I Had A Dream

I had a dream.  A dream that was an answer to a prayer.  And I would like to tell you about this dream, because you can be a part of the answer to a prayer and a dream.

My husband and I lost our 16-year-old son, when he was riding a bike.  He was hit by a car.  We have experienced every parent’s nightmare.  We have lost a child.  In our country, we are part of a minority of people.  In other countries it is much more common to lose a child.  However, whether it is common or not, it is a horrible, heart rendering event, that will ripple through our lives until we ourselves die.

Most families who lose a child strive to find meaning in it – their child meant everything to them, and they want their child’s life to continue to have meaning here on this earth.

We are no different – we started a trust in Sean’s name, and have a yearly bicycling event to honor his memory and raise money for his trust.

Each year we have given the money to help those who are less fortunate, to something that we thought Sean would especially like – to help families overseas or locally.  As we have done so, we have prayed for God to show us specifically how to give this money.

Last month, I had a dream, that we believe was God’s way of showing us how to direct the money we receive, and to ask others to think about their personal giving in a different way.

The dream involved searching for our son, Sean, and finding him helping children who were kidnapped or sold by their families into the sex slave industry.

It is horrifying to think about, but it is happening, and I think God wants us all to do something, anything, to stop it from happening, and to help the victims of this evil crime.

One of the reasons it happens is that families don’t have enough to feed their families, and they actually sell their children to survive.  Organizations like:  Women At Risk, and Market Colors help families by employing women to make products that they sell, providing great products at reasonable prices for an amazing purpose – to help families economically, restoring their ability to provide for their children.   This is just a small piece of what they do to help, but this piece is where you and I can help.

Please go to these links to find presents for your families for Christmas:

https://warinternational.org

http://marketcolors.store

You will help your children by giving them great gifts, and you will help the children of the world.  You will also find out more about what these organizations do, and other ways you can intersect with them to help.

You can also give money to Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision and World Orphans.  They each fulfill a purpose that helps families, refuges and orphans.  This in turn stops the Sex Slave industry before it can get a hold of these precious children.  I have included their links here:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org

http://www.worldvision.org

http://www.worldorphans.org

If any of you know of any other worthy organizations that battle the Sex Slave Epidemic, also known as Human Trafficking, please share the links in the Facebook comments or the comments on this blog.  We all need to work together to do whatever we can, wherever we can to fight, fight, fight against this evil.

Thank you for reading this blog, and praying and taking action,

The Stanton Family

PS  In this picture, Sean was standing by Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, trying to be a serious, as he was usually not serious.  But about this issue, Sean would be very serious.

We are a part of a Community that cares!

It’s been a week and a few days since the Sean Stanton Community Slow Roll.

Lisa Hadden of the Mid-Michigan Cycling Club, (one of our partners in this event, the other was the City of Mt. Pleasant Parks & Recreation Department) has informed us that there were over 100 riders in the Slow Roll, and that did not include the children and parents in the little riders’ event.

Dog Central provided 150 hot dogs, and they were all eaten.  Kroger and Coyne Oil provided water and power drinks and hundreds of bottles were drunk.

Good friends and family donated homemade cookies, brownies and rice krispy treats and over 5 hundred were enjoyed.

Mountain Town Station, Red Lobster, Max & Emily’s, Stan’s, Jimmy Johns, Art Reach, Downtown Drugs, Upper Cut Salon, Revitalize Massage, Pleasant City Coffee, the Coffee Room, Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe, Treasures of Alma,  and Dog Central gave gift cards and gifts, and they were distributed in a raffle.  So many, were blessed by these gifts/gift cards, and it added to the party celebration of the event tremendously!!

Terry’s Cycle of Alma provided a children’s bike and a sweet little girl won the bike, and declared it was the best day of her life and blue was her favorite color!!

Our sponsors names were printed on the back of the t-shirts :  Mercantile Bank; Isabella Bank & Trust; ICCU; Boge, Wybenga & Bradley, CPA; The Optimist Club and Terry’s Cycle of Alma.  This event would not have been possible without their generous donations.

