We are here! We have made the huge trip out west to soak in this area and slow our heart rates but we have also made this trip for you!
Josh Dortenzo and Joe Tice (and probably a Dortenzo kiddo or two along the way) will be biking 109 miles of the Mickelson Trail in South Dakota. In June 2017, Gearhouse Brewing Company and Orrstown Financial Advisors (located in Chambersburg, PA) partnered with Sweet Grace to kick off this new fundraising opportunity. Together, we made a goal to sponsor 109 baskets for 109 families enduring the loss of their sweet baby.
Why? Families enduring infant loss often suffer immeasurable pain while feeling very isolated. Families travel the journey of loss year after year expecting grief and loss to disappear or lessen. The fact is that grief is a lifelong mountain ride of peaks and valleys and everything in between. It IS long and painful and isolating. There is no other way to explain it. When Josh came to me with the biking idea, I loved it! He and Joe will ride for the families we support but also to depict what the journey of infant loss can look like. Long. Painful. Isolating. Hills. Valleys. Tears. Sweat. Hot. Cold. Neverending.
My prayer through this ride is that we not only support 109 families, but that we also show infant loss families that they are NOT alone and that there are many who have stepped forward to support them. With each mile, a family or individual has said, “I don’t want you to travel this alone”, with each mile, a family or individual has said, “We acknowledge the great need for better resources and support in and out of the hospital”. Friends, stay connected to our FB page or blog to follow us on this journey over the next few days! We are so excited to watch YOUR journey and YOUR support unfold with us here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Much love!