Joel & CJ's Wheelchair-able Van
Donation protected
For over three decades Joel and Colleen’s passion for sports and working with youth has been interwoven into their lives in one way or another. Both were stand out three-season athletes in high school. At age 14, Colleen (CJ) started coaching gymnastics in her backyard. Joel was involved in 4-H and guided youth canoe trips through Les Voyageurs. Both were captains of their teams and clear leaders.
The two met in junior high and have flirted their way through high school, college, marriage, and raising an amazing son. Now, Joel works with at-risk youth at the St. Cloud School District’s Area Learning Center and they’re both coaches.
By coaching gymnastics together for the past 25 years they’ve helped thousands of girls learn all aspects of the sport. Since 1997, they’ve earned multiple state team and individual titles for Technical High School in St. Cloud. Their dedication and effort has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades. In 2015 not only did their team make their 10th consecutive state meet appearance but the two were presented with the Minnesota State High School League Class AA Gymnastics Coach of the Year award and inducted into the State Gymnastics Coaching Hall of Fame.
Together, Joel and CJ have built a program that’s undoubtedly the best in the area.
Together, they’ve changed the lives of hundreds of kids.
Together, they’ve battled Multiple Sclerosis.
Colleen was diagnosed with MS in 2006. For her, the disease has been relentless. She has a progressive form that has forced her to go from 100% physically capable to having little to no use of her lower body, arms, back, and hands in less than 10 years.
But as with everything they’ve faced in life, Joel and CJ have taken the journey with MS in stride. With courage, humor, and humility. With every young person they’ve come in contact with, they put the kids’ needs first and theirs second. They’ve taken the opportunity to shape lives both in and out of the gym. Alise Post, current Olympic BMXer and active fundraiser for the MS Society is one of them.
“Colleen and Joel continue to lead by example and naturally command respect by the way they live… Less than 100% effort is never an option, and their standards are extremely high. Colleen never complains about her difficult fight with MS, and she expects you to give your best, without complaint, in return… These people have been like second parents to me, and with Colleen suffering a very progressive form of MS, the sooner we can find a cure the better.”
And now they need our help. They need a new vehicle. Their current mode of transport is a modified 1995 Plymouth that is well past its prime (see video for proof). Not only is it a huge undertaking to get CJ in the vehicle but it was a nonchalant comment by their son, Eli, which made the need for a new vehicle undeniable - “the door’s only fallen off three times this summer.” What?!
That’s not okay.
So why GoFundMe?! Call it Minnesota nice. Call it pride. Call it DIY-edness. Whatever it is, Joel & CJ don’t go seeking handouts. They’d rather spend countless hours helping others; helping kids build their confidence, learn to set goals, and strive to do better. Let’s turn the tables and help them now.
So, what’d you say? $10? $100? $1,000? Anything you contribute will go towards the van. Anything above and beyond our goal of $47,000 will go towards some much-needed home improvements in order to make their nearly 100 year-old home more MS-friendly.
If you want to learn more about CJ, their coaching, and the journey they’ve had with MS, here are a few articles:
·www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2015/05/06/olympic-bmx-racer-prepares-may-fundraiser/70912412/
· www.gophersports.com/sports/m-gym/spec-rel/011912aaa.html
· www.bmxnews.com/2012/10/alise-and-friends-shatter-ms-fundraising-goal/
· www.sctimes.com/story/sports/high-school/2015/02/18/state-gymnastics-tech-returns-th-straight-year/23641423/
Thank you for your support, thoughts, and (hopefully) donations. With the friends they’ve made along the way, I'm absolutely certain we’ll blow this fundraiser out of the water. They deserve better!!
~The Stark-Haws families
P.S. If you'd like to send a check, please email Anita to discuss the details.
The two met in junior high and have flirted their way through high school, college, marriage, and raising an amazing son. Now, Joel works with at-risk youth at the St. Cloud School District’s Area Learning Center and they’re both coaches.
By coaching gymnastics together for the past 25 years they’ve helped thousands of girls learn all aspects of the sport. Since 1997, they’ve earned multiple state team and individual titles for Technical High School in St. Cloud. Their dedication and effort has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades. In 2015 not only did their team make their 10th consecutive state meet appearance but the two were presented with the Minnesota State High School League Class AA Gymnastics Coach of the Year award and inducted into the State Gymnastics Coaching Hall of Fame.
Together, Joel and CJ have built a program that’s undoubtedly the best in the area.
Together, they’ve changed the lives of hundreds of kids.
Together, they’ve battled Multiple Sclerosis.
Colleen was diagnosed with MS in 2006. For her, the disease has been relentless. She has a progressive form that has forced her to go from 100% physically capable to having little to no use of her lower body, arms, back, and hands in less than 10 years.
But as with everything they’ve faced in life, Joel and CJ have taken the journey with MS in stride. With courage, humor, and humility. With every young person they’ve come in contact with, they put the kids’ needs first and theirs second. They’ve taken the opportunity to shape lives both in and out of the gym. Alise Post, current Olympic BMXer and active fundraiser for the MS Society is one of them.
“Colleen and Joel continue to lead by example and naturally command respect by the way they live… Less than 100% effort is never an option, and their standards are extremely high. Colleen never complains about her difficult fight with MS, and she expects you to give your best, without complaint, in return… These people have been like second parents to me, and with Colleen suffering a very progressive form of MS, the sooner we can find a cure the better.”
And now they need our help. They need a new vehicle. Their current mode of transport is a modified 1995 Plymouth that is well past its prime (see video for proof). Not only is it a huge undertaking to get CJ in the vehicle but it was a nonchalant comment by their son, Eli, which made the need for a new vehicle undeniable - “the door’s only fallen off three times this summer.” What?!
That’s not okay.
So why GoFundMe?! Call it Minnesota nice. Call it pride. Call it DIY-edness. Whatever it is, Joel & CJ don’t go seeking handouts. They’d rather spend countless hours helping others; helping kids build their confidence, learn to set goals, and strive to do better. Let’s turn the tables and help them now.
So, what’d you say? $10? $100? $1,000? Anything you contribute will go towards the van. Anything above and beyond our goal of $47,000 will go towards some much-needed home improvements in order to make their nearly 100 year-old home more MS-friendly.
If you want to learn more about CJ, their coaching, and the journey they’ve had with MS, here are a few articles:
·www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2015/05/06/olympic-bmx-racer-prepares-may-fundraiser/70912412/
· www.gophersports.com/sports/m-gym/spec-rel/011912aaa.html
· www.bmxnews.com/2012/10/alise-and-friends-shatter-ms-fundraising-goal/
· www.sctimes.com/story/sports/high-school/2015/02/18/state-gymnastics-tech-returns-th-straight-year/23641423/
Thank you for your support, thoughts, and (hopefully) donations. With the friends they’ve made along the way, I'm absolutely certain we’ll blow this fundraiser out of the water. They deserve better!!
~The Stark-Haws families
P.S. If you'd like to send a check, please email Anita to discuss the details.
Organizer and beneficiary
Anita Hollenhorst
Organizer
Saint Cloud, MN
Joel Stark-Haws
Beneficiary
