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Our Bike-a-thon may be over, but our fundraising ISN'T 

11-16-93 Hannah Elizabeth Kosloski 9-13-07

Her DREAM was more than a DREAM

                 it was a WORLD VISION     

We are Jim and Sylvia Kosloski, the parents of Hannah Elizabeth Kosloski, who died September 13th, 2007 in a tragic horseback riding accident.  Our efforts to raise enough money to fund the digging of a well for clean water through World Vision is a way of celebrating and honoring the life of our daughter.  Though Hannah was only 13 yrs old, she had a habit of setting goals.  It didn't matter if it was learning to ride her bike, being selected as a Praise & Worship Leader at church, running for office in her Milo Lamplighters 4H Club, being chosen to dance in the Stroia Ballet Company productions, winning piano competitions or being invited to perform in the Honors Concert at the University of Minnesota, or (after helping her mother for an hour at a World Vision display where 10yr old Hannah inspired the sponsorship of about 20 children), the setting of a goal; of inspiring100 child sponsorships!          

       When Hannah died, we were asked, "What would you like people to do?   They will want to help  and will want to know what you need."  Our response was "Ask them to help Hannah's Dream come true...ask them to sponsor a child, pray for, write to, and love that child the way Hannah cared for her 'sponsored brother' Sandun, of Sri Lanka."  Many people sponsored a child (but we haven't reached 100----yet ), some families sponsored one for each of their children, some churches and youth groups collectively sponsored a child or two, but many people sent monetary gifts inside their sympathy cards instead.  We decided to donate that money to World Vision to pay for the digging of a well for clean water in Africa.  As more people heard about Hannah's Dream and wanted to be a part of her legacy of love - more money kept coming in.  It became apparent to us that 'God-given Dreams' are too big to die!   Because of a lot of people coming alongside us, collectively, as a team, we can take the concern, love and compassion of a young 13 year old girl's example to change the world of a poor community that is half way around the world.  That is the purpose of  the "Riding for WATER, so that hope WELLs up" Bike-a-thon Sept 13th 2008 

         It's only 13 miles between the two towns, 1 for each yr of her life, with mile marker pictures of Hannah as she grew. The Willard Munger bike trail of MN is flat, paved, and scenic.  While radical bikers will love the chance to bike for hours (or even the whole weekend) --- a short, gentle paced riding distance on Sat. only will be appreciated by the rest of us.  For those who would love to be a part of our events but can't bike, we'll have a varied lenghs of Walker's Routes. 

         A Balloon Release Memorial in Moose Lake Mn kicks off our event @ 9:00am. We return there by aprox 5:00pm.  Lunch is provided in Willow River (where her Daddy grew up) and for us non-radical bikers, this will be a looonnnng rest stop of 1-2 hrs to give our butts a break.  For those who'd like to stay and either bike or hike, or enjoy the beauty of northern Minnesota's fall colors for the whole weekend, there are many hotel/motel and camping facilities in the area (please make your reservations EARLY).  Whitewater rafting at Jay Cooke State Park, Duluth's north shore of Lake Superior, it's quaint lighthouses, and the breathtaking Gooseberry Falls State Park are some ideas for Sunday.  For the convenience of those overnighting it, there will be a short, non-denominational Christian Worship Service at 9:00am Sunday at the Moose Lake City Park pavilion, with Sylvia sharing "Hannah's Secret". 

for Details/Registration/Info go to:  www.hannahshundreds.org  (it's finally here: Drum roll Please...Hannah's piano music, slide show, and preview film clip----"TAG, you're IT !"----be sure to pass this powerful video clip on thru emails, facebook, myspace etc----thanks for helping our fundraising efforts this way!   

        Before you leave this site to get on with your own busy life - think for just a moment - What would life be like for YOUR family if its ONLY source of water was a polluted, diseased-ridden surface runoff pond?  Has anyone in YOUR family ever had to carry just 2 gallons of water for even 2 miles?  What if EVERY day, for the better portion of each day, your family had to walk 1-5 miles to fetch water and then lug the heavy containers home? In many countries, even 3-5yr olds do that, but the water that they work so hard for - makes them sick - so sick that 1/2 of all the deaths of children are due to the water.  If our grief in losing just 1 of our 7 children is this profound, we can't conceive how awful the grief (and fear) must be, when 1/2 of all children born, never make it to age 5! Imagine, water too scarce to raise farm animals or food, and too heavy and time consuming to concern yourself with laundry, hygiene, or sanitation.   

        Hannah realized that she was fortunate to be born in a part of the world where water runs freely---but that unfortunately, not everyone is. She would read through each World Vision magazine and pray for rain and for food for those who were hungry, but she also prayed that the hearts of the families who take their 400 gallons of clean water per week for granted would be moved to help.  We are praying that YOU are one of those who will want to join us in our efforts.  Maybe you can't attend our event, but you can pass this on to others thru 'myspace', 'facebook', & email lists, (and since the web is worldwide--please include people in foreign contries).  And you can donate.  Even modest donations help!  

God bless you for all your efforts, helping to make Hannah's Dream come true!!! 

                                             "Thank-you" Jim & Sylvia Kosloski

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support our  fundraising efforts.  Leave the first & last name of the bike-a-thon participant you are giving on behalf of in the 'COMMENT' section at the bottom of this page, it will help our record keeping.  Telling us how you heard about us (ex: email, TV, radio, etc) will help our future events. If you prefer, you can remain anonomous.

        For more about Hannah's legacy, to view photos, upcoming events, & other ways to donate or help us with this cause, please visit our web site frequently as we add new things each week.                   www.hannahshundreds.org

         ( P.S. Please pray for good weather
                    & the safety of our participants!)