We have decided to try and organize a fundraiser for my mom. As many of you know my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2008. She had a complete mastectomy in November 2008.
Since then it has been nothing but doctors visits and chemotherapy.
We live in Wisconsin and as it is with the rest of the world, things are tough here financially. The cost of each chemotherapy after insurance is almost $7,000.00. And this is per session. At this point the doctors are saying she needs 6 treatments total. This may have been manageable however my father works in a factory that makes mufflers and as you all know the auto industry isn't great. He was lucky enough to keep his job, even after many layoffs, but they did move him to a different area and took away 8 hours a week and 80 cents an hour.
My parents are now struggling to keep things afloat and the hospital bills are not helping. Our hope is that a fundraiser will help ease the stress of these hospital bills.
Now I am asking for your help.
Have you ever held a fundraiser?? What is the best way to get donations for an auction??
I have made a list of all the local business and will begin my work tomorrow seeking these people out and explaining the situation to them.
With larger corporations do you have to write letters to the corporate office??
Again as I never done this before I'm not sure where to even start. If I have to write letters and wait for replies I will need to schedule the event far enough out to allow these corporations to answer me.
Did you set up a trust fund for monetary donations??
This was mentioned to me. I would never have thought about it. What has been your experience.
And finally is there anyone out there who would like to help?? I know many of you are amazingly talented when it comes to arts and crafts, cooking, writing, and photography. I won't turn anything down at this point and would be so proud to be able to say where the donation came from.
Please don't feel pressured to do anything more than answer my questions. It is a hard time for everyone right now. Just the support I get when I come here and vent is more valuable to me than anything.
This article really is a brainstorm session, give me any and all ideas!!!!
I have written a couple of articles about my mom here on gather. Please feel free to read these to get a better background story.
Also visit my mom. Her screen name is Shewolf309, I know many of you are here friends. She hasn't been on as starring at the computer makes her sick, but I read stuff to her all the time. Even your contribution to her pages would be so greatly appreciated.
I will keep everyone updated to my progress.
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Comments: 15
I have your mum in my thoughts and prayer.
since this is for an individual, things should be handled differently.
1.) set up a fund at a local bank that people can donate to. try to get your local media to talk about it. some will for free if it is for treatment to save someone's life. your local tv station, newspaper, and radio stations are the best place to start. the bank will be able to advise you on the best way to set up the account.
2.) warm weather is approaching, thus yard sale season. organize a large yardsale and get family, friends, and anyone else you can to donate items. people will flock to sales like this when they know that it is for a good cause. again, the more you can publicize it, the better.
3.) check with local agencies to see if there is any help available. contact the local office of the American Cancer Society. they should be able to give you some suggestions.
4.) find a local Avon rep, and do a fundraiser through them. you can get friends and family to pass out brochures and take orders, and exchange, your mom will get a percentage of the profits.
5.) at the yardsale, you can also have a silent auction. contact local businesses to donate items for the auction.
6.) if you or your mom are a member of a church, ask to use the church kitchen to host a spaghetti supper. members of the church will probably be willing to donate time or items to help.
that's all i can think of for now, but i will let you know if i think of anything else. hope some of this helps.
Raffles are a good idea too to raise funds.