Here is the latest update on the Kelly and Amrine families and their search for normalcy.

The Kelly family has found a home, and is currently attempting to fix some of the issues to make it livable. They have gotten some bed frames, and a couch, but not much else in the realm of furnishings.

The Amrine family has also found a home but it will take some time for the current occupants to vacate the premises for them to get into the home. To my knowledge they have no furnishings at this time.

I spoke with the help at the Days Inn and wanted them to assure the families that they will have a place to stay until their homes are ready for them. We will need donations in order to help pay for their stay in the hotel. Days Inn has given us a lower rate for them at $29 per night. Not sure how much longer the Kelly family will need to be there, but the Amrine family may need to be there longer due to issues with their soon to be housing.

We know that one thing that has been difficult to find are mattresses. They have been able to come across some bed frames, but there are not many mattresses to be found. I have at least two, possibly three more couches that are lined up. I also have two dining room tables that we are able to donate as well.

They are going to need furnishings as much as they are clothing at this point. I know that David Deam has located one of those couches as well as a microwave, and we are awaiting delivery times and direction. If you have anything that your are not using, or if you get something new for Christmas and don't know what to do with the old, please get in touch with us. I will be in touch with the family over the next few days to determine true needs and find out what they have been able to gather.

Contact:

Michael Mitchell
mmitchell@bigfourfoundation.org

With the help from some great people at Shoe Sensation we were able to go shopping and get all of the members of the families new shoes to wear this evening. Couldn't have done it without the help of Megan and the staff at Shoe Sensation, and their #giveback attitude!

I now have sizes for everyone that was involved in the fire. The Charity League has stepped up thanks to the hard work of Susan Shaffer and we will be delivering clothing and necessities for all the kids involved tomorrow, but the kids will also need book bags and school supplies as well. The adults are still in need of many normal things that you and I take for granted. We will be doing a little shopping tomorrow for them to get them some undergarments, which are a big need. I have some of my own men's clothes that I am taking over to them tomorrow as well. I have some special surprises for Michael in my stash!

Here are the sizes for all the adults and I am still including the kids. 

Amrine Family:
Sharon - 5 X pants and shirts
Travis – Large Shirt, 34x34 pants, 11-1/2 Shoe
Michelle – 3 pants, Small shirts, size 7 shoes
Michael – Large Shirt, 32x34 pants, 10 – 11 Shoes
Nick – 2 XL Shirts, 34x34, 11-1/2
Homer – 36x30 pants, XL Shirts, 9 shoe

Kelly Family:
Kerrigan age 12 - size 16 youth or 1 woman's jeans,medium shirts,and 7 shoe. 
Brendan age 10 -  size 10 pants,large shirts,and 6 shoe. 
Landan age 8 - size 8 pants,medium shirts,and 2 shoe. 
Aidan age 7 - size 8 pants,large shirts,and 2 shoe. 
Noah age 7 - size 7 pants,medium shirts and 13 shoe.
Kids need backpacks and supplies for school as well.
Savanah – 13 pants – med to large shirts – large coat
Kim – 13 pants – med to large shirts – large coat
Dustin – 38 to 40 pants with 32 to 34 lengths – 3X or 4X shirts – 3X Coat

The Kelly family has found a home. It is in need of some repairs, but those can be met and are being taken care of. The Amrine family believe that they have found a home, but it may take 10-20 days before it is available to them. 

With being in a home we now get into a whole new world of needs. No one has a bed, a couch, a chair, etc. Not sure if the new homes will even have appliances or not at this point either. I will be attempting to work with the United Way who has some connections with Goodwill and Easter Seals to possibly help with furnishings. I have two kitchen tables that I will be giving them, but only one table has chairs with it. I believe that I can also find a couple of Christmas trees for them to have so that they can get back into the spirit of the season. 

These two families have been through more in this week than we can truly imagine. Seeing them and helping them to stay positive and let them know that someone does care for them is something special. I hope that they know that we will be here for them as long as they need us, and as long as we can keep helping them. 

