As if a day of skydiving weren’t enough, the Span family of California have added even more goodies for the non-skydivers out there. All events are happening on November 28th. Check it out:

As if a day of skydiving weren’t enough, the Span family of California have added even more goodies for the non-skydivers out there. All events are happening on November 28th. Check it out:

The Span family of California, whose 7 month-old-son, Zachary, has SMA Type 1, have created a truly unique and exciting fundraiser — and it sounds fantastic! Here is what Dave says about it:

I am a professional skydiver and my wife skydives as well (though just for fun). We will be holding a Raffle and Silent Auction on Saturday, Nov. 28th at Perris Valley Skydiving in Perris, California. The dropzone has graciously donated a tandem and through my contacts in the industry, we have accumulated a substantial list of prizes. The total value of these prizes is in excess of $6500!
We will also be having a Bake Sale that day, Dinner that night at Bombshelter Restaurant (on the DZ), and Bingo and Texas Hold-Em Tournament that night as well. Should be a good time. You don’t have to be a jumper to enjoy the evening, so we would love to see anyone that wants to come out. People will want to come out during the day as well as there will be jumping all day (weather permitting) and it is the DZ annual 4-way team building weekend.What: Fundraiser for SMA Research
When: Saturday, Nov. 28th
Where: Perris Valley Skydiving in Perris, CA
Event activities – Silent Auction, Chinese Raffle, Bingo, Texas Hold-Em, and Dinner!

The McClay family of Washington have organized a super fun family event in their community: a Spaghetti Feed!!! Delish! And, in addition to a yummy meal, they have also organized a silent auction and door prizes — and all for a great cause! So come on out Sunday, November 15th from 2:00 to 6:00 for an evening of fun!

Strike Down SMA was a super fun event and raised $2,325 for Unite For The Cure!!! The Foglias, longtime friends of the Strong family, organized everything at the Bowling Center at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. They gathered friends and family and created a fun night out for a good cause. They had t-shirts made, created a raffle, and, with it being Las Vegas, even included friendly wagers, which upped the ante and the antics as the wagers became sillier throughout the night. Here is what Heather had to say about the night:
We had so much fun last night! Strike Down SMA brought out about 25 wonderful people with lots of others sending contributions toward the goal. Everyone was so great. We had the bowling participation and then Shaina had a variety of bottles of alcohol donated for a raffle. (She knew how to get people involved!) People made little side bets on bowling frames and ran over to apply their winnings toward the raffle. Too funny to watch. Overall, it was a great time with friends and family and we wish you could have been there to see the shenanigans.
We wish we could have, too. Thank you so much for doing this for us and for SMA.

Nicholas Gustafson
My sister-in-law, Jami and her husband, Kris are throwing a Halloween party on Saturday, October 31st. They are charging $5.00 admission per adult which provides food and beverages for the evening to all party-goers. People are encouraged to dress in costumes and come ready to have some fun! All of the proceeds from the party are going directly to Unite for the Cure.
The Butler/Trakas team has taken fundraising for “Unite For The Cure” international! For her birthday on October 18, Eimear Butler organized a drinkathon at Thursty Nelly’s in Kaiserslautern, Germany, to benefit the cause, in honor of her nephew, Andy Butler. The event included live music and karaoke from Andy’s uncle, Ed Butler, and much more! A unique bottle of vodka was auctioned off for $320 alone, and the entire event raised $1215.34 for “Unite for the Cure.” Thank you so much to the thirsty folks who celebrated Eimear’s birthday with her and so generously supported our cause!