Almost all the t-shirts were gone at the end of the event–and the sale of them and donations totaled over $1000 towards Sean’s Memorial Trust!!

The Optimist Club added to our Bike Safety theme by donating bike helmets that so many children were eager to wear!

Bike Safety pamphlets were handed out. Rich Stanton said a few words about bike safety and prayed for the safety of all the riders for the coming year.  Mike Seaman was remembered as was our son Sean James as they lost their lives doing what they loved to do—riding their bikes.  We came together to remind ourselves that we are not alone during these times of loss and grief.  We are a part of a community that cares.

We are a part of a community that cares.

So thank you, thank you once again, to each and every person who came to ride, to volunteer, to celebrate life.

Thank you to each business that gave– your generosity reveals your heart.  Thank you!!

Sean Stanton’s Family

 

 

SEAN’S SLOW ROLL IS TONIGHT!!!

WHERE:  MT. PLEASANT CITY HALL, 320 BROADWAY

WHEN: TONIGHT–JULY 14TH/ 6:30 BIKE RIDE STARTS, 5:30 REGISTRATION STARTS

IMPORTANT DETAILS:  MUST WEAR HELMET TO RIDE!!

PARENTS MUST SIGN WAIVERS FOR CHILDREN UNDER AGE OF 18!!

 TWO BIKE RIDES:

1.  THROUGH DOWNTOWN MT. PLEASANT, (4 MILES)  OPEN TO RIDERS 9 AND OLDER, AND PARENTS WITH BIKE SEATS AND STROLLERS FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN.
2. THROUGH THE BIKE PATHS OF ISLAND PARK, (WHICH IS NOW OPEN!!!) FOR CHILDREN AND PARENTS OF YOUNGER CHILDREN.  MANY PARENTS WALK THIS ONE, AS IT GOES SLOW!! 🙂

DOORPRIZES AND FOOD AFTER BIKE RIDE!!

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

Q

I recently received a letter from a friend with questions about the Slow Roll, and I thought I’d post that letter here, and answer those questions for her and for all of you, that have the same questions. Hi K, I hope you’re having a wonderful summer! I just had a couple quick questions about […]

via Q

Q & A

I recently received a letter from a friend with questions about the Slow Roll, and I thought I’d post that letter here, and answer those questions for her and for all of you, that have the same questions.

Hi K,

I hope you’re having a wonderful summer! I just had a couple quick questions about the slow roll memorial for Sean this coming Friday.

1.  Is there any kind of entry fee?
2. Can we register at 6 or do we need to be there by 5:30 to participate?
3. How much are tshirts?
4. Our kids don’t have bike helmets but I see the Optimist club gives them out free so are there always enough?
5. Does a parent have to ride along with kids under 9 (C who is 5, almost 6 is a very proficient rider and I don’t have a bike)? Was just wondering how that was structured. Sorry for my gobs of questions… just want to be knowledgeable ahead of time & be able to share with friends who are interested in participating. 😉 Thanks, K! Talk to you soon! ~N B

 

Hey N–  Thank you for your gobs of questions!!  (I think I’m going to use your letter in my newest blog, if that is alright with you, as I’m sure others have these same questions 🙂

So, here are the answers–

1.  There is no entry fee!!!  Everything is free, (including the hot dogs, drinks, and snacks afterwards) except the t-shirts, and we are asking  a $10 donation to Sean’s trust for one of them. 🙂  The reason everything is free is because of our great sponsors —Mercantile Bank, Isabella Community Credit Union, Isabella Bank & Trust, Terry’s Cycling from Alma, MI, Boge, Wybenga & Bradley, CPA, Hot Dog Central, Motorless Motion and The Optimist Club.

2.  Registrations starts at 5:30, and ends right before the bike ride, which starts at 6:30, so Registration is between 5:30 and 6:25.  So come during that time frame to get registered.  During Registration, you will sign the waiver and enter the drawings to win a door prize, (and get a bike helmet for your child.)  We have amazing door prizes this year from:   Mountain Town Station, Red Lobster, Stan’s, Jimmy Johns, Max & Emily’s, Downtown Drug/Soda Shoppe, Jays, The Coffee Room, The Upper Cut Salon, Pleasant City Coffee, The Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe, Art Reach, and Revitalize Massage.

