OT opinions wanted

andtckrtoo

andtckrtoo

Cathlete
My mom is suffering from Liver Cancer. We have no idea how she got it as she does not fit any of the "types" - she does not drink or do drugs...

I was just made aware of a trip up Mt. Shasta (second highest volcano in the lower 48 - it's 14,161 feet) where the proceeds of the fund raising would go to Liver Disease Reseach. The fund raising is $2000 per climber, so that would be $4000 for DH and I. I'm not worried about the climb (I've done 14,000 foot peaks before as has DH - we did Whitney a few year back - we'll have to train, but hey, that's what we do, isn't it?), but I am a little worried about the fund raising. Has anyone else done fund raising like this and is it doable in 6 months? Should I go for it?
 
Christine,

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. It doesn't make any sense, does it? What a wonderful tribute to her to do this climb! I don't know anything about fund raising for this kind of thing, but hopefully Gayle and some others will chime in here and have some words of wisdom for you. I can tell you that whenever I see a link in a post to donate to things of this nature I almost always do.

ETA that I will keep your mom in my prayers.

Michele
 
can't help much with fund raising but offer prayers for your mom

kassia



When they discover the center of the universe, a lot of people will be
disappointed to discover they are not it -- Bernard Bailey
 
Thanks Michele. I really do appreciate it. It's tough, and right now there's no cure. I feel helpless watching her. The more I think about this, the more I want to do it. I'd feel like I was helping her out.
 
Christine,

You should PM Gayle (banslug) because I'm sure a similar type of fund raising was involved in the marathon she just completed.

I hope you will feel free to lean on your Cathe friends during this difficult time. We've got eyes to read and shoulders to cry on. Take good care.

Michele
 
Christine - first I am very sorry to hear about your mom. We went through a similar thing when my sister had Leukemia. She didn't fit any profiles either. As far as the fundraising goes,my brother did a fundraiser for another Leukemia patient in memory of my sister. I believe he had to raise 2,000.00 for himself in a short period of time. If it would help you, I can put you in touch with him to see how he did it. He did manage to raise the money needed.
 
Michele - thanks - I'll PM Gayle! I really do appreciate the support. You ladies are phenomenal.

Jen - thanks! Ask him if he has any tips. He can email me at [email protected]. I'm getting more and more excited about this. I may have to beat up DH if he thinks we should not go... (joking)...
 
Christine,

First of all, let me say that you and your Mom are in my prayers. My Mom passed away from liver disease just 2 years ago. It was the toughest thing I have ever, ever gone through, watching her fight the disease and finally lose that battle. She also lived a clean life. Her downfall was getting a blood transfusion for an illness she had back in 1987. That was before they could screen blood for Hepatitis C. The blood she received had Hep C in it.

Please PM me if you'd like to talk about it. There is no cure, but I can tell you that my Mom lived a great quality of life for many years having the disease. Eventually her liver gave out, and she is gone now. I know exactly what you and your Mom are going through.

I think your desire to raise the money for liver disease research is a great one! When Mom passed away, we asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the liver foundation. I hope, in some round about way, that helps your Mom. Good luck with the fundraising. Many good thoughts and best wishes to your Mom.
 
JeanneMarie - My condolences on your mother. It's not easy, and yes I do know that you understand. I appreciate the bid for support. I will certainly PM you. I also wanted to thank you for your kindness and the donations. What a wonderful way to celebrate your mother's life and I can tell you that they are so appreciated right now! HUGS!
 
Christine:

I'm so sorry about your mom! I will keep you both in your prayers. My thought is, if they do this thing regularly, can you get some kind of kit or guidance for the folks who run the climb?

JeanneMarie, I'm so sorry about your mom!

Take care,
Marie
 
I did fund raising for the Avon Breat cancer Walk. I can't recall exactly how much it was but I want to say it was something like $1,500.00. t was hard b/c the little $10 donations count but they don't get you very far sometimes! I did try to solicit businesses to donate (they get a write off) & that seemed to make the dollars add up quickly. Hit up everyone at family functions, PTA meetings, work meetings, etc. You wil get there!
 
RE: OT opinions wanted...long

Hi Christine,
I am sorry for this recent news that you have had to cope with.

I don't post too much, but this type of situation I can relate to and unfortunately have similar experience with. My MIL passed away December 2004 with advanced breast Cancer. Also, in December of 2004, my mom was diagnosed with it. There was no node involvement and the lesion was tiny. She had a double masectomy (it was only in the one breast, but she chose to have a double because she didn't want to have to deal with the diagnosis ever again). After they removed both breasts and analyzed the tissue in the "non affected" breast, the found it WAS present in the "non affected" breast so her intuition was right. She has been through the chemo and will have the reconstructive surgery with implants in March. She is doing awesome now!

