The History of Kate's Kart
After Kate's passing in January, 2008, a call was put out to help the Layman family with their mission of passing out new books to hospitalized children. Family and friends joined together to collect books for the Laymans, and soon a fundraiser was organized to help stock a rolling book cart with books. The name of the event was "Fill the U-haul", and this is where the Kate's Kart story begins...
May 2008Friends of the Layman family heard about a contest being held by a local radio station called "The Little Give," a smaller-scale spin-off of Oprah Winfrey's "The Big Give." The idea of the contest was to see which group could grow $500 seed money into the largest amount for a local charity. Contestants Jenny Teders and Shannon McClure took on the challenge with the hopes of filling a U-haul full of new childrens books for the Layman family to put on their book cart.
The event was a huge success, and the "Fill the U-Haul" book drive took in over 5,500 books, plus over $3,000 in monetary donations, totaling over $31,000!
Word of the Layman family and Kate's Kart spread quickly, and soon volunteers were coming forward to help the Laymans distribute the books. At the first organized meeting of Kate's Kart, 27 volunteers showed up to support the cause. |
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June 2008The first "Kate's Kart" rolled through the halls of Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on June 4, 2008. Andy and Krista Layman were surprised to see a cameraman from a local television station show up, and a short feature was aired on the evening news. Word about the Layman's mission continued to spread like wild fire, and soon more volunteers and hospitals expressed interest in supporting the cause.
Kate's Kart grew faster than the Layman family ever expected; therefore, the decision was made to incorporate the organization. Nine volunteers were elected for a Board of Directors to help Andy and Krista manage the overwhelming response.
June 26th was unofficially declared "Go Eat Ice Cream Day" in honor of Kate's birthday and one of her favorite treats. |
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July 2008With a team of volunteers now over 40 strong, a 2nd Kate's Kart was introduced at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. |
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December 2008The 5th "Kate's Kart" started rolling at Parkview Noble Hospital in Kendallville, Indiana. Even through the cold winter months, volunteers continued to step forward to support the Layman's mission. |
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February 2009The 6th Kart was added to Parkview Whitley Hospital in Columbia City, Indiana. |
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May 2009After less than a year, Kate's Kart, Inc. received its official nonprofit status and is recognized by the State of Indiana as a charitable organization, just as the 7th Kart was adopted by Parkview Huntington Hospital in Huntington, Indiana. |
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June 2009
The 8th Kart was adopted on June 15, 2009, by Dupont Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The 2nd annual "Go Eat Ice Cream Day" was celebrated on June 26th in honor of Kate's birthday and one of her favorite treats. |
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July 2009The 9th and 10th Karts were added to Parkview LaGrange Hospital in LaGrange, Indiana, and Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana. |
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October 2009This month, we handed out our 10,000th book!!! Our sincerest thanks and appreciation go out to everyone and anyone who made this mission possible.
Customers of Border's book store donate nearly 1,400 books to Kate's Kart. |
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November 2009Kate's Kart was selected by Barnes & Noble as their charity for this year's Holiday Book Drive.
Blackhawk Middle School selected Kate's Kart as the recipient of their Christmas Charity Project and donated almost $5,000 to Kate's Kart! |
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January 15, 2010Today we celebrate Baby Kate, who passed away two years ago today. It is with both sorrow and joy that we remember Kate and the legacy she has left through this mission. |
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April 2010Kate's Kart #11 was added to Cameron Memorial Community Hospital in Angola, IN. The students, staff and PTO of Ryan Park Elementary School raised enough money to donate two new karts, one for Cameron Memorial and one for Saint Joe Hospital in Fort Wayne, which is in progress. |
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May 2010Unbelievable! Kart #12 started rolling at Saint Joe Hospital in Fort Wayne this month! Again, we'd like to thank the students, staff and PTO of Ryan Park Elementary School for funding this Kart. |
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June 2010Kate's Kart is 2 years old this month!!
The 2nd Annual Free Ice Cream Social, held on Saturday, June 19, was a HUGE success. Over 800 free ice cream cones were scooped, doubling last year's total. We raised over $1,900 from corporate sponsorships, $1,300 in Scholastic book credits, $1,600 from private donations, and an entire Kart full of great, new children's books!
We would like to thank the 100s of volunteers that made this day happen, especially WBCL radio, dozens of corporate sponsors, Madeline's Toybox, PEto the "Almost" Magnificent, the Conglomernotes, and of course our own Kate's Kart volunteers. |
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December 2010Kart #13 started rolling at DeKalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn on Friday, December 10th. Kart 13 was donated by the Lakewood Park Christian School Cheer Team. |
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January 15, 2011Every January we celebrate the inspiration of this organization, Baby Kate, who passed away three years ago this month. As each year passes, Kate's memory does not fade, but grows stronger and brighter through her legacy which has given thousands of hospitalized children and their families the simple gift of a smile.
This month, we handed out our 25,000th book!! |
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April 2011Kart #14 started rolling at Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw this month! |
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October 2011This month, we handed out our 35,000th book! |
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November 2011Kart #15 started rolling at Bluffton Regional Medical Center in Bluffton, Indiana!
The dedication of this kart was made even more special due to the fact that Zach and Meghann Powers had chosen Kate's Kart as their memorial for their precious son, Xander, who passed away in July from Spinal Muscular Atrophy. The Powers' received books from Kate's Kart while at Lutheran Hospital with Xander. The books touched them and encouraged them to give back! Our new Kate's Kart was made possible by a generous donation from the Powers family in memory of their son. We are so humbled to see hurting families come together, to brighten and encourage other families. The support of thousands of families all over the country amazes us beyond all belief. Many lives are going to be touched because of this little boy and his amazing family! We are so honored to have Xander's memory a part of our Kate's Kart family. We are looking forward to the impact the kart, donated by his loved ones, is going to make with the hospitalized children in Bluffton! |
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December 2011Kart #16 started rolling at Adams Memorial Hospital in Decatur, Indiana. |
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To celebrate the first anniversary and success of Kate's Kart, an old-fashioned ice cream social was organized, complete with free ice cream, games, music and magic. The event was open to the public and drew over 400 people. 