3.  We have about 40 helmets from the Optimist Club, so I think there are plenty, but you may want to come right at 5:30, just to be sure. 🙂

4.  There are two bike rides happening–the one through the streets for those 9 and older, and the one on the bike path for those younger.  We prefer for parents to be with their children on the younger one, but we will have adult supervision and bikes and unicycles escorting that one.  Parents can walk along with that bike ride, if they don’t have a bike.  The whole point of the event, is community and safety, so the bike rides are not fast.  You may be a little behind the bike riders if you are walking, but you will be available to your child, if he or she may need you during the event.

Thank you for those questions N!!  I will not use your name in my blog, just your initials 🙂  Love you!!

K 🙂

The Slow Roll–fun, and so much more!!

My last blog was titled, Celebrating Sean.  The Slow Roll is about celebrating Sean’s life, but it is about much more than just Sean’s life.    This bike event is about all of our kids.  It is about their safety as they ride their bikes in our community.  It is about educating them about bike safety, and educating the drivers about driving safely around bikers.

 It is also about funding some of the things that Sean was passionate about–helping people in need.  (Everything at this bike event is free, except the t-shirts which can be had for a donation to Sean’s Memorial Trust.)

This week, I went into Terry’s down in Alma.  They have been a big supporter of our events in the past, and I went to talk to them about supporting us again.  I was told that another biker had lost his life this week in Mt Pleasant, someone who worked at the store.  I left the store shaking, flash backs of what we went through with Sean went through my mind.

Honestly, I have wondered why Rich and I go through this every year–why we do this bike event, is it worth it, our time, the grief we endure, but this past death was a reminder of why we do what we do.

The slow roll is a fun event.  It is so much fun—- but it is so much more than a fun event.

So, we hope you come–come for the community, come for the bike riding, come for the free food and prizes!! Come to get your child a free bike helmet, come to get some great educational material on bike safety!!  Come to get the latest t-shirt!!  Just Come!!

July 14th,  6:30- 8:30  (Registration starts at 5:30)

Mt. Pleasant City Hall, 320 Broadway

***Helmet Required.  Waiver needs to be signed for all riders.  Parents sign waivers for those under the age of 18.

 

 

 

Celebrating Sean

Tomorrow–July 25, 2017– will be Sean James Stanton’s 20th Birthday.  Every year we have some kind of bicycling event to commemorate Sean’s life.  We do this because Sean loved to bike.  He would have loved to have a big party every year, and have everyone go biking!!  He would just have loved it.  So we do it for him.

It seemed we were always doing things for him that he would have loved around his birthday.  For some reason, he was the child that could persuade us to do the extra thing, and because we did it for him, we would do it for the other kids as well.

At first, each child had a birthday party with friends, every year.  Then Sean wanted to have a special dinner out with just Mom and Dad, so that became a family tradition for everyone as well.  Then Sean wanted to have a special dinner with the family as well, so that became a family tradition as well.

Before we knew it, the birth “day” celebration became a birth “month” celebration.

Looking back, I’m so glad we celebrated Sean’s life, when we had Sean here on earth to celebrate!   And I’m so glad we continue to celebrate his life even now.  Life is a gift, and we had the gift of Sean’s life for 16 years.  I could never tell God thank you enough for that.  I could never tell God thank you enough for Sean.

This year we will celebrate Sean’s life on July 14th!  It is the Mt. Pleasant Community wide — Slow Roll!!   We will take a bike ride through the streets of Mt. Pleasant.  (Hopefully–the dry streets of Mt. Pleasant, as we have had quite a bit of flooding!!)

The Bike Ride will start at 6:30, but registration starts at 5:30.

THIS IS A FREE, FAMILY, FUN-FILLED EVENT.

Meet us at Mt. Pleasant, City Hall!!   You need to wear a helmet to ride, and sign a waiver.  (parents need to sign waivers for children under the age of 18.)

