Unite For The Cure » Fundraiser idea

Felix Family: Christmas Giving, $1350 Donated

Victoria Strong — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:00:34 +0000

What a wonderful story from the Felix family of Arizona. Their outreach effort snowballed into a generous Christmas act of kindness. Here is the story by Jaci Felix:

My husband works for UPS and he gave out letters to his co-workers asking for donations for UFTC. One of his co-workers is married to a realtor (Tammy Henderson) at Century 21 Northwest Realty in Glendale, AZ. The woman who owns that Century 21 (Rodica Bartels) also happens to own the house that we rent. Tammy and her husband donated $100 to the UFTC already, but Tammy also gave the letter to Rodica. In the very wonderful season of giving, the entire office decided instead of buying gifts for each other that they would chip in for Unite For The Cure. They collected an amazing $1350 for UFTC!! I was in shock and humbled. My husband and I are blown away by their generosity and so very appreciative.

This is truly wonderful. Thank you Felix family for sharing this act of kindness and thank you Rodica Bartels and Tammy Henderson for organizing such a thoughtful Christmas gift. Funding research to change the future of SMA is a true gift indeed.

The Zahn Family: Pizza Fundraiser Raises $6,000

Victoria Strong — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:00:01 +0000

The Zahn family, whose 5-month-old baby, Lucy, was recently diagnosed with SMA Type 1, helped orchestrate a fun and successful pizza fundraiser. Their dedication is all the more inspiring knowing they are in the midst of also processing the diagnosis, learning how to care for a Type 1 child, and had a hospital stay in the middle of it. We applaud the Zahn family for their tenacity and their incredible efforts.

Here is what Barbara Zahn had to say about their great event:

Lucy’s grandparents Jim and Jeanne Zahn collaborated with her great-uncle Dave to start a pizza sale to raise funds for Lucy and 5-year-old Lily, who has neuroblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. The youth bowling league of Eldorado got involved, selling over 1,000 pizzas as a group. The total amount of pizzas sold by the end of the fundraiser was 4,500! They had to order 1,000 pounds of cheese alone! Over 100 people showed up to help make and deliver the pizzas, which were put together in Charlie Becker’s shop. Thank you to everyone who helped get the word out about Brenner’s delicious pizzas and to everyone who volunteered their time to make and distribute them. Another thank you to those who decided not to buy pizzas but offered generous donations anyway. We raised over $10,000 to go towards treatment for Lily and finding a treatment for Lucy! We are happy to be able to offer $6,000 to go to Unite for the Cure, and we still have fundraisers in the works! Onwards to the CURE!!

Way to go Zahn family!!! This is such an uplifting story to see your community joining you in fighting for a cure!!!

The Strong Family: Golf For A Cure Tournament Raises $6,000+

stronwi — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:49:38 +0000

On November 20, 2009, Gwendolyn Strong’s amazing Gramma (Bill’s mom) and their dear friends, Jeff and Kris Hanson, hosted the First Annual Golf For A Cure tournament at Sterling Hills Golf Club in Camarillo, California to benefit the Strong’s Unite For The Cure commitment. The tournament was a ton of fun on an absolutely beautiful day and was a huge success raising over $6,000 for Dr. Keirstead’s promising SMA stem cell program.

Here’s what Gwendolyn’s Gramma had to say about the day:

The Golf For A Cure tournament was more than I could have ever expected. Hoping to get 18 tee sponsors — we got 30! Hoping to get 40 golfers — we got 80! And we had such a good time that day from start to finish. It was truly an uplifting and exhilarating day. Not only did we raise awareness of SMA but we exceeded our fundraising goal as well. It is a wonderful feeling knowing we accomplished so much through one simple event, Golf For A Cure!

The Gustafson Family: Two Final Fundraisers Huge Success

Victoria Strong — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:00:35 +0000

The Gustafson’s, whose darling son, Nicholas, has SMA Type 2, end their Unite fundraising with a bang — a beauty salon raffle drawing and a poker night bring in more than $1,500!!!

