10/20/2022
Dear Fit Fam,
We are calling on the love and support of our amazing community to help one of our most beloved member families battle lymphoma.
Our member community has come to know and love the Overstreet Clan. Their family, headed by Brian and Kristin Overstreet, have been members of our community since 2010, when we opened the doors of our first location, CrossFit Liberation. Brian and Kristin have been with us since the beginning, and their children, Katie, Samantha, and Molly, have grown up with our community from their early teen years into adulthood. Their oldest daughter Katie, her husband Victor, and even his older brother Emerson were members until a few years ago when work opportunities and Katie and Victor’s dream of starting their own little family relocated them to Manassas.
The Overstreet's are like family to Ruben, me, and so many others within our community. They have been embedded in the Alexandria/Kingstowne/Springfield community for over 50+ years. They are genuinely some of the best humans we know; always there to help a friend or loved one when they are in need. And now, it Is our turn to show them that same love and support.
We were devastated when we learned a few weeks ago that Katie was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma at about 34 weeks pregnant and only 30 years old.
As Katie was nearing the end of her pregnancy, with about six weeks until her due date, she came down with a bad case of COVID. While at work as a teacher in Manassas she started having trouble breathing and went to the hospital to get checked out and to make sure that she and the baby were okay. They kept her overnight to run some tests and later discovered that Katie had Hodgkins Lymphoma. In a matter of 24 hours, their families’ lives were turned upside down. They were suddenly being forced to make tough decisions they never thought they would have to make, including expediting their second child's birth so that Katie could begin treatment immediately.
On September 30th, they were blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby boy named Luca, who arrived five weeks early. Katie was given a few days home to enjoy their wonderful new blessing but then had to begin to prepare herself for an incredible fight. Last Friday, a little over a week after Luca was born, Katie started her first round of chemo treatments.
No new mother or young family should ever have to face this ordeal. While she should be at home resting, snuggling and loving her two little ones, and allowing her body to heal and recover from the trauma of giving birth, she is instead having to put all of her energy into fighting this horrific disease.
Their beautiful little family of four and the rest of the Overstreet clan have a long road ahead of them, steeped with many challenges. We know they will be facing many financial ordeals with mounting and unknown medical bills. Katie and Victor are teachers in Manassas, and Victor is also a US Army National Guard member. As Katie undergoes treatment, she will be forced to go on disability, which will strain their financial security as disability only pays a fraction of an individual’s total salary. And we all know that teachers are already horribly underpaid for their essential work.
We can accomplish amazing things as a community when we come together to achieve a goal. Over the years, we have raised thousands of dollars for countless causes and organizations. And now we can do so for one of our own member families in need. We hope that we can help ease some of the burden, worry, and stress they may soon be facing, so they can focus on what truly matters: getting Katie healthy.
Therefore, we are calling on our community to help us raise funds through this Go Fund Me to help ease some of the daunting living/medical costs that Katie and Victor will soon face. We are asking all of our member families from both CrossFit Kingstowne and CrossFit Liberation to consider donating. Small or Large, every little bit will help. And if anyone in the greater CrossFit community wants to support this family and our event, please join us. Every share, every donation, can help ease this young families burden.
In addition to the GoFundMe page, we will host a fundraising event at CrossFit Kingstowne on Saturday, 12 November. We will be running a version of the Rogue 1000/750 # Challenge and add another fun element of a 1-mile run in addition to the lifts. Anyone who wants to participate can sign up for a heat time to do the lifts, which include the Bench Press, Deadlift, and Squat and then a mile run to follow. We will be calling the event the Overstreet Strong Challenge. We will not be charging an entrance or registration fee, but instead, we ask you to consider making some form of a donation to the GO FUND ME page we have set up, instead of a registration fee. If you do not want to participate in the physical portion of the event, you are still welcome to come out and cheer on the individuals who will be participating and consider making a donation. We will have food and beverages available through the event, along with some awesome raffle prizes, as we bring the community together to support this amazing family. This event is open to anyone who wants to participate, even non-members.
We have also made Overstreet Strong T-Shirts (pictured) as another means of raising money. The shirts are Violet Purple for Hodgkins Lymphoma Awareness. We will be posting a pre-order form where you can sign up to purchase and secure a shirt. The t-shirts will be $30, with proceeds donated to the GoFundMe page.
We will release more details about the Overstreet Strong 1000/750 # + 1 Mile Run Challenge Event on 12 November, along with a sign-up for heats and the pre-order form for the t-shirts, on our SugarWOD page.
We often say that our community is , and its moments like this when we truly live up to that motto. We hope this amazing community will come together to show this incredible family how much they mean to us as Katie, her husband, their two little ones and the rest of the Overstreet/Souza clan begin the fight of their lives.
We sincerely appreciate any level of donation you can make, small, large, anonymous or not; all of it is appreciated. In addition, we will be holding a series of raffles leading up to and during the event on the 12th. We know many of you are extremely talented or have some great connections - so please let us know if any in our community want to donate a service or item to the raffle pool.
Much love to you all, and thank you for helping this wonderful family.
Carrie and Ruben
*ckcancer
https://gofund.me/aef2b609