 

First Annual Sean Stanton Community Slow Roll – 2016

When Sean was killed three years ago in a bike/car accident, Rich was called to his accident as a First Responder/Firefighter.  This was not the first accident Rich was called to, nor will it be his last.  In fact, Bike/Car and Bike/Pedestrian accidents have taken a dramatic increase in recent years.  There are many reasons for this,  (one being the increased use in cell phones),  but the fact remains that unless people are educated and abide by some common sense rules and laws, these accidents will continue and they will result in tragic consequences.

When Lisa Hadden of the Mid-MIchigan Cycling Club approached us about  their club helping out with our biking event, she asked us about addressing the bike safety issues.  We certainly had a platform for doing this–and we realized we needed to use that platform.  If it could prevent only one family from going through what we had gone through, it was worth it.

When we moved to Mt. Pleasant, 24 years ago, it was like going back to a community, 50 years set in the past.  Crime Rates were low, the pace seemed a little slower, neighbors were warm and welcoming.  Mt. Pleasant still has that flavor about it, and we wanted an evening that would celebrate those things and maybe help reclaim some of those aspects with our focus on bike safety, and good old-fashioned fun!

This Slow Roll Event would be a GIVE-BACK event to this wonderful community!

We envisioned a bike ride through the shady, tree-lined streets of Mt. Pleasant as neighbors and friends enjoyed a slow ride while chatting about art and other a sundry topics.  (My daughter actually had some great conversations about art during this bike ride, which is why I used it in my example 🙂 ) We also thought–let’s make this the safest bike ride possible with police escorts, maybe a fire truck in the rear, and lots of road marshals to direct the bikers on the way.

We said to each other–wouldn’t it be great if people could come back from the ride and have a picnic type dinner and talk and chat some more.  And wouldn’t it be awesome if we could have a drawing and give away prizes!!  And during this entire time, there would be hand-outs on bike safety, and free bike helmets to give away to the children, so that they would be safer riding their bikes

What we envisioned became a reality on July 22, 2016!!

Lisa Hadden set up a newspaper and radio interview for us to help advertise this event.  Mindy Norton, a freelance reporter did a fantastic article for the Morning Sun on this event. See link here:  http://www.themorningsun.com/general-news/20160720/community-bike-ride-honors-memory-of-teen-who-loved-to-help-others

Chris Spachman of 104.3 FM interviewed, Rich, Lisa and I on the air.  Chris is a really funny guy, and we had a great time with him!  (My voice mysteriously stopped working while on-air, thankfully Rich and Lisa’s voices were still working!!)

The Mt. Pleasant Optimist Club supported us in our effort by donating 75 children’s bike helmets for us to give away, ensuring greater safety to our children as they ride their bikes wearing a bike helmet!!

The Mercantile Bank, Isabella Bank & Trust, ICCU, Curt’s Automotive Service and an Anonymous Donor gave money to fund this event paying for the insurance, and other expenses, so that it would be free of charge to the community to come and ride and enjoy all the great food.  They too–desire our community to remain one of the safest, and best places to live in Michigan!!  GrafxCentral made and donated an amazing banner to thank all our sponsors and supporters of the 2016 Sean Stanton Community Slow Roll!

Dog Central gave us a great price on hotdogs !  (They are amazing hotdogs — the skin snaps when you bite into them!! )  Kroger’s, Ric’s, and Pickard Street Citgo donated water, Gatorade and ice.  Meijer’s donated oranges and banannas.  Max & Emily’s donated cookies.   My wonderful, lovely sister and friends made scrumptious cookies and brownies for the event!  Doesn’t it just make your mouth water hearing about all this amazing food!  And what’s food, without some ice-cold drink!!

To complete the evening, Motorless Motion gave us a great price on a child’s bike to give away.  Terry’s Cycling of Alma, Jay’s Sporting Goods, Pickard Street Citgo, and The Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe gave gift cards for our free drawing!!  Roy’s Bike Shop of Clare donated an adult bike helmet and bike water bottles to the event!!

C & C Enterprises, Incorporated gave us a great price on t-shirts so that we could use them as the one fund-raising element in our event.  Although this was a GIVE BACK EVENT, we are still committed to raising money to give to Sean’s passions.  We have given to local  and overseas charities and projects in the past.   It is our hope to continue to do this in the future.  I will be writing another blog about this!!

