Running Down a Dream
On June 2, 2023, Joe Morin, Kaydee Koch’s uncle, will run the inaugural “Kilometers for Kaydee,” a solo long distance run, to raise awareness and money for his niece’s non-profit, Project Sol Flower. Morin is asking for monetary pledges for each kilometer he covers on June 2nd, with a goal of running at least 50k. Pledges start at $1 per kilometer, with no limit, and any donation, big or small, is appreciated!
Morin’s niece, Kaydee, was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma in 2018 just before her senior year of high school. She battled bravely and tirelessly for almost four years but ultimately lost her battle with bone cancer in May of 2022. Kaydee’s biggest dream and dying wish was for her family and friends to grow the non-profit she founded just prior to her passing, and that’s exactly what her uncle is doing!
Morin was not a runner growing up and only started running about 10 years ago when his life coach, David Goggins, suggested he start running as a way to test his limits. He started with an easy 2.5 mile training run, which felt anything but easy at the time, but Morin kept going and discovered that running was a great way to push past perceived limits and strengthen his mind. Morin remarked, “when you’ve been out there [running] for a couple of hours and feel like stopping, you really start to learn about who you are.”
While Kaydee never ran a marathon herself, she endured a marathon battle with cancer and never once let cancer define her or deter her from doing great things. It was during her own treatment that Kaydee noticed a gap in service for young adults diagnosed with cancer and other life-limiting diseases. When she realized that most wish-granting organizations stop at age 18, she felt called to create a foundation that would serve “big kids” by granting dreams and experiences to 18-26 year olds. And that’s exactly what Project Sol Flower does, but with a fun twist.
Kaydee believed in the power of creating bucket lists to stay future focused and positive. She felt there was great power in putting your dreams down on paper so she created Project Sol Flower, a foundation that would not only grant bucket list dreams and experiences to 18-26 year olds, but also provide bucket list art kits and inspiration to younger pediatric patients to keep them future-focused.
Arthur Blank said, “I run because it’s so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can’t. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you’re capable of so much more than you thought.” Kaydee embodied this every day of her life, especially as she battled cancer, relapses, transplant and a clinical trial. She never gave up, tackling each obstacle that was thrown at her and finding an awe-inspiring well of inner strength along the way.
If you want to support Morin and donate to “Kilometers for Kaydee” you can send an email to info@projectsolflower.org with your donation pledge (e.g., $1, $3, $10 per kilometer). The foundation will contact you after the run with the total number of kilometers completed. If you prefer to donate a fixed amount you can do so via the web site (www.projectsolflower.org/donate) or Venmo (@projectsolflower) - just add “Kilometers for Kaydee” in the notes so your donation is applied to this fundraiser.
Project Sol Flower is a 501c3 non-profit foundation that grants bucket list dreams and experiences to 18-26 year olds diagnosed with cancer or other life-limting diseases. For more information, please visit www.projectsolflower.org.