Pink Gravel Fund

Specific Need

This year, a small portion of the donations received from the 2024 Match Day event will go towards marketing expenses in order to widen the circle of those who could use a Pink Gravel Fund grant.  With the Pink Gravel Grant application being released in October 2023, Jon and I (Amy) are anxious to GIVE to qualified applicants in our area.   Everything else will go into the Fund to increase our grant giving compacity. 

We were shy of our $10,000 goal in 2023 by just a few hundred.  PLEASE help us hit that goal this Match Days!

Please donate and help get the Pink Gravel Fund in front of those that could use a positive vibe in the form of a Pink Gravel Fund grant!  

Mission

Pink Gravel exists to promote breast cancer awareness among the active through supporting, riding and positive vibing.  It would be fitting to add "positive giving." - Jon & Amy

Profile

"In the beginning, Pink Gravel was Amy's way to stay involved with the gravel family while going through chemo and radiation in the spring of 2020.  Pink Gravel really "became a thing" in the fall of 2020 when friends of Jon and Amy put Pink Gravel front and center on their gravel events volunteer shirts.  As Amy was finally coming out of her chemo fog, Jon and Amy decided they wanted to use Pink Gravel to help others that fell into similar situation - an active person sidelined by cancer and using other means to remain active. 

As the Pink Gravel Crew - consisting of Jon, Amy and their kids - attended events promoting breast cancer awareness, sharing her story and Pink Gravel's mission, contributions were received for their help at these events and those buying Pink Gravel t shirts.  Jon and Amy saved that money and used it as seed money to approach the Emporia Community Foundation in October 2021."

The above is a short summary of how the Pink Gravel Fund came into existence.  It was my (Amy's) personal experience with breast cancer and love for gravel cycling that this Pink Gravel machine was born.  

Since October 2021, Jon and I have traveled to events and expos in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, and of course, Emporia, Kansas to share our cancer experience and the mission of the Pink Gravel Fund with whoever will listen.   Jon and I are in constant fundraising mode to grow the Fund's balance in order to put it to work for you or someone you know that has been diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Examples of what we intended our grants to help with: purchase of a "good" wig or head scarves, payment towards treatment expenses not covered by insurance, gas cards to cover appointment related travel expenses, items or services to ease or cover up the long term side effects of treatments (counseling, scar tattoos, etc.)

"Personally, if something like this was available to me after chemo/radiation, I'd have applied for help to pay for those eyebrow tattoos.  For some reason, only half of each one grew back. Ugh, and Lord knows I am not good with an eyebrow pencil." - Amy

PLEASE, donate to the Pink Gravel Fund knowing your gift will be used locally for those needing a positive boost during or after treatment of breast cancer.

Thank you for taking the time to read and learn about Pink Gravel.

Jon and I want to thank the Emporia Community Foundation Board, the Matching Donors, ECF Staff and all those that give their time and dollars to make Emporia Match Days happen.