I need to start thinking about some fundraisers cuz I need to get some money coming in to pay for the $4500/mon Rx for the Burzynski Clinic and the $130 for the Zometa infusion and the blood tests and all the other stuff that just seems to keep piling up. Not that it matters all that much, but I’m loosing hours at work cuz I’m so tired (side effects of the Xeloda, Tarceva and Zolinza)
Anyway… anyone reading have any fundraiser ideas?
Anyone reading?
Tags: Fundraisers
It Was Awesome. Totally and Completely Awesome.
Mom and I arrived at “Christ The Good Shepherd” Church about 2pm and we got to participate in the “transformation”. It was something to see, something to be a part of!
It started as a large area for receptions – stark and empty.
Then “The Team” took over… John & Mitzi R and Maria and Joseph (2 of their 3 children), Paula S and daughter Bella, Jeannie & John R, Ellen V, Laurie P, Josie & Bill E, Randy & Sharon P, Sean G, Pat S, Holly N, Stacie & Nate G, Hazer W, Vivian H, Nancy W, Russell T, Sam H… and My Mom.
We brought out tables and chairs and tablecloths and decor…
When finished, it was Spectacular… The theme was “Italian” and the decor reflected a quaint Italian restaurant, complete with the solid red and green, and the red and white checkered tablecloths. There were centerpieces made of the large cans of tomatoes used in the sauce – cleaned (of course) and stuffed with green, white and red tissue paper and accented with green, white and red balloons (colors of the Italian Flag). Very Creative! The music (supplied by Laurie P) was very apropos – Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al!
There were balloons Everywhere! Red, Green and White! And – of course – Pink and White (colors for breast cancer and bone cancer).
The meal consisted of pasta, and sauce (either Italian sausage or meatless), garlic bread, salad, tea or water and a selection of desserts (brought by the volunteers). Each table was set with a bowl of pesto and grated cheese. The meal could be eaten there, or there were “to-go” boxes available. Seating was for about 100 at a time, and there were also many “to-go” boxes sold.
I had special Teeshirts made for the Volunteers, and we also had Teeshirts (to sell) with “I Helped Someone Survive Breast Cancer” on them. Thank You to ScreamingTees for the Teeshirts!
Donna M made some Lovely crystal bead, pink ribbon cell phone dangles – they were Beautiful and sold well!
There were 10 or 12 FULL tables of items for Silent Auction! My co-workers brought items and got gift certificates from local businesses; Audrey R made 3 gift baskets of specialized items (baking, spa and safety), and Laurie P had an Italian “Mystery Box”. Josie E went to the Master Gardener at Mercer Botanical Gardens and got some plants donated to sell. Nancy W donated some of her handmade pottery. Personal friends who donated to the Silent Auction were Jim H, Zach M, Donna & Mike M, Virginia & Dean O, Crystal G, Stephanie U and Ms. P. Their gracious gifts were Much Appreciated!
Towards the end of the evening, Tom (my boss) held a Live Auction of the Silent Auction items that had not sold. That man is So Funny – and he got Everything sold!
My Dad drove in from Corpus Christi to attend – that was Awesome! Personal Friends who attended were Carol and son, Zach; Christy & Bill; Crystal & Ryan and friend Stephanie; Julie & Mick, Donna & Mike; Donna & Joe; Jim & Sheryl and son, Preston; Tim & Dawn.
The total raised for my treatment / recovery was $8,474.50 – the Silent Auction alone raised $1,520.50! This was more financial assistance than I had ever considered. The spiritual and emotional support from this was immeasurable.
All this started as an idea in John R’s head, to do something for me. From someone I work with, to do something to help me with my situation, with my financial struggle. An idea that was supported by others within my group and grew. For me. Still difficult for me to comprehend that my co-workers, who have known me for only a year – and some for less, did this for me.
John’s mother came up to me and told me that this was the first time that Christ The Good Shepherd has ever allowed something like this to be done, for an individual, and I imagine for someone who was not a member of the congregation… What an honor for me to know this, what an honor for me to know that this Church thinks so highly of John to allow this.
Thank You is just not, and never will be, enough.
This event was "dreamed up" by my co-worker, John R. With the support of other co-workers, it grew and became something I will never forget, and am proud, and humbled, to have been associated with. "Thank You" will Never Be Enough. 103 Photos
Here’s the Teeshirts we had…
The Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser is today. John has asked each volunteer to bring a dessert, and I am making a Tres Leches cake. I cooked it last night and got the first soaking done. Today will be the second soaking. Then the topping – I use a marshmallow topping with chopped dried tropical fruits…
I am also bring garlic heads to roast. I Love roasted garlic!