Georgia Lucas
The Lucas Family’s first annual Georgia’s Journey of Hope event was an enormous success. This remarkable family created a day of fun and fundraising for SMA research on what should have been their darling daughter’s first birthday party. It’s success is no surprise as they worked diligently putting this ambitious event together, creating T-shirts, garnering an enormous list of sponsors, passing out flyers in their community and building an army of volunteers for the big day. We are so moved by their courage and determination. Here is what Kristen has to say about Georgia’s Journey of Hope:
I thought that Georgia was going to be born on the third. 3 has always been my lucky number and I thought that it would be appropriate for my third child to be born on October 3rd. I even had contractions bad enough for several hours that we called the midwife. The contractions eventually eased up and spaced out. Georgia would not make her appearance for 3 more days.
It seems appropriate however that something big was meant to happen on the 3rd day of October. Perhaps my sixth sense was just off by a year. Today a community came together. There was no official head count but you definitely showed me that a bigger venue will be at the top of the list for next year! Many of you seemed surprised by the numbers. I can’t say that I was. I realized a while back that Georgia’s Journey of Hope was going to be bigger than I had originally thought.
When I first booked the hall I marched in telling myself that if I could make $1000.00 that I would be proud of myself. Surely $1000.00 could help make a difference and after all we are still reeling from the loss of Georgia. As preparations got under way the fundraiser seemed to take on an energy all unto itself. Many of you threw yourselves into it as if Georgie had been yours. All of you will never know how much it means to me to know that you continue to love our “Georgie Baby”. She was always everyone’s baby.

This is Kristen. Our balloon maker extrodinare. She sat there for 4 hours doing balloon animals, flowers, hats etc

Here's Mike on the big bouncy slide. The kids loved this thing! Thank goodness that it fit. Thank you Funquest!!

Here's my brother Kevin sitting at the Unite for the Cure Table with the amazing chocolate suckers that Tanya made. They say things like 'unite', 'hope' and 'Georgia'.

Here's Ginette painting Maya's face!
The Lucas Family raised more than $9,500 for FSMA Canada, with over $3,000 going toward Unite For The Cure. Congratulations Lucas Family on the success of Georgia’s Journey of Hope!!!
For more details visit their family blog: Georgia’s Journey.
Check out the fun Unite For The Cure fundraiser that friends of the Wright/Beasley Family have organized: a Waffle House Dinner Fundraiser.
What: Waffle House Fundraiser. 20% of all proceeds will be donated to Unite For The Cure. Additionally, every $5 donation will receive either a free waffle coupon or a 10% off booth pass for their next visit
When: Saturday, October 24, 2009 from 4pm-9pm
Where: Riverside Waffle House, Maryland

The Butler and Trakas families joined together with Mary Kay cosmetics to help cure SMA. Here is what Audra had to say about it:
In July, my friend and Mary Kay consultant, Vicki Piccirilli, approached me with a fundraising idea. If I would host a Mary Kay party with at least 10 of my friends and family members, then she would donate all proceeds from all sales at the party to FSMA in memory of our son, Andy, who lost his battle with Type I SMA in June. And, so the “Fight SMA with Mary Kay” fundraising initiative got its start!
We had our first party on August 14, and it was a huge success, raising $679.80 for our local chapter of FSMA. At the party, each guest received a skin-care makeover and sampled make-up. It was a great way for friends and family members to feel pampered – and raise awareness for SMA at the same time!
This month, my mother hosted another Mary Kay party on September 14 in memory of Andy, and the Trakas family hosted one on September 18 in memory of their daughter Andrea, who also had Type I SMA. We raised a total of $442.60 at both parties, which went directly to “Unite for the Cure.” The profits for all follow-up sales from party attendees also will be donated. The Butler/Trakas Uniters are hoping to keep this great initiative going by hosting more parties soon!
What a great idea!
The New Family of Georgia has a great fundraiser at Chili’s Restaurant in Conyers, Georgia coming up this Tuesday, October 13. Here’s some more information from Jennifer New:
Chili’s in Conyers will be holding a fundraiser on Tuesday, October 13 from 3-10PM to help raise money for the Second Chance 4 SMA Foundation. 10% of your total ticket will go towards helping find a cure for SMA.
Contact Jennifer for a flier or ask at Chili’s the day of the event as they will be handing them out. Have a great time!