Who was Dougie Apple?

Sometimes a Daytonian’s story bears repeating.

As you know we go on many fantastic Food Adventures.  One you can’t miss is about 2 weeks away.

Friday, May 15th is the Big Brews and Blues Festival.  This is a blues festival with a cause.  The event raises money for the Dayton Diabetes Association.

It is an amazing event, with Blues Bands, dozens and dozens of Beers to sample, and food vendors.  The 2015 event is being held at Riverscape Metropark.  It is not only a terrific night, but it is a festival with a purpose.  Dougie Apple was a Dayton native who also had a purpose.

In fact, at the festival, a banner typically drapes a booth selling beverages for his foundation.  This is where the Food Adventures Crew first learned of his story.  If you have attended the festival, you may remember seeing the booth yourself.

 

Sometimes a person who spends a small amount of time on this earth, has a very big effect on those around them.

Such is the case of Dougie Apple, one of 6 kids who grew up in a Miamisburg, with his 5 sisters.  He was boy who at the age of 12 found out that he had diabetes.  When he was diagnosed it was a surprise, since there was no one else in his family who had this typically genetic disease.

He was active in sports like soccer, and he loved the Cincinnati Reds.  After his diagnosis he decided to attend a camp with other kids battling his diabetes.  This camp, called “Camp Ko-Man-She,” changed his life.  Dougie continued to visit the camp each year, and it helped him cope with the disease.   After his diagnosis as he grew up he took a job at King’s Island.  He even worked at a local car wash, to feed his interest in cars.  He then decided to work at the camp as a counselor, helping mentor other children with the disease.

Dougie’s journey from camp attendee, to counselor and eventually camp director.  He affected literally hundreds of lives for the positive, by comforting kids, and making them forget about their illness.

Meanwhile Dougie was dealing with an illness of his own.  He received a kidney transplant and pancreas transplant from a donor family who lost a child named Daniel.  The Apple family and Daniel’s family became close, and still are to this day.  As Dougie continued to have a positive influence on Dayton area kids with diabetes at camp, his illness unfortunately took an unexpected turn for the worse.  On February 3rd, 2012 Dougie Apple succumbed to the diabetes, which he fought so hard to conquer.

At his funeral, his family was overwhelmed by the crowd of young people who made the trip to his funeral.  They shared stories about how Dougie helped them get through a tough time in their childhood, or helped them get enough courage to give themselves diabetes shots.  He had affected so many lives, and the result was staggering.  The family wants to keep Dougie’s intentions alive, so they set up The Dougie Apple Tree Fund, and continue to raise money in his name.

Over the past 3 years, the Dougie Apple Tree Fund has raised approx 5 thousand dollars per year.  They donate the funds to the Diabetes of Dayton charity.  The request is that some of these monies go to send children to the camp that Dougie attended.  It is a chance to help these kids to live a normal existence.  If you attend the festival, please stop by the Dougie Apple booth and buy a bottled water or a soft drink can, you will be quenching your thirst and helping quench the desires to find a cure for diabetes.

 

So please, consider attending the

BIG BREWS & BLUES FESTIVAL

Friday night, May 15th from 5-9pm at Riverscape.

Tickets are $30 prepay or $40 at the door.

Besides great blues bands, there will be approximately 70 beers to sample.    The Food Adventures Crew is honored to be a part of this event, and hope you will be too.

Come celebrate the lives of those who are fighting diabetes, by helping them find a cure.

This is not an event that lines corporate pockets, it is an event that affects real people in the Dayton area.  Make sure you help make a difference as well.

If you would like to donate or learn more about the Dougie Apple Foundation, please send an email to [email protected].

Hope to see you with some Big Brews at the festival !  Below are some photos from previous year’s events, please browse the gallery.

 

Are you a Dayton Foodie?  Then join the over 5,000 foodies in the Miami Valley area following Food Adventures on Facebook HERE !

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