I hope this event goes well… I’m excited and nervous at the same time.
The Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser is tomorrow…
Some of the “Team” met at the church after work today to chop onions and make pesto. John’s recipe is very simple, but Yummy. Fresh basil, olive oil, fresh garlic, Asiago cheese and walnuts.
Things were done quickly, and we didn’t stay long.
I’m excited about tomorrow, and still find it difficult to comprehend that my co-workers are doing this for me!
Today was the Spring 2009 PlantMeet Plant Swap, held at Mercer Arboretum (North Houston area). This event is a semi-annual gathering of “Planty People” who get together to swap plants, cuttings, seeds and general gardening items. The group which hosts this event is PlantMeet.com – Jennifer, Nadine and the PlantMeet group do a Fabulous job of organizing and pulling it all together. There are also a couple of other groups that participate – Houston Plant Exchange (my plant group) and GardenWeb. Actually, I believe that ANY person / plant group is invited to participate, it’s just about getting the word out.
Planty People are very a very unique and generous group, and I truly enjoy attending these events.
I always say that I’m not going to come home with a bunch of plants – I have too many as it is – but Somehow, I always manage to forget and bring home way too many. Not this time though. This time Mom and I “only” returned home with about 10!
What WAS a Huge and Very Emotional surprise though, was a gift from my Planty Friends, Beci and Noreen (Noreen of Gingers of Texas)… they planned a raffle in my name, to benefit my treatment / recovery. Noreen donated a potted Mandarin Satsuma Tree and Beci ran the raffle. Tickets were a donation of $1 each, and the end total was $205.05 (the extra 5cents came from 2 young girls who each brought a handful of change to donate – Very Sweet and Cute!).
One gentleman placed a $100 bill in the bowl and didn’t even want a ticket! I was SO touched, I just hugged him and cried. Turned out that his wife is battling cervical cancer.
Imagine that – his wife has her own battle, and these people reached out to me in my time of need.
I’m crying all over again, right now…
Much Thanks All Around!
This was a Plant Swap of several participating Houston and South Texas area plant groups. Two of my Friends in Houston Plant Exchange raffled off a Mandarin Satsuma Tree as a benefit for me! 88 Photos
Tags: Plant Swap
The American Cancer Society’s “2009 Relay For Life – Northwest Harris County, TX“, held at the Klein Oak High School was probably the most humbling, inspiring and inspirational events I have ever attended. Event info I previously posted is here.
It was such an honor to be invited to participate by Best Buy, Store 1072, as their “Honorary Survivors”. Our team was “Firehouse1072″ – named because this particular Best Buy store had 2 fires during it’s construction. It was fondly named the “Firehouse” store by it’s employees.
The “Offical” start time was 7pm, but participants were asked to arrive earlier. Mom and I arrived at the location a few minutes after 6:00pm. It was Much larger than I had anticipated – the Entire football field was set up with the tents of 66 different different teams! Right away, you could see the common theme of “Luau”, as every team had some type of Hawaiian, Tikki or Luau decor. It was Really Colorful and Very Fun Looking!
There were special activities for the Survivors and Caregivers – Mom is both a Survivor AND a Caregiver… We were able to get a massage, a special dinner and gift bags with goodies.
But the Most Special Thing was walking the “Survivor & Caregiver Lap”. It was one of the most memorable experiences I have had. I have never felt such love and support, as we all walked around the track and everyone else lined the track, clapping and cheering us on. I think I cried the entire lap, I just kept saying “Thank You, Thank You So Much”… and That is Exactly how I felt.
Thank You So Much.
There was also the “Lights Out & Silent Lap” where they dimmed the lights. The Klein Oaks “Diamond Girls” (girls who help support Klein Oak Programs by assisting with home game activities) positioned themselves on the bleachers and then slowly turned on flashlights they were each holding… and the audience could see that they had spelled out the word “HOPE” in lights… then after a few minutes, they dimmed their flashlights, and you could heard them moving… and when they lit their lights again, they spelled out the word “CURE”. I Let Out A Big Hoot!! YES – We HOPE For A CURE!!
There was then the reading of names, a very somber period, but hopefully very healing for some.
Then back to the “business” of fun and raising money…
There were Plenty of fun activities and on-site fundraisers to participate in – lots of cool stuff to purchase. And Lots of food and drink! There was a Silent Auction. It was an awesome experience to get out and socialize with the different teams and participate in their activities. All monies made on-site went into the pot for the final count.
