"26 Acts of Kindness"

IN HONOR OF:

"26 Acts of Kindness"

Our Goal:

 

Collecting School Supplies for 26 schools in need

***should we not collect enough for 26 schools; we will use our discretion in chosing a few schools in desperate need of these items

For instructions regarding delivery of items to one of our Bucket List Crashers, email us @: bucketlistcrashers@gmail.com, OR post a comment.

LIST OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES NEEDED

 

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!!!

Congratulations Sarah!!

The Bucket List Crashers are proud to congratulate newly certified Zumba instructor, Sarah!!

When we started this journey with Sarah back in December, we hoped that this would be a positive experience for her and that she would successfully complete her certification. Little did we know, this journey would change Sarah’s life in so many ways.

On Friday, May 6^th, Sarah joined 60 other people in New York for a grueling 9-hour Zumba certification class. While some people might have been intimidated by traveling alone for the first time in years, standing in a room of strangers, learning and repeating Zumba moves for 9 hours, according to Sarah, this was by far the easiest part of this entire experience.

According to Sarah, the hardest part of pursuing this bucket list item, was reading our December 17^th post where we introduced her story.  We go through the motions of our lives everyday and sometimes don’t give our circumstances much thought. Instead we grin and bear it and accept those circumstances as the status quo.  Sometimes we need someone else to hold up a special mirror that shows us a truthful reflection of our lives. For Sarah, reading our initial post was that special mirror.

Sarah says, “Reading the posts about my situation from someone else’s perspective, really helped me to realize that I needed to make a change in my life”.  Sarah felt that she was reading a story about another person. She actually felt bad for the woman that she was reading about.  It helped her come to the all-important realization that she really didn’t want to be the woman that she was reading about. According to Sarah, “I realized that I had lost myself and forgot who I was”.  That was exactly what she needed to help her take action and make big changes.

Sarah was very overwhelmed when she discovered that we were crashing her bucket list. She couldn’t believe that we were making her a priority and going out of our way to help her. Sarah says, “Knowing that you guys were doing this for me made me want to take action”.  Once she made that decision and started proclaiming this goal as something truly attainable, amazing things started to happen.

Sarah knew that she would need to do some physical work in order to prepare for her certification. She saw an advertisement in her local newspaper for a personal trainer that was offering a free 10-day training program. She thought that would be a great starting point. Her 10-day training experience was so positive, that her trainer agreed to continue to train her, for free, for the next year! She’s already lost 32 pounds and has gone from a size 12 to a size 4.

As we all know, obtaining her Zumba certification was just one part of this overall journey for Sarah. The true goal was to gain the confidence to make necessary changes in her marriage and home life. It has also helped her to realize that she needed to make her mental well-being a priority as well. Sarah has begun to attend counseling. The progress that she has made in therapy has helped her to be more vocal when she isn’t happy. She now has the courage to express her needs and to stand up for herself when necessary. Sarah is taking her life and marriage one day at a time and is also trying different steps each day to gain more independence. She feels that this will be a key component to her overall growth. According to Sarah, “I now realize that I don’t have to accept not being treated like a person of value”.  As of right now, unfortunately, her husband isn’t attending counseling with her. However she is hopeful that the changes that she is making in herself will inspire growth in him as well.  If not, she is confident that she will now have the courage to make difficult decisions and changes if needed.

Her newly attained Zumba certification and dedication to physical and mental wellness have opened a whole new world for Sarah.  She will begin teaching her own Zumba class at a local gym next month. We couldn’t be prouder of her!  Sarah says, “This experience helped me find who I was again. If someone is willing to help you, like the Bucket List Crashers were willing to help me, you have to take that chance and opportunity”.

The Bucket List Crashers would like to thank everyone for their support and positive wishes. We would not have been able to help Sarah without them! We hope that you are as touched by this “crash” as we are.  Hopefully we can all find a little inspiration in her story. If you or someone you know is interested in having the Bucket List Crashers crash an item on your life’s to-do list, please contact us at bucketlistcrashers@gmail.com. 