Please share this information with everyone you know, and please step outside your comfort zone, donate some things that you may no longer need, so that these families can begin to put the pieces of their life back together. Let's come together as a community and show them what our #giveback is all about!

You can still drop off items to the Salvation Army, but make sure you tell them that it is for the fire families. You can also drop off items to Dave Deam at the Parker Store in the Plaza on Michigan Ave. You can also contact Michael Mitchell at mmitchell@bigfourfoundation.org and I can make arrangements to get items from you.

Please share and please help!

The Christmas season is upon us. It is that time of year when we begin to reflect on the year past, and what we are thankful for. It is truly the season of giving, as giving is better than receiving. 
This year has been full of wonderful things for the Big Four Foundation, as we continue to help people in our community, our season of giving never ends. 
Many of you know of the fire that took place here in Sidney, on the corner of Walnut and Michigan streets. The stories of children being dropped from the burning home second story windows and the loss of a life, as well as a few four legged family members are heart wrenching. A family has been left with nothing during what should be a happy giving season. The Big Four Foundation went into action and immediately began trying to find contacts and people that could lead us in the right direction. With the help of Chris North, and his connection to a generous amazing person, Amy O'Leary Sprague, we have bought more time in the hotel for this family to continue to put the pieces back together. This family needs our help in ways that I cannot count, or even imagine. They abandoned their burning home with nothing, and are now tasked with putting it all back together again. 
This is where we come in. As a community, as a group of thoughtful, helpful citizens, we can give this family a piece of hope. We can't make things the way that they were, but we can try to help ease the burden a little, and let them take a breath.
There are five children involved. Kerrigan is 12 and wears size 16 youth or 1 woman's pants, medium shirts, and size 7 shoe. Brendan is 10 and wears a size 10 pants, large shirts, and size 6 shoe. Landan is 8 and wears size 8 pants, large shirts, and size 2 shoe. Aidan is 7 and wears size 8 pants, large shirts, and 2 shoe. Noah is 7 and wears size 7 pants, medium shirts, and 13 shoe. I cannot find the information right now about the adult sizes, I know XXL for shirts and L shirts would help. Brenda Rowe has a donation account setup at US Bank in her name to donate funds for the family. You can also donate funds directly to the Big Four Foundation and we will get those funds to them as well. Any help is welcome. Dishes, furniture, hygiene items, anything that you can think of that is needed on a daily basis, they don't have it. There is a drop off for clothing at the Salvation Army in Sidney on Buckeye. Dave Deam graciously offered up the Parker Store on Michigan Ave. in the plaza as a drop off point for items as well. 
The family should hopefully have a place to live soon, and will begin to put their life back together. May we all find it in our hearts to let them know that they are not alone. Giving is truly better than receiving during this time of year, and our community is big enough and strong enough to help anyone overcome!
Monetary donations to the Big Four Foundation are always welcome as we still have funds to give to the Owens family in their support of Austin. Feel free to contact me at mmitchell@bigfourfoundation.org, or 937-726-8524.

October 26th, 2014 - The Cleveland Browns will host the Oakland Raiders in a game that starts at 4:25. The Big Four Foundation will be putting on their 1st Annual Cleveland Browns Tailgate Party. The festivities will begin at 12:00 pm at Buffalo Wild Wings in Sidney, Ohio and will last until 4:00 pm just before the game. 

There will be a silent auction of Browns sports memorabilia, including an authentic Jim Brown autographed full size throwback helmet, a Clay Matthews autographed jersey, and many more of your past and present Browns. 

We will have a 50 / 50 drawing and a percentage of all Buffalo Wild Wings sales for the day will go back to the Big Four Foundation. With the proceeds from our tailgate party we will be helping the family of Austin Owens. If you don't know who Austin is, please read back through our news updates, as we helped the Owens family with our proceeds from the Hacker Classic Golf Outing in August. 

You will also be able to purchase your own #giveback shirt designed for the Tailgate party. We will donate the proceeds from all shirts sold back to the Owens family!

Please come and join us, Browns fan or not, and help us raise money for a family in need!

