Thank you to the Support group and Foundation

[Guest guest]

I would just like to take the time to thank everyone in the support group and the Foundation for all that you do.

If you are a new member to either group, I will talk a bit about the two.

The two groups are TOTALLY separate from each other. We tend to forget this from time to time, especially when we are involved in both. OR at least I do.

The Foundation it a non profit organization. It's goal is to educate and bring about awareness of RP. We have yearly membership and take donations of any kind. The donations are tax deductible. No one working with the Foundation is paid, it is entirely voluntary. ( and you may volunteer at ANY time) LOL Any money we raise goes to postage, fundraising, newsletters, paper, ink, brochures, and most importantly RESEARCH donations. We were able to make a sizeable donation to Dr. Jane Buckner again this year. WE are really making great strides. We do need all of your help and all of your friends and family and even strangers. Please go on a Champaign and get the money we need to someday find a CURE! We are going to start targeting on corporations. If you have any ideas, please let us know. If you are a member of the Foundation, any idea you have we would like to hear. Please put your thinking hats on and let us know. Remember this is YOUR Foundation. If you aren't a member of the Foundation yet, please send in your $15 a year donation. It is a small price to pay for what we may get in return. We have the exercise pledge. Just drop your dime, nickels or pennies in a jar for 3 months and then send them in, They all add up... Any ideas on a fundraiser, let us know.

Okay now on to the support group. This group is wonderful. We support you in everything that you need. We have become one big family and I wouldn't trade any or you for the world. WE have chats twice a week. Wed mornings and Friday evenings. We do have a flower fund also. We try to send flowers, bears, books, etc., to members in the hospital or when there is a death in the family. We are running low in the Flower fund department. This donation is not tax deductible. It comes straight from the heart. Anyone wishing to make a small donation to the fund can send their checks to Woods. If you need her address, please just let me know.

We don't have a newsletter in the support group, but we have tons of information if you need it. If someone doesn't know the answer to a question, they will tell you where to look. Please, ALWAYS feel free to ask all the questions you want. There is no such thing as a dumb question. This is how we all learn.

I'm just so happy that we have both the support group and the Foundation. Through Angie, these have both become a reality. Please, let's keep her dream alive in both of these. Just drop a dime in a jar for Angie whenever you think of her. It will add up. Do with it whatever your heart tells you to.

Thanks to all of you, we have grown and become one big family. I thank all of you that have become family to me. I thank Roy, , Heidi, Lu, Glenda for all the work they have done on the Foundation. I thank all the other volunteers that get our newsletter out, keep track of volunteers and all the others whose work often goes unnoticed. I thank all the night owls who leave us tons of mail to read in the morning. LOL I love you all. If you ever have any questions, please just ask. There are a lot of us who will give you answers. AND if you want to send money or volunteer....... we will most definitely send addresses. LOL

hugs