When Kimberly Gamino made a presentation at Tuesday night’s Turlock Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting, she had little idea that word would spread so quickly about an inspiring partnership between Turlock schools, Camp Taylor and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Then again, maybe she did.
Gamino, the founder of Camp Taylor, says that Camp Taylor’s phones were ringing off the hook with callers looking to find out where they can donate and, of course, score those awesome “Coins 4 Kap’s Heart Warriors” t-shirts. The $30 t-shirts help support the Coins 4 Kap’s Heart Warriors fundraiser, which aims to send 30 Turlock students with congenital heart disease to summer heart camp.
Kaepernick was adopted by his parents after they lost two children early in life to congenital heart disease.
The list of confirmed participating schools includes Brown, Cunningham, Julien, Medeiros, Osborne and Walnut Elementary Schools, Turlock Junior High, and Pitman and Turlock High Schools. Also it is likely Dutcher Middle School and Earl Elementary School will sign on for the fundraiser.
T-shirts can be ordered at Camp Taylor by calling 209-545-4715. Purchasers do not have to be connected to a school, and orders can be placed now. Gamino says Camp Taylor has the ability to produce more t-shirts.
The story quickly went viral on TurlockCityNews.com, where it has received more than 6,200 Facebook “Likes” in less than 24 hours.
The TurlockCityNews.com article was reposted on Colin Kaepernick’s Authentic Facebook Fan Page and received an additional 6,287 likes by Thursday morning. Several of Kaepernick's family members also re-tweeted the story.
Posts on the Facebook page have praised the Coins 4 Kap’s Heart Warriors fundraiser and Camp Taylor.
“As an adult now, and having lived my whole life with congenital heart disease, this program is a wonderful blessing to these children!” posted Turlock resident Jannette Morris. “Thank you.”
For more information on Camp Taylor, and to see a heart-warming video on the partnership between Kaepernick and Camp Taylor, visit http://www.kidsheartcamp.org/colin-kaepernick-and-camp-taylor/.
