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| The Leach Family, taken right after Dawn’s diagnosis |
Friends, readers, countrymen…lend me your ears. I need your help for just a minute.
Those of you who know me or read faithfully know that back in August I lost a very special friend of mine, Dawn Leach. More than that, the earth lost one of the most radiant human beings every to walk around on it.
When Mike and I moved from Wyomissing, PA to Phoenixville, PA in December of 2004 we bought a brand new custom built home in a tiny old neighborhood with just a few houses. On one of our first visits to the new house I found a bag of homemade sweets on the doorstep with a warm holiday welcome from the Leach family next door.
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| Dawn with my 2 year old Nathan and her son, Luke. |
Dawn and I were fast friends when we moved in. She was a leader in the local MOPS group which she immediately invited me to, where I soon found a large bunch of amazing women who would be my closest friends. It so happened she was a work at home mom with three boys, one of whom she stayed home with just like me. She was a hard working, top selling representative of Premier Jewelry, already a favorite company of mine, with about a hundred women in her “downline” that she mentored and trained all the time. Dawn was passionate and almost always positive…a rare combination in people. She was passionate about politics, serving as an elected rep in the local party leadership and volunteering at the kids’ school whenever possible. She was passionate about her faith in God and about her friends and family. She was someone you just wanted to be around as much as possible…someone you would want to live like.
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| MOPS girls Tammy, Kimber and Dawn |
Dawn’s husband, Steve, is no schmuck either. Steve was in the Army and alternated between long deployments and weeks or weekends away. When he wasn’t off conducting training he worked as a facilities manager for a church and their adjoining cemetery. We shared a common alma mater, the same doctrinal beliefs, the same political ideals and the same passion for personal fiscal responsibility. Steve and Dawn even facilitated Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University classes.
Last year Dawn was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a hard blow, but she fought it valiantly and we all believed she had beat it. She had even started running around the same time I did, training for her first 5k. Then in February she started feeling pretty bad and got the devastating news that the cancer had spread to her liver and bones. I was really knocked down by the news. She and Steve set up a website where they kept everyone updated almost daily, and to say that they stayed positive in the midst of intense suffering is the understatement of the century. Those two put their incredible faith, love and hope on display for the hundreds of people who loved Dawn to see.
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| Dawn, Joli, Lauren and Tammy at the breast cancer walk. |
Dawn finished her seemingly short race on earth in August. She left an indelible mark on the lives of all who knew her. Her three boys, Isaac, Gabe and Luke, are growing like weeds and Steve is left to care for them in their tiny, old house filled with love. I don’t know their financial situation but I can only imagine the medical bills and loss of Dawn’s income has to be hard. Steve was supposed to be deployed again in March but it was deferred upon Dawn’s diagnosis and he decided to retire from the Army.
Here’s where YOU come in. (I hope you are still reading!) My friend Kelly recently hosted a contest for veterans through Home Depot on her blog, the Centsible Life. She was looking for military families in the Philly area in need of home improvements and I immediately thought of my friends, the Leach family. Steve agreed to be nominated and they won her first round (thank you Kelly!) and were entered into a national contest to win $20,000 in Home Depot services. You can read about Steve’s needs on the contest page.
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| Dawn loved this photo I took of her 3 boys. |
The family that gets the MOST VOTES on Facebook wins the $20,000! You can vote for them once DAILY until Dec. 9th. That’s four more days! All nine of the families are worthy, but I am praying for the Leach family to be blessed with this gift. Please help vote! It just take a minute!
Click here, Like the Home Depot page and VOTE for the Leach Family!!!