Check out a few pictures of Sarah's Zumba certification class below. In order to protect Sarah's identity, we cannot reveal where she is in the pictures. However, rest assured, she's in there getting her Zumba on! Congrats Sarah! 

Zumba Fundraiser

On February 26^th, the Bucket List Crashers held our first event. We are proud to say that it was a HUGE success! The fundraiser was held to benefit our Bucket Lister, Sarah. (For more information about Sarah and her story, read our December 17^th post).

Sarah wants to become a certified Zumba instructor. She came to us for help to gain the confidence that she will need to prepare for and pass her Zumba certification.  Our very own Bucket List Crasher, Jahaira, is a certified Zumba instructor and will help guide Sarah through her preparation and certification. All that remains is Sarah’s Zumba certification fee.  Thanks to the success of our fundraiser and the generosity of those that attended, we raised $150 to go towards Sarah’s certification.  We couldn’t be more excited for Sarah as she makes her final preparations for her Zumba certification. Stay tuned for more updates on her progress.

We would like to thank everyone that attended our fundraiser. We would also like to thank our guest instructors Abby and Louis for donating their time to help Jahaira lead the 90 minute class.  They did a great job and really got the crowd moving! For more information about where you can attend their exciting classes scroll down to the bottom of this post. We also could not have done it without Battista Dance Studio and their generous donation of the space where we held our fundraiser.

Check out pictures and video from the event!

Our energetic Zumba instructors- Abby, Jahaira and Louis

Our fundraiser attendees at the beginning of the class

Jahaira leading a class!

Abby leading a class!

Louis leading a class!

Thank You!

255 Hudson Street Hackensack, NJ 07601

201 525-0102

Email: BattistaDance@gmail.com

Zumba with Sarah- Update

As promised, we wanted to provide you with an update on Sarah and her progress.

Since our last post, Sarah has begun the much-needed journey into counseling. This is wonderful news that we are very happy to share. As we said in our first post, we are not therapists and what little help we can offer cannot compare with the invaluable help that therapy will give Sarah. 

With that said, we have been trying to come up with creative ways to help Sarah achieve her Zumba Instructor Certification. One of Sarah’s main obstacles to becoming a Zumba instructor has been the required certification fee. As a stay at home mom, Sarah does not have the resources to pay for the certification herself.  To help Sarah get a step closer to her dream, we are holding a Zumba fundraiser in Hackensack, NJ.  The class will be led by multiple local Zumba instructors. All proceeds will go directly towards Sarah’s Zumba Instructor Certification fee.

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011

Time: 3:30pm - 5:00pm

Location: Battista Dance Studio

255 Hudson St., Hackensack, NJ 07601

Price: $5

If you are in the Northern NJ area and are interested in attending our fundraiser, please email jahaira@zumbalive.com to RSVP or for more information. 

If you cannot attend the fundraiser, however are interested in donating towards Sarah’s certification, please email jahaira@zumbalive.com. No donation is too small!

If you cannot attend or donate, your thoughts and encouragement will be just as important! Please keep Sarah and our fundraiser in your prayers and feel free to leave an encouraging comment.  Sarah definitely will find them comforting.

We will provide an update after the event with pictures and hopefully great news for Sarah!

Zumba with Sarah

Our goal is to keep this blog light hearted and to share uplifting stories about people completing items on their bucket lists.  We never anticipated we would encounter people willing to share their stories so candidly and openly.  We are thankful for their willingness to share their stories and are humbled by their bravery and trust in us to assist them (in whatever small way we can).  

With that being said, allow us to introduce you to our latest bucket lister, Sarah* (*Per her request, we have changed her name to protect her privacy). 

Sarah is unfortunately at the end of her rope. Sarah, like so many of us, always had a specific vision of what her life would be like. She always dreamt of being a wife and stay at home mom. Sarah has luckily realized this dream and is a very proud mother who adores her children.  What haunts Sarah everyday is the realization she feels trapped in a marriage where she is the victim of emotional abuse.  Now, we all know abuse comes in several forms and does not need to be physical.

