Angels Among Us 2024

Team Speedy Sloth (In Memory of Eliza)

The Angels Among Us 5K & Walk of Hope will be held on April 27, 2024 on the Duke University campus.  Team Speedy Sloth is reconvening and we'd love to have you join us!

This year, we will be walking/running to honor two beautiful angels who both sparkled brightly - Eliza Craven and Taylor Huston.  Taylor wanted to be a ballerina violinist when she grew up.  Eliza hoped to be a famous artist.  

Eliza's amazing friends have supported our team by continuing a tradition they started together the year before Eliza died - a lemonade stand and bake sale to support pediatric brain cancer research.  Funds raised at the lemonade stand, and through Team Speedy Sloth, are contributed in support of the Eliza Alice Craven Pediatric Research Fund at Duke.  We are so grateful to this wonderful group of girls for helping us remember and honor Eliza.  Thank you for your support!

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Eliza Alice Craven, 9, bounded into the world early in the morning of January 1, 2013, shortly after her parents and the hospital nurses watched the ball drop in Times Square on the small hospital TV. Like the holiday on which she was born, Eliza was sparkly, fun and kind of loud. After a courageous battle with cancer, she died peacefully at home on June 25, 2022, surrounded by her family.

Eliza was kind and creative, and had a talent for delivering witty comebacks that kept her family members on their toes. She loved spending time outdoors and planted a garden with her Dad every spring, usually including sunflowers and a random assortment of vegetables, some of which ended up on our dinner table, but many of which ended up in the bellies of the neighborhood rabbits and deer.  Eliza enjoyed soccer, swimming, skiing, art, and the occasional pedicure - always choosing a vibrant color to match her personality. Her Mom was her favorite partner when tubing behind a boat or riding on a paddleboard. The beach and the mountains were special to Eliza and she enjoyed visiting at any opportunity. She also loved music and singing as a member of the children’s choir at White Memorial Presbyterian Church. Eliza also enjoyed teaming up with her big brother, Asher, to create fun games and activities to entertain their little brother, Jonah. She was an avid reader, having made her way through hundreds of books in just a few years. Eliza shared this passion with Jonah, often reading him bedtime stories, and teaching him to read his first three words.  We miss her terribly and are grateful to all of you for helping us honor her memory.

Thank you for your gift in support of the Eliza Alice Craven Pediatric Research Fund for pediatric brain tumor research.

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