Welcome
Welcome to my fundraising page. My name is Raleigh Jenkins. On May 23, 2009, my brothers and I will begin an adventure of a lifetime. We are riding our bicycles from Austin, TX to Calgary, Canada. My brothers and I have more than just a brotherly bond a we also share the bond of owning ABC Services. ABC Pest Control became a family business when my parents, Bob and Sandy Jenkins, purchased the business in San Antonio. My brother and I now own individual branch offices of ABC in Houston, Austin and Dallas. As a celebration of the 60th anniversary of our family business, we wanted to do something out of the ordinary and special. The 2,000+ mile cycle trip is not only an opportunity for us to do something as brothers but we saw it as an ideal opportunity to incorporate this cross-country bike trip as a fundraising effort.
We each have different charities that we are riding for. My Brother Bobby, with ABC in Austin is raising money for Caritas in Austin which is a local charity that helps folks in Austin get back on their feet. My brother Dennis, with ABC in Dallas, is riding for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society because of some very special people who have touched his life and have fought Leukemia. I am riding for the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas.
About 12 years ago my dad, Bob Jenkins, had kidney failures. After a year of him being on dialysis, I was able to donate one of my kidneys to him. My inspiration for this upcoming endeavor with my brothers will be in dedication to my dad’s memory, in celebration of the family business and an effort to help others who are in need of a kidney transplant. I want to give hope and life to the millions of people in need of a kidney donation, since I was a donor, by also raising awareness of live donors as well.
National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas, Inc.
The mission of the National Kidney Foundation of Southeast Texas, Inc. is to prevent kidney or urnary tract diseases, improve the overall health and well-being of the affected by these diseases and increase the availability of all organs for transplantation.
The Problem!
Kidney disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. today. It affects 20 million people, taking approximately 80,000 lives each year. In Texas, kidney disease affects every 25th person, and kills every 30th. Kidney disease kills more Americans annually than automobile accidents.
Many patients depend upon dialysis to sustain life. For many of these patients, a kidney transplant is the only hope to return to a normal lifestyle. Although this treatment is common practice today, fewer than a quarter of the patients waiting for a kidney will receive one because they lack a suitable donor. The number of patients waiting for a kidney transplant steadily grows each year.