Beauty Temptations hosted the raffle drawing to benefit Unite for the Cure! The raffle raised $933 through generous donations of family, friends, and community members. I was told that one gentleman drove 45 minutes to buy raffle tickets! Katie let Nicholas pick a couple of winners…Then her son, Grant, picked one…and her daughter, Gwendolyn, picked a couple, too…All the excitement tuckered Nicholas out so he cuddled with Grant on the couch while Katie called the winners.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this fundraiser and a special thanks to Katie Lewis…you are an amazing friend! We love you so much and appreciate everything you’ve done for us!

And then for their final fundraiser, the Gustafson’s gathered friends and family for a fun night of poker.

We raised $600 total and couldn’t be happier! It was a fun night for everyone. Thank you to all of the people who came out to support this worthy cause and a special thanks to my parents who let us host the event at their home.

Well done Gustafson family! This additional $1,533 brings your total contribution over $6,700! Incredible! Way to go! And thank you!!!

The Gooden Family: Euchre Tournament Raises $700

Victoria Strong — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:34:46 +0000

Baby Nora Gooden’s Aunt Tiffany shows determination goes a long way! Her euchre tournament raised over $700 for Unite For The Cure. Way to go Aunt Tiffany!!!

Hi! I’m Aunt Tiffany, proud aunt of Nora Gooden, and I organized an euchre tournament to benefit her and Unite for the Cure for this past Sunday. Since I used to work at the local animal shelter, they were kind enough to let me use their community room in exchange for donations off their wishlist.

I had invited over 100 people, and I wish I could tell you that dozens came out. But, I can’t. I was heartbroken as more and more ‘maybes’ and even ‘yes’ RSVPs changed to ‘no’ in the week before the event. I nearly canceled the event, and I felt that I’d failed my dear niece. But, I decided to make the best of it, and try to enjoy the company of the four (four!) people that RSVP’d with a yes.

In the week prior to the event, several friends that couldn’t attend surprised me with donations, and one couple that attended the event made a huge $500 donation! Their son was born at just about the same time that Nora was diagnosed with SMA, and I think this affected them a great deal. The generosity of everyone blew me away and touched me greatly, and I’m pleased to say that the event raised $700.

So, for those of you out there that are working on planning events and worried about a lackluster response, I’m here to tell you not to lose hope. Every little bit helps, every bit of education matters, and the generosity of friends and strangers may just surprise you.

The McClay Family: Spaghetti Feed Huge Success, Raises Over $16,600,

Victoria Strong — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:00:08 +0000

The McClay family of Washington set an ambitious personal goal to raise $10,000 for Dr. Keirstead’s research through the Unite For The Cure campaign. Not only did they reach this formidable goal, they surpassed it — with one event!!! Here is what Rozie McClay, mom to darling Kiley, SMA Type II, had to say about their fun and successful fundraiser:

The Unite for the Cure Spaghetti Feed was an amazing event. Our family and friends went above and far beyond the call of duty. The community support we received warmed our hearts. We had auction items and raffle items including Cabela’s camping gear, spa baskets and mixing bowls with all the goodies to make cookies! We had table service with a smile, delivering delicious plates of spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. A side table overflowed with homemade cookies, brownies, and cheesecake. The kids enjoyed a craft table where they were able to make turkeys and color Christmas ornaments. We had wine tasting of our very own Unite for the Cure Pomegranate Zinfandel featuring Kiley’s picture on the label. At the end of the day, we were able to send in more than $11,000.00 to add the incredible efforts of everyone involved with Unite for the Cure. Bring on those human clinical trials!

We know this event did not happen without a lot of hard work and we are so glad it was such a fun and positive experience. Way to go McClay family and congratulations!!!

In addition to the funds raised during the spaghetti event, Shelley and Marshall Eisenberg, aunt and uncle to Kiley McClay, have personally donated $5,000 to the Unite For The Cure campaign for Dr. Keirstead’s SMA research. And this is why:

When my brother and sister-in-law, Steve and Rozie McClay, told us their beautiful daughter Kiley had a disease called Spinal Muscual Atrophy we were devastated. It seemed unreal. Like any large family, ours had it’s share of ups and downs, but mostly ups. This was different. We were unsure how we could console Steve and Rozie. We knew their pain and sorrow would need time and space and we felt helpless. They had just closed on a new house that needed some work. We got busy. Along with some of their friends, our family helped paint the inside of their new home so they could move in. It felt good to know that we were involved in something that could really help. When we found out about Unite For The Cure and how Dr. Keirstead needed gap funding for his research we knew we needed to get busy again. We knew we needed to be part of raising money for this. We knew in our bones that Dr. Keirstead’s motor neuron replacement trials were the best hope for a cure and we knew the time was now.

