Tubie Family Outreach MN Kickoff and Fundraising Dinner

Hello everyone!

We are thrilled to host our kickoff fundraising dinner for Tubie Family Outreach MN! This is a ticketed event in partnership with Boathouse Brothers Brewing Co, and Brewed with Heart, for Tuesday, April 23rd 2024.

Every dollar in proceeds collected will go directly to buy ingredients for our team of volunteers to prepare beautiful, fresh, home cooked 5 course meals for family members in need at the Ronald Mcdonald House at Children's Minneapolis. Our goal is to raise enough money to fund our services for both Mothers and Fathers Day 2024. Can’t attend? Consider a donation! Can’t Donate? Volunteer! I need help and lots of it. Can’t Volunteer? Share this event with somebody you know.

In exchange for your ticket purchase of $99, you and one guest will get be our practice taste testers for the actual menu plan for Ronald Mcdonald House. Attending our event is a perfect opportunity for a date night, family night out, or a catch up session with a friend in the name of a great cause. Prepare to feast on an Italian delight:

Limoncello Mocktail

Prosciutto Crostini

Classic Caprese Salad

Chicken Pasta Aglio e Olio

Tiramisu

What IS A “Tubie”?

A Tubie is a nickname for a child who is tube fed. Some types of tubes that these kids will rely on to get nourishment are NG tubes (placed through the nose) G tube (placed surgically through the stomach) and a GJ tube (placed surgically through the intestine)

Who We Are

Our family was turned upside down over the traumatic start to our daughter Georgia's life in October 2022. She was hospitalized in intensive care 7 times within the first 6 months of her life; a total of 42 days. My husband Nick and I stayed with her every day, while also managing our own careers and our 15 month son at the time. She ultimately was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease, failure to thrive, and oral dysphagia (choking and aspiration). I decided to pause my career to care for her and work on rehabilitation full time. By the grace of God, Georgia is now a healthy, happy toddler, who can eat and drink normally. I am now back to work, with a burning desire to connect with other families going through what we did.

Tubie Family Struggles

Through both Georgia’s rehabilitation and participation in support groups, we’ve found that our struggles in managing Georgia's condition is widespread in the Tubie family community. The stress, trauma, financial burden, and worry for a Tubies prognosis is devastating. There is a massive deficiet in home health care, outpatient specialty care, and case management for these families. Parents truly get lost in the complex and underfunded healthcare system. Our gift as Georgia's parents is that we never quit fighting to get her what she needed. We pushed, pushed again, and pushed more to get doctors to listen to us and to prioritize Georgia.

What We are Doing About It

We are currently in the legal process of establishing ourselves as a 501c (a legal non-profit). The state has been slow to work with our attorneys but we are eagar to get started. Upon approval, we will be creating a webpage, social media site, and facilitating routine volunteer opportunities.

Our first goal as an organization is to provide as many meals as possible to the Ronald McDonald house at Children's Minneapolis. We can stretch donation dollars to the max by purchasing, cooking and serving on site.

Our secondary goal includes facilitating a support group for families to meet on zoom twice a week. Tubie families are often sent home with feeding supplies with no training on how to use them. We will be available to help bridge that gap in knowledge and ease anxiety.

Our third goal is to provide families with CPR and aspiration training through accredited sources. CPR is vital for tubie parents and caregivers to understand as tubie children often also suffer from choking and aspiration. We hope to fund this training for as many parents as possible.

Host or Publisher Crystal Wilson