For years, Sarah tried to ignore the abuse and suppress her feelings.  Until she began to see she was not the only victim.  She began to see her husband’s behavior being mimicked by her children.  It was in witnessing her children treating each other with the same disrespect that truly gave her the wake-up call she needed.

Now we’re sure many of you may be wondering, what this has to do with the Bucket List Crashers or what on earth could we possibly do to help in this situation. Needless to say, we do not claim to be therapists of any kind.  We have advised Sarah that she needs to make her emotional well-being, children and marriage her number one priority and seek the help appropriate for her situation.

As you can imagine, Sarah is terrified of taking that all-important first step to remove herself and her children from this situation.  Sarah would like to gain the confidence she will need to take that step, and the many trying steps that will follow.

This is where we come in! As a mother, her life and focus have always been about her children. Sarah wants to branch out and do something for herself.  She has never had the courage to try anything on her own.  Sarah has always wanted to teach a fitness class.  She is particularly fond of the Zumba fitness system and has asked us to help her get certified as a Zumba fitness instructor.  In comparison to the serious issues Sarah is facing in her life, some may think this goal seems quite trivial. However, Sarah hopes that achieving this goal, and crossing this item off of her bucket list, will prove to her that she does have the strength and courage to make big changes in her life.

We couldn’t agree more!  We are firm believers you never know where, when and how inspiration will strike. Our hope is that working towards this goal will help Sarah see there are so many possibilities out there for her and her children. She does not have to settle for a less than healthy living environment.  Achieving this goal will hopefully improve Sarah’s emotional well-being, her outlook on what’s possible and will help her to be the best mom she can be.  Because as we all know, a good mommy is a happy mommy.  WAY too many of us forget that!

We will provide updates on our progress as we move forward with the Bucket List “crash.”  So please stay tuned for more on Sarah’s story.  Obviously this story has more to it than just a Zumba certification.  Sarah has way more at stake!  So if you have any thoughts of encouragement you would like to share with Sarah or if you have any tips for us on how we can make her bucket list item a reality, please feel free to leave a comment or email us at bucketlistcrashers@gmail.com.

OUR FIRST BUCKET LIST CRASH!!!

MEET EDITH

We crashed her bucket list and helped her run the 5k in the

Atlantic City Marathon!

Edith came to the Bucket List Crashers for help with running a 5k at this year's Atlantic City Marathon. She experienced several life changing events recently that brought on that "Ah-Hah" moment when she realized how short and precious life really is. Edith recently lost 30 pounds, turned 40, got married, decided to start a family and grieved the loss of a close friend. 

Although each of these events may seem unrelated to eachother or to a 5k run, to Edith they are absoutely linked. Turning 40 and losing her dear friend were the wake up calls she needed to stop letting life pass her by. In order to make her and her husband's dream of starting a family a reality, she decided to make her health and physical well being a priority. The weight loss was a great start! In her quest to maintain her healthy weight and prepare her body for pregnancy, she thought running this 5k would be a great next step.

So why did she need us, you ask? (For the record, we asked the same question! She's a pretty fierce lady. We weren't sure what the heck we were gonna bring to the table).

Edith has always wanted to run a 5k but never thought she could do it alone. She knew she would need support, someone to motivate her and help her to stick to a training schedule. Before the Bucket List Crashers came into her life, that support person would've been her recently deceased friend. That loss served as extra motivation for both Edith and us to complete this 5k in his honor!

Edith was teamed up with Bucket List Crasher, Jahaira. They trained together and Jahaira did her best to keep Edith motivated leading up to the race.  On October 17th, joined by Edith's husband, the Bucket List Crashers traveled to the shore for the 52nd Annual Atlantic City Marathon. We cheered her on and ran by her side. We couldn't be prouder to have been able to help Edith cross this 5k run off of her bucket list. It symbolized so much more than a simple 3 mile run for her. This was about honoring the memory of a loved one, being thankful for life, good health and preparing for the future.

The Bucket List Crashers were honored to be a part of that journey!

Check out our video of Edith and Jahaira at the Start Line right before the race began.

If you were touched by Edith's story or would like to share your thoughts, feel free to email us at bucketlistcrashers@gmail.com.