With only a little over a month to plan, we raised $11,691.00 (with more on the way) by hosting a spaghetti feed/raffle/auction fund raiser, from donations from friends, family and caring strangers and from donations from a host of amazing retail establishments. My husband Marshall and I donated an extra $5,000.00 in addtion to the fund raising monies for a total of $16,691.00! We had been waiting for the right time to donate to an SMA cause on behalf of a very generous individual, Artemis Joukowski, and on behalf of Kiley McClay. Without question, Unite For The Cure was the venue we had been waiting for!

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This whole experience has been so uplifitng to our family and friends. Thank you Strong family, Families of SMA and everyone who helped us reach above and beyond our goal, giving us such hope for a cure. You mean the world to us. And last, but not least, thank you to Dr. Keirstead, without who’s intelligence, caring, and dedication, none of this would be possible.

Warmest Wishes,

Shelley and Marshall Eisenberg

$16,691 to accelerate Dr. Keirstead’s research — amazing!!! Enormous congratulations to the entire McClay team!!! And thank you!!!

The Potter & Reilly Families Raise $10,000 For Unite For The Cure

Victoria Strong — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:30:50 +0000

We are so thrilled to announce the Potter family, founders of Marshall’s Miles, and the Reilly family, who organize Connor’s Fun Run, have raised $10,000 for Dr. Keirstead’s research. The Potter and the Reilly families teamed up to support Unite For The Cure and this is what Laurie Potter had to say about their efforts:

When we signed on to be part of this project, we were unsure of how much money we were able to raise. Since we run our own non-profit organization, typically we hold a motorcycle ride once per year and we accept other donations throughout the year from generous supporters. In past years, the Reilly family has put on Connor’s Fun Run and graciously donated their earned funds to our organization in support of other SMA families. In recent years, unforseen family circumstances, the economy, and other obstacles have prevented them from hosting this event. Knowing how generous and completely supportive their community has always been, Karen and Bill decided to do a letter writing campaign for their “Unite” project and send it to all supporters (both past and present) of Connor’s Fun Run. There are currently 506 names in the database and each person received a copy of this letter:

Greetings Connor’s Fun Run Supporters!

It’s hard to believe that two years have passed since hosting Connor’s Annual Fun Run. In the past, this event has always given us the opportunity to meet, in person, so many of the generous contributors in helping our fight against Spinal Muscular Atrophy. We certainly hope everyone has been well! We are proud to report that Connor has been very healthy and happy. Connor continues to attend school where he sees and interacts with classmates through an online conference connection. Each morning Connor looks over towards his laptop and blinks his eyes asking for it to be turned on. We know that he loves the social interaction that most healthy kids are able to experience physically when they attend school in person. We are very blessed that these computer systems exist today!

Many of you may know from our past letters that years ago we united with another very special SMA family, Mark and Laurie Potter of Douglas, MA. Their son, Marshall, was born a few months after Connor in 2002 and was also diagnosed with SMA. Marshall lost his battle with this disease just four months later. They started a foundation in Marshall’s memory called Marshall’s Miles. Their mission, like ours, continues to be to raise funds towards a cure for SMA as well as to support families struggling with this disease.

Together with the Potter family, we are writing to you today to announce some very exciting SMA news. There is an SMA research effort that is supported by Families of SMA (www.fsma.org) that is less than 6 months away from some very promising trials. Over the last 5 years, this trial has completed all the necessary FDA animal testing which opens the door to the start of the next phase–human clinical testing on SMA patients. Just last month, we learned, the research is currently lacking the necessary $500,000 to get that phase underway. This specific trial is headed by Dr. Hans Keirstead, who has perfected a process that replaces lost motor neurons. This therapy has the potential to not only cure Spinal Muscular Atrophy, but also ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). The specifics on this trial can be found at the following website: http://uniteforthecure.com/sma-stem-cell-program/.

