NCBF BLOG

Great Things In 2015

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." - Vincent Van Gogh

Wow, we can’t believe another year has gone by so quickly at The Nathan Chris Baker Foundation and we continue to be overwhelmed as we think of the support that we continue to receive from everyone.   Last year we posted our “Year In Review” for the community to see exactly what we were up to all year.  We had great feedback after sharing so we decided to make this an annual post!

As a board, we started off our 3rd year by meeting as a team in February 2015, where we brainstormed and planned for the year ahead!  We spent hours chatting, as a team, about the year ahead in which we were planning our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament and our 4th Annual Fun Day.  We discussed applications for school playgrounds, a baseball field, and brainstormed merchandise, and more fundraising! Our NCB team is an amazing group of people that have become great friends.  These meetings are long and there is a lot to talk about but there isn’t a better way to spend this time than with a team who all have the same goal…  making The Nathan Chris Baker Foundation GREAT!

Since 2012, NCBF has done some great things and made a significant impact on the community and the lives of others. We have donated over $140,000 back to the community in an effort to assist with large projects and small efforts to improve the lives of others.

In 2014, we created our Days of Greatness program and in 2015 it continued to thrive!   This program has been a huge success at lifting the spirits of families and individuals who are going through some tough times dealing with illness and financial struggles. Our Days of Greatness team was able to send many care packages throughout the year to families in need, send 2 families out for a Day of Greatness, and gave a 3rd family a Christmas to remember.  It’s always fulfilling to see the smiles in the pictures and stories that these families share.  We sent one young boy fighting cancer, and his family, out on a chartered fishing trip to enjoy a day on the bay catching rock fish.  The team sent another family fighting illness on an overnight stay at Hershey Park to enjoy a day together without worry. Lastly, we helped a family in Frederick, Maryland have a great Christmas by bringing Christmas to them!  We came out with our NCB elves and decorated their house with lights and garland to help light the season.  We also supplied their Christmas in the way of presents under the tree!  We were thrilled to take this financial stress and time off the family so that they could spend every minute together cherishing the season.  Additionally, this year we got to give back in the community by purchasing and delivering secret Santa baskets to families that just needed a little boost of surprise GREATNESS.  We were able to drop baskets to 10 families throughout the Carroll County area during the month of December.

Earlier this year, we released our partnership with Carroll County Department of Recreation and Parks to commit $30,000 to building a youth baseball field for kids 8 to 12 years old across from Winfield Elementary. To date, we have donated $15,000 to this project and look forward to working with the Department of Recreation and Parks on this field!

NCBF donated an additional $2,000 to Runnymede Elementary School bringing our total donation to $12,0000 since December 2014. These funds will assist in building a new playground at the school.

Tate the GREAT joined NCBF’s team in 2015. Tate is NCBF’s mascot and was named through suggestions of the public. Nathan was often referred to as “Nater Tater” so “Tate the Great” was a perfect fit.   Tate has been a fun addition to our team and has brought many smiles and lots of laughter to each event since!

This year we finished an 8 month fundraising campaign with the collection of Glory Days receipts by receiving a check for $580. Thanks so much to everyone who helped collect and mail in your receipts, the money was used to fund an additional “Day of Greatness”. Every time we opened the PO Box to see another full box of receipts we were amazed!    Thank you for sharing greatness!

In March, we entered the Carroll Arts Peep Show as a way to spread awareness to the foundation.  We collected peep donations from the community to create our “Sliding into GREATness” design and we won an award for Best Non Profit Entry.

In May, we had our 2nd Annual Golf Outing at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City. The tournament was a huge success hosting 132 golfers on one of Turf Valley’s beautiful courses. The tournament is NCBF’s largest fundraiser of the year and contributes greatly to our goal of assisting others in the community.  We will be hosting our 3rd Annual Golf Tournament on Friday, June 24, 2016!

In July, we had a team create a parade float and we walked in the Winfield parade as a way to be involved in the community!  We passed out candy, informational post cards, and got to see smiles on so many faces as Tate the Great dance and waved.

In August, the foundation had a beautiful night out at Camden Yards with our supporters!  The night was a fun night, raised awareness, and raised money for more great things!

In September 2015, we held our 4th annual “Nathan Chris Baker Fun Day” at Hoppers Kids Zone with incredible weather and a GREAT turnout of over 1000 people.  We added a few new carnival games and a gaming truck which were big hits for both kids and adults!  This event remains special to our team since it started just two months after the loss of Nate.  We cannot thank everyone enough for your continued support for this event. We couldn’t do it without all of the attendees, sponsors, and donations that came through. It sure was a GREAT day to get outdoors and enjoy some time with your family and enjoying this great community.

Throughout 2015, NCBF organized several teams that participated in many running events to inspire personal greatness and raise awareness for the foundation in both Maryland and Virginia.  These teams have adopted the name “Team Nate” over the years.  2015 races included the Historic Half marathon and 5K and the Tough Mudder in Virginia, Police Pace 5K in Columbia Maryland, Baltimore Running Festival, and the Ragnar Relay race from Western Maryland to Washington DC.   These Team Nate races have been rewarding both personally and for the foundation.   As a team, we have decided to not continue to organize team races but instead move forward with hosting our very own race!  On May 15, 2016 we will share with you our vision of The GREAT 5k and 1 mile fun run and we can’t wait.  Hope to see you all there and see your greatness on the course!

Looking back on 2015 – we are so grateful to so many people and businesses in the Carroll and Howard County areas for your unwavering support throughout 2015. It has allowed us to help so many individuals and families in need to Go Out and Be Great. We thank you from the bottom or our hearts for your time, donations, prayers, and overwhelming support at all our events. We look forward to an exciting year of helping many individuals, families, and the community in 2016.

Go Out. Be Great.

From the bottom of our hearts,

Justin, Katie, and THE NCB TEAM

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