Charity
Race Coordinator is dedicated to my son Noah who left us too soon, but is and always will be loved.
Race Coordinator is and always will be free software. Those working on it have freely donated their time and money into making Race Coordinator what it is. Many software applications, not just lap counting software, are free, but offer the opportunity to donate money to the author. Before I make such an offer, I'd like to take a moment to get very personal.
In 2004, my wife and I decided to start a family. Two years later we were still childless and decided to take the next step and seek help from medical professionals. From 2006 through the end of 2008 we made three IVF attempts, each one a failure. Each one, harder than the next. Making it more difficult, I lost my father to brain cancer in early 2009. Our family plans had to be put on a hold while we recovered from everything.
Maybe my dad was looking down on us because we did try again, and in November of 2009 we got the amazing news that we were pregnant. The fourth time was apparently the charm. Fairly quickly into the pregnancy we got more good news. We were given twins. As happy as we were, we were still a bit cautious as it was very early in the pregnancy.
Eight weeks in and the trouble began. After having heard two little heart beats not two weeks before, we were given the news that we had lost one of the babies. It's hard to put into words the feeling at that moment. On one hand we just lost a child. On the other hand, we still had a child that the doctors all insisted was a picture of perfect health.
Keeping our heads up, we carried on. The hope we still had carried us forward. For the remainder of the pregnancy everything went perfect. So much so that after about the 12th week doctors took us out of the high risk category. Every day got better and better as the big day approached.
Then it happened. Three days after another perfect doctor's appointment and five days before our son's due date, we lost him. It's impossible to explain how this feels. To have tried for so long, and to have had everything fall apart so fast. Some days I'm not sure how or why I get up in the morning. All I can say is that I truly hope nobody reading this can even remotely relate. It's a nightmare that I go to sleep to, and a nightmare that I wake up to every single day. And I will for the rest of my life.
At the time this site was being put together, it's been about five months since we lost our son Noah. Every day is a little easier, but some days are as impossible as the day this nightmare begin. Without family, friends, and some truly amazing organizations, I don't think my wife and I would have made it.
And that takes us to Race Coordinator donations. If you would like to make a donation for all the work put into Race Coordinator, they can be made through PayPal and sent to 'daufderh@hotmail.com'. 100% of the donations made will be in turn donated to either First Candle which is an organization that carried my wife and me on their backs when we thought we could go on no further, or to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital which is a very worthy charity that combines the loss of my father and son into one worthy charity.
If you don't have a pay pal account or you are uncomfortable making a donation to me simply use this link to make a donation to the Noah Jack Memorial Fund we setup through First Candle.
Any donation, no matter how big or small is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Dave
Update:
I'm so happy to introduce my son Austin Riley to the slot car community. I'm taking time off work to spend time with our new family but I'll still be making time to do tech support and bug fixes for RC.
In celebration of this happy time, I will match any donations made for RC as long as they are made between Austin's birthday and my own. That includes generous donations from my RC and RCD free software and any SRMS purchase revenue. I do have an undisclosed financial limit in mind for my matching, but if we hit that we've truely done some great work. Keep in mind for me to match all donations have to be made to me through pay pal or you have to provide some suitable proof of your own donation.
To give you a rough time frame, this matching offer will end by the end of January 2014
Race Coordinator Copyright (C) 2010-2012 DPASoft