Kiki
Walk4Hearing Featured Walker
By Lauren Kuehnle
"What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."
My 12 year old daughter Kierstyn “Kiki” Kuehnle has taken that quote to a whole new level. Kiki, born deaf in her left ear and recently losing hearing in her right ear now dons a stylish pink hearing aid, adorned with a bow. When Kiki lost the hearing in what was once her “good ear” she became determined to make a difference in the Hearing Impaired and Deaf community.
Dedicated to making an impact, Kiki created her own Walk4Hearing team with an original goal of $5,000. With excellent plans of bake sales and creative fundraisers, she eagerly began spreading the word about the Walk 4 Hearing and what it means to participate. Within 3 weeks of starting out with the fundraising Kiki had inspired so many, that she surpassed the $5,000 goal. Organizing and holding 2 bake sales, she utilized each second with her “customers” to give them a brief backstory and then EDUCATE them on how they can make a difference! What amazed me most, was not only the friends, families and complete strangers that really listened to Kiki, but the amazing stories that were shared in return. The generosity of so many individuals was humbling.
Kiki wasn’t satisfied just surpassing the $5,000, she wanted to keep getting the word out to RAISE AWARENESS! She presented her custom flyers to local business, presented a PowerPoint at her school and hand wrote a thank you note to each and every person and business that donated or joined to walk with us! As the weeks went by, her passion continued to infect all of those she came into contact with! With only days left until the walk, we ended up having to place an emergency extra order for shirts, as we had surpassed the 60 participants that had already registered! Team Kiki had the support of 80 people, people of all ages, all backgrounds, friends, families, strangers all came together to join in the courageous and admirable efforts of the extraordinary 12 year old girl.
My daughter inspires me every single day to MAKE a DIFFERENCE small or large. Her genuine, kind and amazing compassion drive her to inspire so many people day in and day out. Kiki truly embodies the spirit of making life the best it can be and giving back in every way you can. I am beyond proud of my daughter, and we are so blessed and thankful for the 80+walkers for Team Kiki as well as the +$18,500 that she raised! We can’t wait for Team Kiki 2016!
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