childhood Education family picnic.

Thanks to the generous supporters of the MJB Foundation we will be making a donation of $5,000, our biggest contribution to date toward the Barn Structure to be built in the farm garden at the Early Childhood facility.

We'd love it if you would join us, or maybe help us wish this rain away.

I'm Meghan Joy's Daddy Jim Brochowski.

I have the great honor and privilege of writing the speeches for these events, the words that go along with the contributions our friends allow us to make.

But this one is a little different.

You see, 15 years ago today we lost our Meghan Joy. We don't make a habit of dwelling on the date. While we feel the loss of Meghan in some ways every day, we try to focus on the positive. Still the irony of today being that anniversary, and this being our biggest contribution, well... Wow!

I always do a few things when I'm writing a speech for the MJB Foundation.

I spend some time reflecting on my daughter and her legacy. I read through her story, and sometimes speeches and stories that have been written before. I try to think about her sisters K and D and her Mommy, Netter and how what I say will represent all of us and all of our supporters.

Today, this date I'm adding something to that list.

Instead of focusing on the fact that we lost our daughter 15 years ago today, I'm going to focus on what we gained and her inspiration. An inspiration that has allowed us to do so many things for so many children with challenges.

I will be proud to present that check later this evening and I am proud to represent Meghan's legacy, and my family and everyone who supports Meghan's Foundation.

Thank you!

What's It All About?

The MJB foundation was created in honor of Meghan Joy Brochowski in 2004. Meghan was born on February 5, 1993 with her twin Kailey. Although they looked alike, there was a difference between them. Meghan was born with cerebral palsy and very sadly passed away at the age of 1 on May 14, 1994. Her family wanted to remember Meghan and her story so they started an annual MJB golf outing in 1995.

Every year a golf tournament is held which we now call “Golf for Joy”. The tournament consists of a round of golf for all of the adults who would like to play, an auction, and a few speeches afterwards by Jim Brochowski, Meghan's Dad and Kailey who is now 16 years old.

I am Delaney Brochowski, Meghan and Kailey's younger sister. This year’s tournament is the 15th anniversary and we are trying to make it bigger and better.