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The
History of Kate's Kart
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First, a little
background... |
 "Baby
Kate" was born
on June 26, 2006. Shortly after her birth, she was diagnosed with
heart and pulmonary defects. During
Kate's journey, she endured 4 open heart surgeries, 5 heart
catheterizations, and over 150 days in the hospital.
During
her stays in the hospital, one of Kate's favorite things to
do was look at books and have others read to her. She
also loved eating ice cream and popsicles, and going on
wagon rides.
On January 15, 2008, at
the age of just 18 months, her
fragile heart gave out and she passed from
her mother's arms into
her Heavenly Father's arms.
In honor of Kate, and her love of
books, the Layman family decided to start a rolling book
cart in the pediatric unit of a local hospital as a way
to give back to the medical community that had taken
such great care of Kate.
The cart would be filled with new books, and each child
would be able to select a book off the cart to keep.
The cart was fondly named, "Kate's Kart".
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May 2008 |
.gif) Word
of the Layman family and Kate's Kart spread
quickly, and soon a fundraiser was organized
to help stock the Kart with books. The
event was a
huge success and even drew interest from
local television and radio stations.
In all, over $31,000 in books, gift cards
and monetary donations were donated.
The response from the
community was so great, that 27 people
turned out for the first volunteer training
session to distribute books at Lutheran
Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. |
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June 2008 |
 The
1st "Kate's
Kart" officially rolled through the halls at
Lutheran Hospital on June 4. Andy and
Krista Layman, founders of Kate's Kart, were
surprised when a local news channel arrived,
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. The decision was
made to incorporate the organization and a
Board of Directors was elected to help Andy
and Krista manage the overwhelming response.
The
News-Sentinel posts a heart-warming article in the
evening paper about Kate's legacy.
Click here to view a PDF version of the article.
Download Adobe Reader free.
Kate's Kart hits the front page
of Portland's The
Commercial Review.
Click here to read the article.
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 2008 |
With 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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August 2008 |
Jay
County Hospital in Portland, Indiana was the
3rd hospital
to adopt Kate's Kart. Portland is the
hometown of Andy Layman and the burial site
of Baby Kate.
Throughout the summer,
the organization was featured in several
magazines and newspapers, including
Canterbury Today. Donations
and condolences
continued to pour in from all over the
country. |
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November 2008 |
After
hearing of the organization, the
4th Kate's
Kart was adopted by the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit (NICU) at Parkview North Hospital
in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Kate's Kart was highlighted in
the holiday issue of Parenting Magazine.
Click here to read the article. |
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December 2008 |
The
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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January 2009 |
LaGrange's News-Sun publishes an article
about Kate's Kart joining Parkview Noble Hospital.
Click here to read the article.
Huntertown Elementary School
donates close to 600 books to Kate's Kart.
Read the full article by
clicking here.
Watch Us Grow...
To date, our 55
volunteers have handed out
3,614
books to hospitalized children at
4
different hospitals! |
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February 2009 |
The
6th Kart was added to Parkview Whitley Hospital in Columbia
City, Indiana. |
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April
2009 |
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
60+ volunteers have
handed out
5,615 books to
hospitalized children at
6
different hospitals! |
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May 2009 |
After
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.
The
Herald-Press, serving Huntington County,
Indiana, publishes an article about Kate's Kart.
Click here to read the article. |
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June 2009 |
 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.
 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.
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
70+ volunteers have
handed out
6,207 books to
hospitalized children at
8
different hospitals! |
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July 2009 |
The
9th and
10th
Karts were
added to Parkview LaGrange Hospital in
LaGrange, Indiana, and Ball Memorial
Hospital in Muncie, Indiana.
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
8,559 books to
hospitalized children at
10
different hospitals! |
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September 2009 |
Our
friends at
Brooks Construction celebrated their
100th anniversary with a Charity Demolition
Derby Bash. Kate's Kart was selected
by
McMahon Tire, who competed on our
behalf.
Special thanks to our driver, Shane
Hockenberry, for your valiant efforts!
Please visit these fine local businesses:
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
9,489 books to
hospitalized children at
10
different hospitals! |
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Our
car going in...
Our
car coming out...
 |
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October 2009 |
This
month, we handed out our
10,000th book!!!
Our sincerely thanks and appreciation go out
to everyone and anyone who made this mission
possible. Click
here for a few photos of the
celebration. The
Fort Wayne News Sentinel published a
follow-up article about Kate's Kart.
Click here to read the article.
Customers of
Border's book store donate nearly 1,400
books to Kate's Kart.
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
10,409 books to
hospitalized children at
10
different hospitals! |
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November 2009 |
Kate'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!
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
11,334 books to
hospitalized children at
10
different hospitals! |
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December 2009 |
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
12,397 books to
hospitalized children at
10
different hospitals! |
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January 2010 |
1/15/2010 - Today 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.
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
13,403 books to
hospitalized children at
10
different hospitals! |
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February 2010 |
A touching article is
published on NPR (National Public Radio)
that mentions Kate's Kart.
Click here to view the article.
Our 10,000th book
recipient, Austin, helped organize a book
drive at his school to benefit Kate's Kart.
Click here to read the article. |
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March 2010 |
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
15,720 books to
hospitalized children at
10
different hospitals! |
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April 2010 |
 Kate'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 2010 |
 Unbelievable!
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.
Watch Us
Grow...
To date, our
80+ volunteers have
handed out
17,628 books (945 books
in May alone) to
hospitalized children at
12
different hospitals! |
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June 2010 |
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Kate'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.
Several nice articles appear in
local newspapers promoting our organization:
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July 2010 |
Watch Us
Grow...
As of June 30,
2010, Kate's Kart has handed out
18,535
books over 25 months at
12
hospitals by
80+ volunteers!
Thanks to everyone who has made our
mission possible.
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©
2010
Kate's Kart, Inc
Phone:
(260) 413-4089
Mailing Address:
429 E. Dupont Rd., #119, Fort Wayne, IN 46825
This address is for mailing purposes only.
We do not have a physical office. |
Questions?
Contact Us
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