Send Our Dad On Safari For His 70th
Donation protected
If you've ever met our dad, Dr. Bowen F. White, M.D., you probably know that he has four daughters—and now five grandchildren—that he has always been there for, a loving and steady base camp. You might be aware that when we were in high school, he had a bumper sticker printed for his car that read "Proud Parent: Regardless of Their Grades, My Kids Have an 'A' in My Book."
If you've ever met our dad, you probably know that he is playful, silly, and mischievous. You probably know that he's proudly "not normal"—so much so that he wrote a book titled Why Normal Isn't Healthy. That he is the kind of albino-rhino-rare person who honors their failures and shortcomings—even announcing on his office door as a practicing physician: "CAUTION: BEWARE OF DOC / Enter at your own risk / I make mistakes every day."
If you've ever met our dad, you probably know that he is an eager student of life. Well-read. Smart—despite often remarking that he is "slow, but trainable". Curious. Engaged. "Alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!"
And if you've ever met our dad, you DEFINITELY know that he is generous of spirit.
Our dad gives, to everyone he meets, and to people who will never know his name, every day. He goes on a daily walk around the block just to pick up newspapers from elderly neighbors' yards and place them on their doorsteps. He shovels other driveways after a snowstorm, unasked. All his life, he has offered a hand and compassionate ear to anyone in need—not least of all us, when we've inevitably stumbled along the sometimes treacherous path of growing up.
His professional life has been as giving as his personal one—he's dedicated it to helping others. As a medical doctor he quickly learned that he wanted to help treat the whole person, not just one physical ailment or another. He decided to spend one and a half hours with every patient in his family practice, as available to talk through a crisis of faith as an illness.
After realizing he could only "disturb" a limited number of people that way, he began speaking and consulting—working with groups and organizations around the world to create "suspiciously healthy" workplaces and encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own health and well-being.
And for the past 30 years, he has spent his free time volunteering with Patch Adams' Geshundheit Institute, a non-profit holistic healthcare organization. He has traveled to distressed regions across the globe (from Sri Lanka to Bosnia, from Cambodia to Algeria, from Russia to Haiti) to clown in hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, refugee camps—bringing joy to the lives of people who may experience very little of it.
On October 3rd, 2016, our dad turns 70 years old. We want to take the occasion to give something back to him—something he's dreamed of his whole life but has been too selfless to make happen:
Going on a safari in Africa.
Dad has always LOVED animals—and he has a lifelong passion for spotting them in the wild. When we were little, he'd load us into the car on early mornings and say, "We're going on an adventure." In hushed tones on slow drives, we'd try to make out a hawk or maybe even a deer, binoculars at the ready, swept up in his excitement.
Our whole lives, our dad has encouraged us to pursue our dreams, if not made them possible. But right now, the biggest dream in our heads is his—
For his 70th birthday, we're reaching out to Dad's friends and family, colleagues and strangers, clowns and doctors around the world, trying to raise the money to make it come true.
We're hoping to raise funds to cover flights to and from Africa for Dad and our stepmom (his most loyal fellow animal-watcher!) and a weeklong safari, including accommodation.
Going on an African safari is pricey, but we're crossing our fingers that if we can all give a little, it could add up to a lot. We'd be honored if you would consider making a contribution.
Here's to the dream that we can all get together to pull this off! We know it would mean the world to him.
Please help send our dad on safari!
Love,
Hope, Ali, Brynn, and Jordan
UPDATE: Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, we met our goal of $10,000! DAD IS GOING ON SAFARI! But for anyone who would still like to contribute to this project, we've created a new "stretch" goal of $15,000 since any additional funds would go a long way toward things like booking good flights and scheduling the safari during optimal weather and animal-spotting conditions. We made it, though—YOU made it happen! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, which you have touched forever.
If you've ever met our dad, you probably know that he is playful, silly, and mischievous. You probably know that he's proudly "not normal"—so much so that he wrote a book titled Why Normal Isn't Healthy. That he is the kind of albino-rhino-rare person who honors their failures and shortcomings—even announcing on his office door as a practicing physician: "CAUTION: BEWARE OF DOC / Enter at your own risk / I make mistakes every day."
If you've ever met our dad, you probably know that he is an eager student of life. Well-read. Smart—despite often remarking that he is "slow, but trainable". Curious. Engaged. "Alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!"
And if you've ever met our dad, you DEFINITELY know that he is generous of spirit.
Our dad gives, to everyone he meets, and to people who will never know his name, every day. He goes on a daily walk around the block just to pick up newspapers from elderly neighbors' yards and place them on their doorsteps. He shovels other driveways after a snowstorm, unasked. All his life, he has offered a hand and compassionate ear to anyone in need—not least of all us, when we've inevitably stumbled along the sometimes treacherous path of growing up.
His professional life has been as giving as his personal one—he's dedicated it to helping others. As a medical doctor he quickly learned that he wanted to help treat the whole person, not just one physical ailment or another. He decided to spend one and a half hours with every patient in his family practice, as available to talk through a crisis of faith as an illness.
After realizing he could only "disturb" a limited number of people that way, he began speaking and consulting—working with groups and organizations around the world to create "suspiciously healthy" workplaces and encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own health and well-being.
And for the past 30 years, he has spent his free time volunteering with Patch Adams' Geshundheit Institute, a non-profit holistic healthcare organization. He has traveled to distressed regions across the globe (from Sri Lanka to Bosnia, from Cambodia to Algeria, from Russia to Haiti) to clown in hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, refugee camps—bringing joy to the lives of people who may experience very little of it.
On October 3rd, 2016, our dad turns 70 years old. We want to take the occasion to give something back to him—something he's dreamed of his whole life but has been too selfless to make happen:
Going on a safari in Africa.
Dad has always LOVED animals—and he has a lifelong passion for spotting them in the wild. When we were little, he'd load us into the car on early mornings and say, "We're going on an adventure." In hushed tones on slow drives, we'd try to make out a hawk or maybe even a deer, binoculars at the ready, swept up in his excitement.
Our whole lives, our dad has encouraged us to pursue our dreams, if not made them possible. But right now, the biggest dream in our heads is his—
For his 70th birthday, we're reaching out to Dad's friends and family, colleagues and strangers, clowns and doctors around the world, trying to raise the money to make it come true.
We're hoping to raise funds to cover flights to and from Africa for Dad and our stepmom (his most loyal fellow animal-watcher!) and a weeklong safari, including accommodation.
Going on an African safari is pricey, but we're crossing our fingers that if we can all give a little, it could add up to a lot. We'd be honored if you would consider making a contribution.
Here's to the dream that we can all get together to pull this off! We know it would mean the world to him.
Please help send our dad on safari!
Love,
Hope, Ali, Brynn, and Jordan
UPDATE: Thanks to your overwhelming generosity, we met our goal of $10,000! DAD IS GOING ON SAFARI! But for anyone who would still like to contribute to this project, we've created a new "stretch" goal of $15,000 since any additional funds would go a long way toward things like booking good flights and scheduling the safari during optimal weather and animal-spotting conditions. We made it, though—YOU made it happen! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, which you have touched forever.
Organizer and beneficiary
Alice Bezanson
Organizer
Overland Park, KS
Bowen White
Beneficiary