Best Buy’s Team FireHouse had a Fabulous activity area! They brought 2 large flat-screen TVs and had Rock Band set-up on one, and various video games set-up on the other. For a donation, people could play a timed period of either one – Boy those were 2 Very Popular activities! Team FireHouse also was raffling off a Wii Gift Basket, which had a Wii system and various Wii accessories. Tickets were $5/each and my Mom was Seriously Selling Those Tickets!!
Team FireHouse also has a caricature table, manned by Josie, who is an Awesome artist! His table was Always busy!
Some of the activities offered by the different teams included a blow-up theater movie screen which showed popular animated movies for kids of all ages, “sumo” (suit) wrestling, a “jail”, to incarcerate your favorite “criminal”, cake walk, roulette-style wheels for spinning for prizes, numerous raffles and so many more to remember… (I’m actually waiting for the official list to be posted so that I can give credits due to all the wonderful on-site fundraiser activities).
Items sold to raise funds were wide and varied. There were Lots of different bracelets – from the “standard” silicone bands to lovely silver and bead creations . There were All Sorts of inexpensive items to play with - temporary tattoos, whistles, glo-sticks, blinkers…
Event Schedule
Time = = What’s Happening
= = Entertainment/Music
* 6:30 pm = = Comedian
* 7:00 pm = = Opening Ceremony
* 8:00 pm = = Survivor Ceremony Survivor Lap & Caregiver Lap
* 9:15 pm = = Lava Lighters begin making rounds, followed by the Hush Angels
* 9:30 pm = = First Silent Auction section closes; Luminaria Ceremony; Lights out and Silent Lap
* 10:00 pm = = Segue into Fight Back Ceremony Fight Back Lap *Special Guest Appearance: Elvis!*
* 10:45 pm = = Second Silent Auction section closes
* 11:00 pm = = Get Lei’d with Elvis Lap
* 11:30 pm = = Keiki Lap (Hawaiian for Kids; lap honoring kids and youths for their participation)
* 12:00 midnight = = Midnight Madness Lap – anything goes: Hula Dancers, Hula Hoopers or anything involving a hula or hoop or Hula Hotties – both guys and ladies, grass skirts, coconut bras, whatever! Last loud lap!
* 1:00 am = = Hawaiian Shirt/Dress Lap
* 2:00 am = = Wipe Out — Surfin’ USA Lap! (Surf Boards, boogie boards… get your “Moon Doggie” gear!)
* 3:00 am = = Get Lei’d Lap (collect leis; those giving them out can require those receiving to do as they request- sing a song, so a little dance, bark like a dog, donate a buck, etc.)
* 4:00am = = Flip Flop Flap Lap (Wear your weirdest, wildest flip flops – or whatever flip flops you’ve got)
* 5:00 am = = Zombie Lap (Dress the way you feel at 5:00am: Fuzzy slippers, ratty P.J.’s whatever.)
* 6:00 am = = Team Photo Lap before the closing ceremony
= = Closing Ceremony
Final Counts
* Teams: 66
* Participants: 1137
* Dollars Raised: $119,841.31
Top Teams
1 – Leopards for Life ($12,535.00)
2 – Coach K’s Crew ($8,910.00)
3 – Choppin’ Cancer- Phi Theta Kappa ($7,386.49)
4 – TEAM ENDURANCE ($7,155.00)
5 – JB and Me ($6,874.93)
Top Participants
1 – Stephanie Bowden ($2,545.00)
2 – Serenity Glazer ($2,530.00)
3 – Dee Dalager ($2,506.68)
4 – Janean Lyon ($2,260.00)
5 – Kimberly Coopwood ($1,575.00)
It was a long and tiring evening for me, I didn’t make the whole 12 hrs, but we did stay until 1:30am! And Yes – I Did take Lots of pictures to share!!
We had a Great time, and I Sincerely hope I will be able to participate next year…
Best Buy #1072 asked me and Mom to be their "Honorary Survivors" for this event. It was the first Relay for Life I've ever attended, and it was one of the most memorable experiences I have ever been fortunate to participate in. HOPE FOR A CURE!! 177 Photos
This evening is the American Cancer Society’s “2009 Relay For Life – Northwest Harris County, TX“, held at the Klein Oak High School track. This will be the first such event that I have attended. Mom will be coming with, and will also be her first time.
We have been invited by Best Buy, Store 1072, to be their “Honorary Survivors”. Our team is “Team Firehouse” – What An Honor!
We are Really looking forward to this evening. It’s a 12hr event, so I’m not sure how long I will be able to last, but will stay as long as we can! And Of Course, I’ll take Lots of pictures to share!!
For more info on this event, Click Here