The 2014 Hacker Classic has come and gone, and once again the Big Four Foundation has been able to raise awareness for a local family in need. We stopped by to visit one of our favorite people, and a great family and help provide them with assistance. 

With a record number of 32 teams in this year's outing we were able max out our capacity at Shelby Oaks Golf Club. There was a four way tie for first place and we had to have another first in our 8 year history; a putt off to determine the winner. Andy Boyd and his team were able to fend off the other teams to capture the scramble title. 

We have to thank all of our sponsors who helped make this possible. Plastipak Packaging in Jackson Center was once again a huge sponsor and help for us. Gay Smith and Associates right here in Sidney was another business that stepped up huge to help our efforts. Mitsubishi Automation became a sponsor for the first time, and we loved having their support this year. Buffalo Wild Wings was once again a great help and we always appreciate their support as well. TEK Systems was also a new sponsor who helped out tremendously. We even had a ton of new sponsors this year, from The Village Salon & Spa, Botkins Paint Company, Biggins Small Engine Repair, Sidney Auto Tech, Crescent Electric Supply Company, JT's Auto, Primecare Physicians (Doctors Boslett & Justice), Riverside Carryout, everyone came through to make this outing great this year. We have to also say a big thank you to those businesses who have continued to support us year after year. Checkered Flag Drive Thru, Oakley Chiropractic, The Heidout, Vondenhuevel Auctioneers, Rolling Hills Skate, Area Energy & Electric, Area Wireless, and Rob Fridely and everyone out at the Shelby Oaks Golf Club; we could not have done this without you.

This Saturday, August 9th will be the 8th Annual Hacker Classic Golf Outing. We are raising money this year for the family of Austin Owens. If you haven't seen his story feel free to look through our website and find the story about Austin and his fight with ALD. In great news, Austin will be coming home that day, so we won't have him or his parent's in attendance. Two of Austin's aunts will be there to share their thanks for all the help you golfers are providing for this family.

We will be having our silent auction of sports memorabilia as usual, and this will be going on during dinner, so be sure to bring your credit cards and checkbook. 

This will be the biggest Hacker Classic event yet, as we have sold out Shelby Oaks and have 32 TEAMS registered to play, breaking our record of 26 teams from last year! This is set to be the greatest Hacker Classic event on record. If you missed out on it this year, don't hesitate to get yourself registered early for next year!! 

Austin Owens is a young man from right here in Sidney, Ohio. Austin was a normal happy kid until the day he found himself in Children's Medical Center, being diagnosed with Adrenoleukodystrophy. This is an aggressive disease that attacks the white matter of the brain and the adrenal glands. Austin is currently going through his bone marrow transplant is working his way back to a what will prayerfully be a full recovery. 

The Big Four Foundation is going blue, to bring awareness to this disease. We will be donating all the proceeds from this years Hacker Classic Golf Outing on August 9th to the Owens family. Austin has been undergoing treatment for a long time, and his family has been by his side as much as they can. We can help this family by offsetting costs and providing some bit of comfort during their fight.

Please join us for the Hacker Classic Golf Outing and get involved. If you would like to know more about sponsorship please feel free to contact Michael Mitchell at mmitchell@bigfourfoundation.org, or by calling 937-726-8524.

The 8th Annual Hacker Classic Golf Outing will be taking place on August 9, 2014. The tee time has been moved up to 11:00 am this year, and all festivities, including dinner and silent auction will be held at the Oaks Club at the Shelby Oaks Golf Club.

This year we will be raising money to help the family of Austin Owens. Austin is an 8 year old, right here in Sidney, who was diagnosed with X-Linked ALD (Adrenoluekodistrophy) this past fall and has been undergoing treatments for several months. You can see more by visiting the Austin's Mighty Angels Facebook page.

We are proud to put on a quality golf outing, and donate to a family in our community that needs our help. 

Please join us on August 9 by getting your foursome information to Michael Mitchell at mmtichell@bigfourfoundation.org. If you are interested in hole sponsorship, or even other sponsorship opportunities, please feel free to email Michael Mitchell about that as well. We will be providing more details as the days get closer to the outing.