Promise to Kate

Promise to Kate

Our classwill be supporting “Promise to Kate” for our “Seasons of Giving” project thisyear.  Some of you may know Mrs. ElizabethConte.  She has been a longtime K-1 Chetsteacher.  She left for a while after herchildren, Charlie and then Kate, were born but has returned to work with smallgroups of children in Kindergarten.  Mrs. Conte‘s daughter Kate was born with myotonic muscular dystrophywhich is an inherited disorder that the family was unaware that theycarried.  After Kate was born, Elizabethand her husband, Dave, founded “Promise to Kate,” a foundation that embodiestheir promise to raise money to cure the disease in Kate’s lifetime.    They are working with a “Dream Team” ofresearchers right here at the University of Florida.  The money they raise goes to fund researchbut also helps families who need the services of Wolfson Children’sHospital.  This is an especiallyappropriate project for us, since our children at Chets see Mrs. Conte andCharlie daily and also see little Kate, who comes to Chets early in the morningbefore preschool to receive occupational and physical therapy along with speechand language services.

For ourpart, we will be auctioning off a holiday item made by the class during thesilent auction that will be held in the lobby after Thanksgiving.  We hope that you will want to stop by andsupport the silent auction.  Families mayalso choose to make a direct financial donation to “Promise to Kate.”   What we hope to accomplish during thisseason of giving is for the children to begin to understand the meaning ofservice to others.  We appreciate yoursupport and especially you speaking to your child about this very worthwhilecause.   We are very excited to besupporting something so close to home.

View a videoabout Kate at http://www.promisetokate.org.

written by dayle Timmons