Day 35 of ...98 Days...One of things is not like the others

One of these things is not like the others 
One of these things just doesn't belong 
Can you tell me which thing is not like the other
By the time I finish my song...

This was an odd day of working "where one of these things is not like the other".  It started out as a typical Saturday of waking up by 8:00am taking our pup Jack for a nice long walk.  Then I was busy getting work done and preparing for the next week.  But here's where it was not the same. 

My attention and day then turned to signing and stuffing envelopes for the next round of "Ask" letters for people to join me in the fight to fund research and find a cure for blood cancers.  My letter of course introduces our honoree Tressa a 21 year old who in a span of 8 months was diagnosed and through a hard fought battle and such bravery was overtaken by the Leukemia and lost her life.

As I was in the middle of those letters my 24 year old daughter called.  She and her finance (Tressa's cousin)were in the midst of completing their wedding website as well as trying to create a Save The Date e-mail to send to family and friends.  I put her on speaker and my husband Tom joined me as we worked through both of them with her.  And as we are talking I am continuing to sign and stuff envelopes and it just hit me as so odd here we will be celebrating my daughter's marriage and in the same breath I was asking others to help me honor the memory of Tressa so young and never got to plan her wedding day. 

That seems so unfair and I just never want another child lost so I will continue stuffing those letters, sending e-mails. blogging, tweeting, asking, pleading and spreading the word through all my networks. Because what I experienced today multitasking Sesame Street said it best "one of these things just doesn't belong"!

Won't you please help... http://in.mwoy.llsevent.org/pledge/index.cfm?mid=PAM

Day 34 of...98 Days...The ice has been broken...

Pretty much in conjunction with the rising of the sun this morning, one of this campaign's loyal followers clicked 'submit' to become our very first donor! We are honored and grateful to accept this monetary blessing on behalf of all those that these funds will help. We couldn't be happier in receiving first dollars toward our goal to funding research to eradicate this cancer; thank you dear donor. The ice is broken and we are on our way to $50,000.00!

There are so many ways to help and it's not just money it's helping to spread the work.  And that's easy to do because every 10 minutes we lose someone to blood cancer.  It affects a life when it's least expected from the very young, to as we learned today, an 86 year old member of the United States Congress.

To spread the word and share the link to donate is... http://in.mwoy.llsevent.org/pledge/index.cfm?mid=PAM

Day 33 of...98 Days...Kickoff to Campaign

Tonight was an incredibly moving night it is the official Kickoff to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society fund-raising campaign.  This is an evening in which all of the fund-raisers come together and meet.  It's a time when you realize that others are as passionate about the cause as you and together you feel successfully we can accomplish the goal to fund research and find the cure for blood cancers. 

Each fund-raiser shared what their unique reason was for being involved.  Mine of course is Tressa and making sure not another child is lost before they had a chance to live.  For others it was their daughter or son battling the disease or they were a survivor or just recently diagnosed. 

There were two very special guests present they are two very young survivors. Each of their stories tugged at your heartstrings as you listened to a family member document their battle.  You can't helped but be moved to tears.  You quickly come to the realization this will happen again if we don't fund research and find a cure.

These two children have endured so much but they are here and that is a victory in itself.  However others like my honoree Tressa were not so fortunate.  So here is the day when I appeal to everyone and ask any amount that you can help with this campaign is more than we started with and even if it's a dollar it can make a difference and the more people we tell the more impact we can make together.  The link to donate is ready for action.  http://in.mwoy.llsevent.org/pledge/index.cfm?mid=PAM

On behalf of all 900,000 battling for their lives as they fight blood cancer we say thank you!   And if you need to think about it that's okay I'll be back tomorrow.

A Very Special Day...

Today we pause to simply observe the birth date of our honoree.  Happy Birthday, Tressa and family.

Day 32 of 98 Campaign Days

Tomorrow is the official kick-off of our fundraising campaign. My team is ready, able, and truly excited to initiate our program of earning dollar number one all the way to the $50,000.00 mark --- and beyond!

So what exactly will we be doing to achieve our $50,000.00 goal in just 60 days?

Sports Challenge
We've planned several live events, the first of which is guaranteed to be a rollicking, fun night with several team members of one of Indy's pro sports teams. We've put together a fun, friendly event wherein participants will have the rare opportunity to test their 'mad skills' against league pros. Stay tuned for details. Got game?

Fundraising iPhone App
As you may know, I am a partner in a tech firm. My team has worked throughout January in developing  an app which is available FREE on the iTunes store. After downloading the app users can; create a heartfelt dedication to a friend or family member, or view dedications made by other users. [iPhone and iPod users search for 'Light The App']

Corporate Letter Writing Campaign
We're fortunate to have a dedicated, volunteer team of four wonderful Kentucky women who are addressing personalized correspondences to and then contacting by telephone over 500 Midwestern business executives.  This week they are mailing the letters to this hand-filtered list of corporate contacts. Next week our team will follow up with personal calls to those recipients.