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In the last 7 years, the cure for SMA has never felt so close. Over the last several weeks, we’ve been pleasantly surprised to learn that so many families are joining forces in support of Dr. Keirstead’s efforts. One of the most difficult things to cope with when having a child diagnosed with SMA, is hearing the words: “there is nothing you can do, there are no drug therapies to try to cure your child…your child’s body will stop functioning over the next few months with loss of movement, the loss of swallow, the inability to take a simple breath…there is no cure!” The families joining this effort are as determined as we are, to wipe out SMA.

Over the next few weeks our very specific mission is to help raise $5,000 toward this effort. We invite you to read more about this cause and read where families have joined forces at www.uniteforthecure.com. We know this is a very difficult time for many struggling with the economic challenges that face us all. We wouldn’t ask for your participation if it wasn’t such a critical time for those of us that have waged this war on SMA. Any contribution gets us closer to our goal and is greatly appreciated. We know with your support we can reach our goal of $5,000 quickly. We know in the medical research world, cures for many disease can and have be found. With proper funding of promising research we have hope that day will soon come for SMA!

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We guarantee that 100% of these proceeds are tax deductible and are going directly toward the cure. We look forward to seeing you at the return of the annual fun run in May 2010~

Gratefully,

The Reilly & Potter Families

Almost immediately, the checks started coming in. From the beginning, we knew that Marshall’s Miles would send in the $5,000 that we committed to. We figured that anything else that came in from the letter campaign would be just an added bonus; yet we were confident that the supporters of the mighty Reillys would not let us down. And they did not! The letter writing campaign raised an astonishing $5,035! We are more than pleased that we raised $10,000 toward Dr. Keirstead’s efforts. As we soon learned, it really is for the greater benefit of all, when we all work together. We are honored that we were given the chance to unite for the cure! It can’t come soon enough!

Thank you so much Potter and Reilly families and congratulations!!! And we couldn’t agree with you more — amazing things happen when we collectively work together! The Potter and Reilly contributions now bring the total Unite money earned for Dr. Keirstead to over $88,000! Amazing!

The Wright-Beasley Family: Waffle House Event Raises $1,200

Victoria Strong — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:00:36 +0000

Friends of Rita Wright and Jason Beasley were inspired to help raise awareness of SMA and funds for Dr. Keirstead’s groundbreaking program in honor of beautiful angel baby Eli. Eli lost his fight with SMA on January 14, 2009, but his bright smile will forever impact many. Brandi Dorsey just knew she had to do something to help. She approached the Waffle House in Riverside, Maryland to hold a benefit, which raised over $800 and employees and diners gladly donated even more to bring the event total to more than $1,200!!! Thank you so much Brandi for organizing this and thank you to the wonderful Waffle House employees for making it such a success. The help of friends makes a huge difference!

The Felix Family: Pampered Chef

Victoria Strong — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:00:01 +0000

The Felix family of Arizona organized a great fundraiser and it was a hit! Here is what Jaci Felix had to say about the fun night:

On Saturday October 10th, Noah and Mary White, friends of the family, graciously let us do a fundraiser for Unite for the Cure at their house. We had two very wonderful consultants come out, one from Pampered Chef (Kim Enriquez) and one from Gold Canyon Candles (Liz Wolcott). We raised $400 for Unite for the Cure and also raised awareness about SMA. We had a great time and appreciate all the supporters!

Way to go Felix family!

The Gustafson Family: Poker Fundraiser

Victoria Strong — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:36 +0000

The Gustafson’s are at it again! For their final fundraiser they have organized a night of poker. Have fun guys and don’t let Nicholas cheat!

When: Saturday, November 21st. Burgers @ 5:00pm. Poker starts at 6:00pm. BYOB.

Where: Nicholas’s Grandparent’s House
1607 32nd Street
Washougal, WA 98671

Cost: $20 per player. Half of the money will go directly to Unite for the Cure, and half to the winner.

Game: Texas Hold ‘Em No Limit Tournament. You can buy back into the game if you go out early, and winner takes all.

RSVP: If you’re interested in playing, please either call and let Jeff know, comment to our blog http://www.familywithgusto.blogspot.com, or send me a message on facebook.

We hope to see you all there!