These diagnoses with two of my close family members got me so angry with life. I tried to figure out why God dealt me this hand and this was my motivation to do the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer here in Chicago last June, and I walked all 39.3 miles! I honored my MIL and mom as well as helped many people that I don't know. I am proud of this accomplishment for many reasons

For the fundraising goal of $1,800.00 I sent out letters to close family and friends. I knew explaining why I needed to do this walk and why their donation would be helpful was enough information. I had a donation rate of 85%. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer People provided us with example letters and I got ideas from those and personalized my own letter. I didn't have to do anything else to try to raise money and I reached my goal and then some. I sent one round of letters, and thank you cards to each person for their donation. I regret not sending out a form postcard after the walk to let people know how the two day walk was. It would have been a nice conclusion and a good way to get people's attention for the next year.

I think the goal is doable in 6 mos, but you may have to send out a 2nd round of letters if you don't get a good response or try another fundraising method altogether. I have pasted my letter from last year to this post.

Please PM me if you need additional support. I may be able to have my husband scan the pages from my Avon Fundraiser Book if you want other sample fundraising letters. I have pasted my letter I wrote last year to this post. If nothing else, hopefully, you can get some ideas from it.

Good Luck in Your Endeavor and I will be thinking about you and your family. If you need anything else, please let me know! I will help the best I can.
Sincerely,
Webbgirl



Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this letter finds everyone in good health and happiness! Duane and I are hanging in there. We have had a rough start to our marriage with two of our loved ones being diagnosed with breast cancer. Duane's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in September and passed away the week before Christmas. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer three days after Christmas and recently had a double mastectomy. Unfortunately, we had to lose Duane's mom, but she was inspiration to my mom. My mom's cancer was detected early because she went to her yearly mammogram earlier than usual. My mom's prognosis is great.

Many of you may know that cancer is not new to my family. My paternal grandma and both of my dad's sister's passed away as a result of cancer. I have friends who have also been affected by this disease. My experiences with this disease have been too many. I have decided that I am not going sit idly by and watch another friend or family member be affected by cancer in any way.

During December, there were television commercials for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer taking place June 4-5 in Chicago. These commercials got me thinking about what I could do to help fight this disease. You may know that Duane's mom sold Avon products. I decided that participating in this walk would be a great way to pay tribute to her. I would also be able to help many other women and their families, whom I may or may not know, by raising money to support the following areas: awareness and education, screening and diagnosis, treatment, support services, and scientific research.

As a participant in the walk, I will be walking a marathon and a half (nearly 40 miles!) over two days. These months ahead will be filled with much training and preparation. The longest distance I have ever walked or run is five miles. Another requirement for participating in the walk is raising a minimum of $1,800.00. I am able to contribute my time and my money to this cause, but am unable to provide all of the minimum donation. I am not a person who usually asks for help, so this is difficult for me. It is so important for me to be able to contribute my part to this cause and I am asking for your help. I am asking that you please take this opportunity to honor the people you love and everyone who has been touched by this terrible disease by donating to this cause. Every dollar really does help.

Should you choose to contribute, you will be making a tax-deductible donation to the Avon Foundation which is a public charity. You will also be making an invaluable contribution to so many who desperately need it. Please consider making a donation made out to the “Avon Walk for Breast Cancer” and send it to me in the enclosed envelope. If you would rather donate online, you can go to www.avonwalk.org and click on Support a Walker, and simply type in my name (Jennifer B). Together we can save some lives...are you in?

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read my letter and thank you in advance for your support, financial and emotional. When I hit the road in June, please know that you will be a special part of my journey and the journey of so many others along the way. I can't wait to do the walk in June!

With my love and gratitude,


Jenny
 
RE: OT opinions wanted...long

Christine-

First, my prayers are with you and your family right now. Please know that.

Second, I am SO FLATTERED that a few folks have suggested you contact me! WOW! As they have said, I just did my first-ever marathon and fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I ran the Disney marathon last Sunday and had to raise $3600 in order to do so. (my husband dies of leukemia in September 2004, and my now-boyfriend's mom died of leukemia last April 2005) Long story short, after many weeks of worrying about it, I got to work and passed that mark and raised over $5100!!!!!!!!!!! YOWZZZZAAAS!

If you'd like, we can chat on the phone if that's easier. Email is [email protected] if you need it to send me your home # and I can call you. YOUR CHOICE! I can forward you the actual documents I used for my mail campaign and my flyers listed below.

But.............
I did quite a few things. Here is a list, I'll try to keep it brief.

1. Email Campaign. I had a personal fundraising website set up with details, and I emailed everybody in my email address book. Not many folks, but that turned up about $700 for me right off the bat.

2. Mail Campaign. To keep costs down, I bought all my supplies at WalMart (letter-sized envelopes, smaller check-sized envelopes, white paper for printing). Then, I made a flyer on my PC at home and copied (at Staples), and stuffed a letter envelope with a flyer, an addressed return envelope (smaller one) and asponsor sheet. Again to keep costs down, I hand-delivered TONS of these in my neighborhood, my parents' neighborhood, and as many neighborhoods/developments in my town as I could. I considered those delivery days a cross training day! LOL This turned up quite a bit of money.

