I am writing this blog from Twin Lakes, California, a pocket of a campground within the snowcapped Mammoth Mountains. My two kids are down for a nap (so I can type) and I have a direct view of a cascading waterfall. A good day.
The first day of this family adventure had a bumpy start. No more than two feet into the trip, I scraped the side of my travel trailer against a palm tree, ripping an awning down in the process. Two hundred miles later I realized that the bikes I fitted on the trailer’s bike rack were way too heavy and ripped a portion of the bike rack frame from said trailer. I attempted to fix the frame and in the process was so distracted about the damage done, I left my tool bag on the side of Route 99 northbound (in case you see it). When we reached our campsite one hundred miles later, we realized that a portion of our trailer had flooded.
Long day, but not a bad day.
Bad days are reserved for families who are in a battle to beat their child’s cancer and as Board President of the Emilio Nares Foundation, I meet a lot of families who have bad days every day. On a recent trip to Rady’s Children Hospital, I met a mother of an eighteen month old baby with a rare and terminal form of cancer, she was there to only extend life, not to save it. She told me that every day is a good day because she has her daughter and then cried. That’s a bad day.
The treatment of children’s’ cancer is a long and terrible journey. Children do not have the same immune system as adults and cannot take the same amount of chemotherapy, which means that children are often treated for years, rather than months to get cured. For families with limited income and resources, the journey to save their child has a terrible impact on the entire family. Some families are forced to take public transportation to make their appointments – some walk.
The Emilo Nares Foundation exists because no sick child should miss a cancer treatment due to a lack of transportation. The organization fulfils on its vision by navigating families through their child’s journey with cancer and is the beneficiary of gap intelligence’s fourth annual “Drive for Rides” golf tournament.
This year, over one hundred and thirty golfers took a Friday to play golf, eat and drink, and share a few laughs. The gap intelligence team were amazing hosts and treated all who attended like family. There were dice throwing competitions, wine ring tosses, hole-in-one prizes, putting contests, and long drives.
There were a lot of smiles and there was a lot of love.
At the end of that great day, everyone managed to raise over $41,000 for the Emilio Nares Foundation. When broken down, $41,000 is enough money to support two families through their child’s entire journey with cancer.
We made some bad days just slightly less bad and I am enormously proud of that.
gap intelligence exists to be a Values-led company, one that is passionate about its people, its work, and about the community. We recognize our commitment to each other and that business now plays a central role in the public good. “Drives for Rides” is just one of hundreds of ways that we live up to being a values-led company.
We’re proud to be a part of gap intelligence and living up to our values and we recognize that we are not your traditional company. We’re values-led first, serving our people and our community and just happen to be really good at market intelligence. We’re a special team within a special company and we hope that you are just as proud to call us your partner in business and in life.
Just don’t let me pull a trailer.
