BROOKINGS – Caleb Hockett was only 8 years old when he died from the heart problems with which he was born. In the past three years, his parents, John and Mariah Hockett, and siblings have honored his memory with a F.R.O.G. Run. The family recently announced a change.
This year’s Caleb Hockett Memorial will be a bike-a-thon. It will start at 9:30 a.m. June 17 at the Outdoor Adventure Center.
“We wanted to do something different this year because our son loved making kids smile and having family involvement was so important to him, even when he was sick all the time in the hospital,” wrote the Hocketts in an e-mail to the Register.
June 17 was chosen because it’s close to the June 19 birthday Caleb shared with his twin, Cole.
Proceeds from the event will go into the Caleb Hockett Memorial Fund.
“All the money that we raise will go to help sick children with medical needs and hospital stays,” the Hocketts wrote. “We would also like to help the Brookings Police Department with their Christmas for Kids.”
Before Caleb’s death, the Brookings Police Department gave Caleb an award for his “courage and strength, and also made Caleb a police officer of Brookings County because this was his dream,” the Hocketts wrote.
The reason they called it a F.R.O.G. fundraiser was two-fold. Caleb loved frogs and F.R.O.G. also stands for Fully Rely On God, which is what the Hocketts said they have been doing.
“Only with God's strength have we gotten through this,” they wrote.
In addition to the bike-a-thon, there will be a kids bike drawing for a Trek bike and the kids must be present to win. There will also be a free will donation for a brat feed and a silent auction.
“We would like to thank the community … for all the support that you have shown our family and all the love that the community gives to us through this hard time as we go through it still. So we hope to see all of you guys out at the Outdoor Adventure Center on June 17th and let's go ride for Caleb,” the Hocketts wrote.
