Dominican Sisters Home Health Agency of
Denver is a local charity that provides free in-home care
and equipment to the elderly who are without other
resources. Most of the patients served are in their 70s, 80s
or 90s, worked all their lives, and now have outlived their
savings. In 2007, the agency served over 500 patients,
provided nearly 25,000 free in-home visits and loaned over
800 pieces of Durable Medical Equipment. Through the efforts
of our agency we have managed to keep people living
independently in their own homes and all of this was done
without any government funding!
We currently have a team of five women who are signed up and
ready to run to raise funds for the Dominican Sisters Home
Health Agency and those they serve! Four of us will be
running the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon” in San Diego on Sunday
June 1st 2008, and one will run the “Mayor’s Marathon” in
Anchorage June 21st. Four of us are 50 years old or older,
and two of us have never run a marathon before! We will be
training for the next three months and our team hopes to
raise more than $10,000 for the patients of Dominican
Sisters. Scroll down for Team Bios.
Would you support us by pledging any amount per mile? We
will be running 26.2 miles for this very worthy cause!
Pledge a dollar per mile, and donate $26.20. Pledge $3 per
mile and donate $78.60, or pledge $10 per mile and donate
$262! You decide ~ we will even accept a flat donation of
any amount ~ just make sure you indicate that it is in
support of “Blisters for Sisters”!
Dominican Sisters Home Health Agency is a 501(c)3 and every
penny will go toward the provision of free in-home care and
equipment for our needy patients. It is 100% tax deductible!
We will accept cash, check or money order (to the address
below)—or donate online any time after April 1st when our GivingFirst button will go LIVE.
Make our blisters for Dominican Sister’s count!
TEAM BIOS
Donna Heath
Donna has been the Executive Director of Dominican Sisters
for the past six and one half years and still loves her job.
“I feel blessed to be able to do this work—it makes a huge
difference every day in the lives of so many people who
would suffer without our assistance!” She made a promise to
Sister Marie Therese and Sister Regis when she first came to
the agency to do “whatever it would take” to see that the
legacy of the Sisters would live on—little did she know it
might mean running another marathon!
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Donna has been running for the past 20 years, but only
running seriously (as in, not jogging) since 1996 after
breaking her ankle (while running) and deciding it was time
to become a “real runner” or give up the sport. Her friend
Debi, who lives in California, was her “virtual running
partner” when she trained and ran her first marathon in
1998, at age 42. Donna often shares with others that,
“Running a marathon is a great metaphor for Life: you must
set the goal, discipline yourself to do the necessary
preparation, and then pace yourself—it’s a long haul, but
worth it!”
Donna is married to Kent and has three children, and all are
frequent volunteers at Dominican Sisters, sharing her love
for the work. Kent sets the tone, by offering to help with
many projects, and tolerating dinner after 8pm on many
nights. When daughter Sarah graduated with an accounting
degree from CU’s School of Business in 2006, she recognized
that she didn’t “want to sit in a room with a bunch of
numbers” but instead, wanted to “make a difference, like we
do at Dominican Sisters”. (Sarah will also be running the
marathon for Dominican Sisters with Donna!) Son Michael
cited his frequent help at the agency, specifically lawn
mowing on hot summer days, in his letter to Santa. The
youngest, Maggie, volunteers every year along with the staff
from Dominican Sisters at the 9Health Fair at Centura St.
Anthony’s Central, and after graduation from High School
this year, hopes to become a registered nurse.
Sarah Jane Heath
Sarah is Donna's oldest daughter. A passionate member of
team sports like softball, basketball, swimming, dance and
track & field throughout high school, Sarah developed her
love for running as a young college student at CU-Boulder.
At the age of 21, she dedicated her first marathon to a
childhood friend and fellow runner, Brian Ellsworth, lost in
a car accident in 2003 and she has run at least one marathon
every year since. Sarah grew up with Dominican Sisters and
worked at the agency throughout college and continues to
volunteer.
Sarah is an accountant at IBM in Boulder, and loves to hike
with her boyfriend, Eric, and her two dogs, Rudy and James.
Debi Scott
A resident of Southern California for most of her life, Debi
Scott lives in Anaheim Hills with Jim, her husband of 20
years, and their two dogs, Hayley and Lucy (aka ‘the Muttley
Crue’). She has worked almost 30 years in aerospace at
Hughes/Raytheon, most recently as a hardware reliability
engineer. Debi developed a passion for distance running in the mid-90s when she ran her first marathon, and she is
thrilled to be pounding the pavement for DSHHA in the 2008
Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego. ‘For years now,’ she
says, ‘I have loved hearing Donna talk about her job; she
has told me story after story of all the wonderful things
the good Dominican Sisters of Denver have accomplished under
the auspices of DSHHA and its dedicated staff of medical and
administrative professionals. The innovative ways DSHHA
continues to grow and expand its outreach to the community
is awe-inspiring. I honestly do not know anyone who loves
her work more than Donna does and is more rewarded by the
fruits of her labors. There are many worthy charity
organizations out there, but DSHHA is the only one I can
personally vouch for; knowing Donna as I do – her integrity,
her drive, her work ethic, her amazing talent as both a
clinician and an administrator – I have absolute certainty
that every dollar I collect for the Dominican Sisters of
Denver will be put to the best use possible, and I feel
truly honored and privileged to have this opportunity to
support DSHHA’s mission as a member of the Blisters for
Sisters team’.
Audrey Krebs
Audrey Krebs found running to be exhilarating in Minnesota
and was training for her first half Marathon in 2002 when
suddenly she found herself in Colorado. She continued to run
the first month in Colorado but could not understand why her
shoes fe lt so heavy. Audrey took back four pairs of shoes
that first month and finally realized it was the altitude
not the shoes! The running was so laborious she gave it up
until she met a Marathon Guru and found the bliss of running
once again. At age 51, Audrey will be running her first
marathon for the Sisters of the Dominican Home Health
Agency. She hopes that after the marathon she won't need the
services of the Sisters’ nurses.
Audrey has lived in Colorado the last six years and enjoys
all Colorado has to offer. She currently is the
Administrator for the Senior Community Service Employment
Program for the State and serves as a Program Specialist for
the State's Area Agencies on Aging. Prior to moving to
Colorado, Audrey was a life long resident of Minnesota and
working as a Development/Volunteer Director for the Veterans
Home of Fergus Falls. She was fond of politics and served as
a County Commissioner for ten years in Wilkin County
Minnesota. Audrey has two grown children Matthew and
Elizabeth, and she is very proud of both of them.
Audrey will finish the race no matter if her shoes work or
not. She is running to raise money for the seniors that need
the services of the Dominican Sisters Home Health Agency.
 Mary Ginder
Mary Ginder is definitely an "adult onset athlete." She came
to endurance events by way of triathlons; she did her first
at the age of 52! Last year was the year of the
half-marathons, and Mary did two, much to her own surprise.
In 2008, at the age of 56, she is attempting to do her first
Marathon, on June 21 in Anchorage, Alaska - with the
inspiration and encouragement of Donna Heath and the other
ladies on the "Blisters for Sisters" team.
Mary has lived in Colorado since 1982 and has worked at the
Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan since 1994.
She is currently the Director of Performance Improvement and
the Patient Safety Program. Mary has twin daughters and a
son, and two granddaughters.
This is Mary's first volunteer project for Dominican Sisters
- the first of many to come... Help her make it a success!
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