Rich, the kids and I would like to thank all the above mentioned people and businesses for all their help with this event!!

We would like to thank Lisa Hadden and Bill Mrdeza, (another member of the Mid-Michigan Cycling Club and Lisa Hadden’s husband) for their invaluable help and advice!!

Thank you to our partners–The Mid-Michigan Cycling Club, (for your expertise in helping us with this event and all the volunteers that came to help us at the event!!) and Mt. Pleasant Parks and Recreation Department, ( for all your help, for the tables, tents and bike rack)!!  

Thank you to all the volunteers from our friends, to Sean’s friends, to our kid’s friends!!  Amazing!!

Special thanks to Charles and Elizabeth Kepner for mapping out the Small Ones Ride and to their daughters and nieces for riding unicycles and escorting the little ones through the bike paths of Mt. Pleasant.

Thank you, thank you, thank you–one and all!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Important Information About the Sean Stanton Community Slow Roll!!

This is a free community event!!  

July 22, 2016 at Mt. Pleasant City Hall, 320 Broadway, Mt. Pleasant.

6:30 to 8:30  Registration starts at 5:30–Everyone must sign waiver.  Parents must sign waiver for children under the age of 18.

Free kid’s bike helmets provided by the Optimist Club!! Everyone must wear a helmet!!  (Available before the bike ride.)

Free Hotdogs from Dog Central!! (Available after the ride.)

 Free Snacks and Free Ice-cold water bottles provided by Krogers, Ric’s and Pickard Street Citgo. (Available after the ride.)

Free Drawings for a  kid’s bike from Motorless Motion!! (Must be present to win!!)

Free drawings for gift cards from Terry’s Bike Shop, and Jay’s –more gift cards from others to be announced !! (Must be present to win!!)

Drawings will be held after the ride.

Must be 9 years and older to ride in Slow Roll, unless child is in bike stroller or carrier.  There will be another ride through the bike paths of downtown Mt. Pleasant for the little ones and their parents, with a bike escort.

 T-shirts will be available for a donation.  All donations go towards the Sean James Stanton Memorial Trust. 

Rain date:  7/29/16

Whew!!  I hope this answered all the pertinent questions you might have!!  Hope to see you there!!

“Come on Down to the Slow-Roll”

 Picture taken by Jake Oebel , of PJ Photographers, of Mt. Pleasant, MI

Sean would have loved the idea of a Community Bike Ride, so when Lisa Hadden, President of the Mid-Michigan Bicycling Club came to us with this idea, we were all in.

“A Slow-Roll” is sweeping the country”, Lisa Hadden told us.  “Detroit has 7,000 people come out to their Slow-Rolls.” ” It is a leisurely ride through the city streets, so that people can chat and talk.  It is also safe, as they have a police escort in the front and back of the group.”

Lisa is the visionary behind “Le Tour de Mount Pleasant”.  She and the Mid-Michigan Cycling Club are bringing their expertise to help us with our biking events.

So these are the details for our Slow Roll–

The Sean James Stanton First Annual “Slow Roll”

July 22nd, Friday — 6:30 – 8:30 (Registration starts @ 5:30)
The Slow Roll starts at Mt. Pleasant City Hall, 320 Broadway Street.

What is a Slow Roll? It is a slow bike ride for a couple of miles through the streets of Mt. Pleasant with a police escort in the front of the group and the rear of the group.

The Slow Roll is Open to riders 9 years and older, or if child is in bike stroller or carrier.
There will be another ride for the little ones and their parents during the same time on the bike paths of Mt. Pleasant, with bike escorts.

T-shirts will be available for a donation!
All Donations will go towards the Sean James Stanton Memorial Trust!
A bike drawing will be held!
Free bike helmets given away by the Optimist club!
There will be drawings for prizes!!!
This is a free event for the community!!

The Mid- Michigan Cycling Club, and the Mt. Pleasant Parks and Recreation Department are partnering with The Sean James Stanton Memorial Trust to bring Mt. Pleasant this fun-filled event!!!