3. I did a Family Fun Night at the local Friendly's Restaurant (diner-type food and ice cream shop restaurant). They donate 10% of all bills between 5pm and 8pm on a given night. In turn, they ask that I advertise, get the word out, and bring people in the door. It's usually on a night that's not so good business-wise, like a MOnday or a Tuesday. I brought in $170 on this one. I put flyers out everywhere, including my younger son's pre-school, my older son's teacher sent one home with each student, at the library, the YMCA, the post office, the paper.

4. THE SCHOOL! I asked the prinicipal of my son's school if they would help me. I suggested HAT DAY for the kids. She accepted. The kids donated $1, and in return, they were able to wear a hat OF THEIR CHOICE throughout school for that entire day. For every homeroom that had 100% participation, I raffled off a Pizza Lunch. Ironically, my son's class won this! LOL This was FUN, EASY, and so encouraging to see all those kids excited to help AND WEAR A HAT in school. We brought in over $650 on this fundraiser.

5. Local Businesses. I approached local businesses in my hometown...the places that I frequent quite a bit....my favorite pizza joint, my car insurance company that I've been using since I was 16, local contractors, the oil-change car guy....everybody that I gave my business to, I asked for a donation of $200. Many gave that amount, some GAVE MORE, and some gave less.

6. 50/50 Raffle Drawing. I had a local printing company donate their printing services to make up raffle tickets that I designed. I sold tickets, 1 for $2 or 3 for $5. 50% of it ws donated and the other 50% was raffled off. I called it the 2006 New Year's Kickoff Raffle. This one brought in some money as well. I would have brought in MORE on this one, but by the time I got to selling the tickets, I had already exceeded my amount by a lot and kind of slacked off! This one is also very easy!

I could go on and on and on! My best advice...get the word out on your cause, what you're doing, and ASK! PEOPLE MAY SAY NO, BUT THEY CAN'T SAY YES UNLESS YOU ASK!

PLEASE.......I'd LOVE to help you more. On the phone, via email, via posts....you decide and let me know how I can help!

Gayle

p.s. May I just say that you are embarking on a journey that will change the way you feel forever! Be proud of yourself.
 
RE: OT opinions wanted...long

Sorry, another bit of advice is just to be YOU! Don't worry about being nervous. I was HORRIFIED about asking people for money. But, I got over that once the generosity of people started showing! I actually almost cried (as in REAL tears) because I was so nervous when I approached my insurance company. I HIGHLY recommend going IN PERSON to these places. It lets them know how serious you are, who you are, and shows that you are giving it your personal effort to do this. I even came straight out and said something like, "I am not used to doing this, but I'd like to ask you to consider helping me with a fundraiser I am doing for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please excuse me if I seem nervous, but I AM!" Then I told them what I was asking and thanked them for just consdiering it.

TELL EVERYONE! I mailed my mom's cousin a fundraising packet. I live in PA and he lives all the way across the country in California. I haven't seen him in YEARS, but mailed him anyway.

Also, remind people that their company may make matching contributions for their employees. It easily doubles one person's donation.

Once you get a donation from somebody, send out a Thank You card right away. (again, I hand-delivered them for those that I could).

Email me, call me, I want to help yoU!

Gayle
 
And Christine, while you're at it, don't forget to hit on the Cathe group! I'd be happy to sponsor you.

-Nancy
 
Me too! I was trying to say that in my previous post without sounding too forward. That is, I didn't want to violate any forum rules with offering monetary support if soliciting for donations here is not appropriate.

I know you're not soliciting for money, just wanting advice on how to fundraise successfully.


webbgirl
 
Thank you Nancy! It comes from the heart and is honest, and sincere. That's the only way to go when you are asking people to support you. You just need to make a connection to people, kind of like Christine did with me.

Jenny (aka Webbgirl)
 
Wow! There are some INCREDIBLE replies here - THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! I'm thinking I can do this. Do you ladies realize just how wonderful y'all are?!?

I just signed on after work and after talking to DH about this. We're need to work out the details (DD comes back from a school trip in the middle, but the older DD offered to pick her up and we have friends who will watch both), but WE'RE IN!!! I'm so excited it's not funny! I feel like something I do might actually help my mom. A lot of you know how important that feeling is.

Gayle - I actually did not know the circumstances underwhich you ran the marathon. My condolences to you over the loss of your husband. That had to be awful. I'll be in touch with you. You have some wonderful ideas that I really appreciate, and I'm really looking forward to talking with you!

Jenny - I'm sorry to hear about your MIL and your mom with breast cancer. Watching people we love fight an illness is sooo tough. I admire your strength and I love the letter you sent out! You also have some wonderful ideas! I think with everyone's help we can blow that number out of the water.

One of my computer geek friends suggested a website with a link to paypal for fundraising as well. I'll let you all know when that's set up.

The outpouring of love I get from you gals is simply incredible. To tell you all how much this means is impossible. I am a firm believer in where there's life, there's hope. Mom is still chugging along. This all seems pretty prophetic - a CLIMB? Who's ever heard of a climb, which is my passion, for fund raising?? And for the American Liver Foundation? And up Shasta was one of DH and my goals?. And DH just happened to send it to me, not realizing what this was. It going to sound weird, but I almost feel as if I have to do this. HUGS to all of you. No wonder I love this group!
 
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