Odds on a Cure Success
Well, for those of you who were able to make it, you know what a great turnout we had. Our 1st annual Odds on a Cure fundraiser was a huge success. We had about 400 people and raised approximately $25,000 to go to Families of SMA, a volunteer driven, non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for SMA.
The benefit was a lot of fun and we had over 200 prizes. The food was great and everyone really enjoyed the casino tables. We will be looking in the next few weeks for a bigger place to hold our event next year. What a blessing to outgrow our space in just one year! We feel so proud to have raised $25,000 with NO corporate sponsors. We had some personal sponsors as well as some small business sponsors, but no big ones like Nokia, American Airlines or anything like that. We feel confident that next year we will be able to get some corporate sponsors and hope to double our money next year.
Thank you all for your generous support and prayers. The fundraiser was about raising money to find a cure, but it was so much more than that. It was about raising awareness for SMA and raising awareness to all of us about appreciating what we have in our lives and all we have to be thankful for. We had a total of 6 SMA children at the event, so I know everyone enjoyed getting to meet some of the other children and see that they are all just as special as Savanna and a blessing to their families as well. As soon as I get some pictures available, I will let you all know.
One last note, what we have found is that a lot of companies will match monies that you donate to a charitable organization. Microsoft, Entertainment Publications and Curves International are three that I know of. Please check with your employers to find out if they will match your donation. That makes a huge difference in the amount of money raised. Also, Tim and I are feeling “called” to open a local Familes of SMA chapter. There are currently no chapters in Texas . Once we can establish that, we will look into getting signed up with United Way . From what I understand, United Way is the only charitable organization that a lot of companies donate to; however, United Way can then send the funds on to legitimate charitable organizations. For instance, you can contribute $50 pretax to United Way , your company would match that $50 and then United Way would send the monies on to FSMA. It is something that I will be looking into in the near future. I’m hoping to take a month off.
Again thank you all for coming and/or supporting us. We could not have done it without everyone’s help and we look forward to an even bigger event next year!!!
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