Take Steps Home Video Contest Winner!

To kick things up a notch and to encourage our teams to tell us how they REALLY feel about participating in the Take Steps walk, we had a contest this year to see which team could make the best team video! Our winning team was Team UCVlog with an amazing, and inspiring video! Check it out below!

Nadia and Dennis are two young people that were diagnosed with Crohn's colitis and ulcerative colitis respectively several years ago. They both had their colons removed, lived with an ostomy, and now both live with fully-functioning J-pouches! They each started making videos to tell their stories to others who are going through these diseases. This year, they teamed up and created the United Colon Vlog, and have so far had lots of success with outreach and raising awareness!

This year, Nadia and Dennis decided to start a Take Steps team to raise money for research and to give back to their Crohn's and Colitis community, since they have experienced dramatic improvements in health since their surgeries.

"We hope that one day a cure can be found, since we know how terrible these diseases can get. We are confident that in our long lives ahead of us, some great progress will be made!"

~Nadia and Dennis and Team UCVlog!

Brother and Sister Take Steps together to Fight Crohn's disease!

Laurel and Zach are your typical brother and sister. Laurel is the older sister who drives her brother around with her driver's license. They go to the same school, same summer camp, and share pets, friends, and hobbies.

Laurel and Zach also share something different than the typical brother and sister duo. They both have Crohn's disease.

According to Laurel, living with Crohn’s disease is something that really brings them together because it is something that they are both going through. "We can talk to each other whenever we have problems and it is really nice to have someone to confide in who is going through the same things."

Here is another twist to their story. Not only do they both suffer from Crohn’s disease, but their dad is also a Gastroenterologist. Talk about a family who knows their IBD!

Laurel and Zach attend a yearly summer camp, Camp Oasis, for children living with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. They both have made so many close friends over the years that have IBD. They are both very passionate about raising money because the research that their fundraising supports directly affects their quality of life.

According to Laurel, "I see what my friends and I go through on a daily basis and I just want to make it better for the next generation."

Also just like any brother and sister, Zach and Laurel definitely like to compete against one another! This is why they each formed a fundraising team for the Take Steps walk in Minneapolis on May 23! Zach's Team and Project CURE are their competing teams with goals of $500 each! While this competition is fun, at the end of the day they are still fighting for the same cause.

Project CURE is a nonprofit fundraising group Laurel created by selling bracelets to raise money for CCFA's Camp Oasis. So far, through Project CURE, Laurel has raised over $7,000. Camp Oasis is so important to Laurel and Zach, and they want everyone who lives with Crohn's or Colitis to have the opportunity to attend camp. Meeting other kids who take the same meds, have the same problems, and aren't embarassed to talk about it is so important for kid's with Crohn's and Colitis.

Laurel and Zach hope you can join them May 23, at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis to fundraise for Crohn's and Colitis research!

300 person challenge!

Ready or not, the Rochester, Twin Cities and Sioux Falls walks are almost here! If you haven't already registered your walk team - it is time to get the ball rolling! Check out our top teams at each walk site:

Twin Cities Top Fundraising team: Team IBD Society: $3,895 so far!

Twin Cities Largest Team: Team Mahmud - 21 Team Members!

Rochester Top Fundraising Team: The Clean-out Crew: $2,245 so far!

Rochester Largest Team: - The Clean-Out Crew - 11 team members!

Sioux Falls Top Fundraising Team: Stephanie's Crohnies: $385 so far!

Sioux Falls Largest Team: Stephanie's Crohnies" 7 team members!

As you can see, these walks are doing awesome. But we still need more people signed up! That is why the week of April 12 - 16 will be our "300 - person challenge" week. Between all three walk sites, our goal is to get 300 people signed up to walk this week!

Let the registering begin!