A Pint For Kim
We are the friends and family of Kimberley Benedyk Sandford of Naperville, Illinois who, after an inspiring eight year journey with a rare cancer, left us in March 2020. Our 100% volunteer run team now organizes blood drives year-round in her memory, including our big annual record-setting Mother’s Day Weekend drive and life-saving festival. We are not a typical charity as we do not try to raise money. We only try to raise awareness that the largest use of donated blood goes to cancer patients and to inspire blood donations in Kim’s memory! None of this would be possible without the generosity of hundreds of volunteers who donate their time and effort to make each event a success, as well as our generous Mother’s Day weekend event sponsors and prize donors!
Once again we will gather on Saturday of Mother’s Day Weekend to continue to save lives in Kim’s memory! And… to try to break the state record for largest one-day blood drive for the 6th year in a row! Last year we only broke it by a handful of pints, so we really need and appreciate each and every one of you!
Our 6th annual event will be held on Saturday, May 10 at Naperville North High School. The first appointment is 7:30 a.m. and the last one is at 3:30 p.m. with walk-ins welcome until 3:15 p.m.
If you are here looking for how to grab one of our 1,300 blood donation appointment spots you can CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP TO DONATE BLOOD. And you can sign up to volunteer by CLICKING HERE.
We are working on this year’s event page, but you can CLICK HERE to see last year’s event as we will have all that… and more! We will be back again with live music, food trucks, carnival games, “Naperville celebrities” dunk tank, hyper-cars, a “thank you drawing” with $30,000+ in donated prizes for our blood donors and volunteers to win, the US Marine Corps, therapy dogs, face painting, temporary tattoos, photobooths, kids’ crafts, Mother’s Day card making stations, and so much more!
We can’t wait to see you and your friends and family this Mother’s Day Weekend for another amazing life-saving festival that is ALWAYS completely FREE, family-friendly, and open to ALL! We hope that you will make A Pint For Kim a part of your annual Mother’s Day Weekend traditions! ca
Kim’s youngest sister, Kristyn, wrote a personal essay that was published by The Huffington Post sharing intimate details about how the “A Pint For Kim” movement was born, including how it was actually Kim’s idea!
The essay reached millions of readers resulting in Kim’s family receiving emails from people all over the world sharing their own personal stories of grief and loss as well as joyfully sharing that they donated in Kim’s memory. These messages came from numerous states and countries, officially making the “A Pint For Kim” movement an international one.
To read about how the very first blood drive was launched and to discover why this movement is so important to Kim’s family, you can read the essay here.
ORDER BY APRIL 30 AND PICK-UP AT THE BLOOD DRIVE
After Kim passed, her sisters opened the journal that was on her nightstand. On the very first page, Kim had written: “What are we doing here & why? *We are here not for ourselves. We are here to live & serve others. *Life is NOT about us.”
At the time that Kim wrote this, she was undergoing numerous treatments, experiencing pain and fatigue, and coming to terms with the finality of her situation. And yet… through all of it, she never stopped believing with all of her heart that the true path to happiness in life is through service to others. Kim embodied selflessness every step of the way, her entire life. Her final wish to have a blood drive instead of a wake – and to use her story to spread awareness – shows that even in death, Kim still continued to put others first.
We hope that her words in her handwriting can be an inspiration to others. That is why we are offering a limited time edition of shirts and hoodies that can be purchased by April 30 and picked up at the blood drive. You can ORDER HERE.
All items come in both adult and youth sizes. Shirts are $18 and hoodies are $38 (all taxes and fees included). We priced them as low as possible as the goal is not to profit from them but rather to spread Kim’s inspirational words as far as possible so that they may be a light to others going through hard times as well as a reminder of the importance of giving back.
Kim’s heroic eight-year experience with cancer began in 2012 when she was diagnosed with a 1-in-a-million stage IV cancer. Though the initial prognosis was scary, Kim battled with fierce determination, strength, and grace. We consider the eight years we had with Kim after that diagnosis to be a gift, one that she gave us by fighting so hard. You can read more about her story and about the moment the A Pint For Kim movement began when we were made aware that the largest use of donated blood is for cancer patients while they undergo treatments.
To see all of the beautiful photos taken and generously provided by James Martin of The Base Chicago (2023) and Leslie Najera-Rivas (2024), visit our gallery!
Though our annual Mother’s Day Weekend Blood Drive & Celebration of Life is our largest event, we also hold smaller drives throughout the year including one in memory of Kim’s birthday, a fun Halloween themed one that includes a pizza party, one in memory of the day Kim passed, and more!
"I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion, and where it isn't, that's where my work lies." -Ram Dass
We miss Kim with all of our heart and soul, but seeing all of the lives that are saved – and seeing all of the JOY that the May event brings to families – gives us so much comfort!! We know Kim is smiling with happiness and gratitude upon everyone who is a part of A Pint For Kim!