Linked In - Facebook - MySpace - Twitter
All our team members will be posting the news of this campaign on every one of their social networks to raise awareness of this; blog, the LightTheApp.org site, and the iPhone app. If you are so moved, please spread the word through your social networks as well.

Your Suggestion ...
Do you have a success story for another type of event we should consider? Please contact me with your suggestion for an additional revenue source wherein we can raise the dollars for LLS research toward a cure ... finally!

Day Thirty-one of 98 Days

Have you ever been on top of a mountain and looking across the vast landscape spreading out before you when you realize just how small you are and by extension how short your time on this beautiful planet will be? Then your next emotion is how badly you want to make a difference and leave a legacy behind. Then you ask yourself what are the things I can do to leave this world better than I found it?

For me one of those "to dos" was accepting the challenge of this fund-raising campaign with its commitment to raise $50,000.00 from February 18th to April 24th. Ironically it's not a lot of time and with all my other commitments I still am able to find additional hours within the 24 hour day to work on this campaign - it means that much to me and my team.

You see I deeply believe that this challenge is so important and such a worthy one and I am hopeful others will too. I also believe in people and because of their kind hearts and inherent generosity will join us because they will see and understand the importance of raising dollars to fund research and find a cure for blood cancer so not another life is lost.  Even with a $1.00 individual donation from someone who didn't think they would give to LLS when they awoke that day, the dollars will add up quickly and before you know it a significant impact can be made.

In this place and time, we are all someone called to a challenge, all coming together to do what we can to make a difference, and in this case it's to find the cure and leave this world a little better than we found it.

Day Thirty of... 98 Days

Have you ever seen Father of the Bride when they are at the dinner table and the daughter who just got back from Rome telling her Dad she met the man of her dreams.  That they fell in love and they got engaged and she was getting married.  And as the father is looking at his daughter that is now a woman he only sees her and hears this little child of maybe six saying I am getting married.  It's both touching and humorous at the same time but oh you can relate.

The times that it strikes you the most is when they are sick.  Regardless of how old they are when your child is not feeling well you see them as your little baby and would give anything to trade places with them.  And that is when they are having the flu or something that lays them up but you know they will recover shortly.

Now imagine that same scenario but your baby regardless of age has a blood cancer like Leukemia like Tressa our honoree. How do you deal with watching your child battle that life threatening disease?  I honestly don't know.  I guess you find faith or inner strength or some belief that they will get through this.  And what goes through the child's mind as they stare back at you with those innocent loving eyes?

For Tressa she believed it was all for a reason and she was ready to tackle anything else thrown at her because she wanted to make sure no one else would have to experience what she did.  She believed that everyone deals with things in their lives they don't want to but it would all be worth it.  And that she learned to live everyday like it was her last because any day it could be.  What a truly remarkable woman well beyond her years.

So for Tressa and all others who lost their life to this dreaded disease is there a reason I don't pretend to know that or understand why it happened.  I only know through this fund-raising campaign that will start this Thursday for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society we want to fund research and find a cure so every mother and father can look across that table and see their baby telling them a story of how they just got engaged and getting married.

Day Twenty-nine of...98 Days

I have been watching the Olympics in awe since it started.  It is just amazing to see what these athletes can do and how they are willing to put everything on the line, live on the edge and focus their entire life on this one sport.  They are determined to be the best to be a champion and win that medal.

I believe athletes ultimately push beyond what is humanly possible and make it reality.  That statement alone interestingly enough is the same makeup of a researcher trying to find the cure for blood cancer. These researchers do not take what is known to be possible or no for an answer and think this can't be done.  It is their mental capacities that live on the edge not their physical beings.  There are days sure they crash with failure but they pick themselves up and push their minds and thinking in directions dissecting this disease to come up with new therapies and tackle this mountain of a beast that we know as blood cancer.

Just like the USOC who raises money to fund the top athletes in the world with our fund-raising efforts for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society we can fund the top researchers so they will find that cure.

These researchers will push the envelope and ultimately find ways to destroy the blood cancer.  They will mentally tackle the highest mountain, move any obstacle or barrier and find new ways that was not originally thought humanly possible.  And it's all for those 900,000 diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma or myleoma.  It's for those patients who innocently without warning woke up one morning and are in the fight of their life with blood cancer.  And for the researchers who find the cure they get the ultimate prize better than any medal...they give the gift of life.