Day Two...of 98 Days

Now what?  What's the next step?

First you can't start this kind of journey without having an honoree!  I was given a gift in the form of approval by this family to honor their beloved daughter, Tressa, and her fight against leukemia. In the coming days I will share some of her brave battle to beat cancer. Reading her thoughts during those days makes it clear why money needs to be raised right now to fund the research to find a cure.

It is through the bravery of our honorees that keeps the fight real and us going and in check and reminds us daily why we are doing this fund-raiser. I feel if you know of the fight Tressa doing her best trying to beat this disease before it took her life you will then be in a better place to judge exactly why our fund-raising goals must be reached.

My team is committed to raising $50,000.00.  But how do we get there in two short months?  Foremost is the generosity of you reading this blog, and then it takes a dedicated team and a solid plan.  There are four very determined and focused team members in this challenge to raise the dollars that will go toward blood cancers research.  You met me now let me introduce the other members.

First there's Steve, who reached out and involved me to raise these needed dollars for research. He is also the campaign manager. I have known him for over ten years.  He was always there for me and the cause during the years when I chaired the Bob and Tom Radiothon that raised over a half million dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The campaign manager is a critical position so I am thankful that Steve is filling that role.

Then there is my mom, aka Jo. To say she is the "queen" of fund-raising would be an understatement.  Over her lifetime she has very successfully found the money for several cancer related causes principally in the NYC area.  At 75 she truly has the energy of someone twenty years her junior. Mom is thrilled to be involved, share ideas that worked for her and see that we accomplish our $50,000.00 goal.

And then my husband Tom.  You can't do this type of condensed two month campaign and go through all the ups and downs of fund-raising for a cause like this one unless you have a supportive partner who will do what it takes to help to make sure the goals are realized and the $50,000.00 banked for LLS reseach.

So there you have the core four who will be laying out the plan and putting it in to action.  I will reach out to other, maybe you, to ask for help in some form or another toward this effort.  I am hopeful there will be some additional "muscle" in this heavy lifting. It is exciting to find others who are similarly committed toward an aggressive goal of fund-raising for research toward the eventual cure for these dreaded blood cancers. And of course equally helpful is people volunteering to simply reach out to their own networks causing a fantastic 'snowball effect'.

So the next steps include getting others believing in what we are doing and involved in the cause!  I'll keep you posted on those efforts.