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#CALEBvsCANCER‬ Send some positive energy!

DealerRefresh readers, writers, members, sponsors and even you lurkers…

If you’ve been reading DealerRefresh or have been part of our community for any length of time, then you know our great friend and industry leader – Ryan Leslie.

Ryan has been helping out the DR community since the beginning of the dealer forums, and even before that here on the blog. If you need advice or help with ANYTHING (especially on reputation management, reviews and consumer experience), Ryan is one of those rare people who will stop what he’s doing to give you his undivided attention and genuinely help you out as much as he possibly can. He’s one of the most kind and trustworthy people I have had the pleasure in knowing.

Having the opportunity to know Ryan over the years is one of those gracious benefits that comes along with having started DealerRefresh almost 10 years ago. If I were to shut down DealerRefresh today and was asked, what did get I from all of this? 

The answer: The awesome relationships and friendships that I have gained throughout the years.

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Now, today, it’s time to leverage this platform and the relationships I have formed throughout the years, and continue giving back. It’s time to stop what you are doing at this very moment and appreciate everything you have in life. It’s time to realize that no matter how difficult you think it is, there’s inspiration all around you. Let’s take this time and recognize a young man who is tough-as-nails and an inspiration to all of us — Caleb Leslie.

In May 2013, Ryan and Beth’s 10 yearr old son Caleb was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma. It’s an extremely rare cancer – 3 out of 1,000,000 pediatric cancer cases are Ewing’s.

Caleb endured 15 months of chemotherapy and radiation, and in August of 2014 was declared cancer free. He had won the fight. Unfortunately, he had only won for a short time. Only 90 days after his clear scans in August, a PET scan confirmed that the cancer had returned and has now metastasized in his lungs.

I’m a firm believer that positivity breeds positivity, and from that positive energy comes about great things. I’ve witnessed that first hand. I ask, if you’re reading this, send Caleb and the Leslie family all your positive energy. I, too, need to do that right about now, because I’m an emotional wreck at this point of typing this out.

On top of sharing your positive energy, myself, Jessica Ruth, Brent Wees and Megan Barto have created a fundraising site where you can support by donation to Caleb and the Leslie family.


Make a donation

Cancer effects the whole family, and Caleb has a nice size family with his mom, dad, 3 brothers and a sister. I know we would all love to stop by with a meal, lend a helping hand or something for Caleb and the family – but chances you don’t live in the same neighborhood or over in the next town. So here’s another way of giving…

All donations collected will be used by the Leslie Family to help with the incredible financial costs associated with kicking Caleb’s cancer to the curb. Any excessive funds will be donated to Friends of Kids with Cancer – An organization that is near and dear to the Leslie family and has been with them every step of the way for Caleb.

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*With each donation we will send you cool blue CALEBvsCANCER bracelet to show your support. Send your address to [email protected]. If you would like more than 1 bracelet, let us know. If you see Jessica at NADA, she’ll have bracelets, too.

Look, even the smallest donation is a huge help – $5, $10, $50 – whatever. Skip Starbucks for 2 days this week. If you can’t make a donation, that’s fine too. At the very least, take a moment right now and send Caleb some positive energy. Comment below with nothing more than #‎CALEBvsCANCER‬ and #POSITIVEENERGY. 

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Keep yourself updated with Caleb’s progress, do so by joining the CalebVSCanser facebook page.

Founder of DealerRefresh - 20+ Years of dealership Sales, Management, Training, Marketing and Leadership.