I also wanted to give more info about the benefit and alternate ways of contributing:
The game to benefit Shannon Sullivan, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, will feature volunteer players who are at least 16 years old, and will include a slapshot contest for spectators and a puck throw competition for children. Game tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. Tickets for the after-game buffet at Ticker’s are $15. For more information or to sign on as a player contact Alyson Aceto at 401-487-7085 or aaceto21@yahoo.com , or Jenny Trainor at 401-255-7582 or jenn_trainor@yahoo.com .
If you would like to contribute online, please use the ChipIn link at the end of the article. There is absolutely no contribution that is too small.
Original post below:
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Do you have the kind of friend that no matter how long it has been, you can get on the phone and pick up right where you left off? There are no preconceived notions of how often you need to stay in touch to maintain “friend” status. There is no: “I haven’t spoke to her in years, she’s off the wedding/Christmas/BBQ invite list”. They are truly and simply just your friend, always.
Well, I do and I hope you are lucky enough to have one too. Trouble is that my friend, Shannon, needs some help. She was just recently downsized from a company where she worked as a graphic designer for 12 years, leaving her with no health insurance. Here’s the scary part, she was just diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time.
Shannon is a 32 year old woman diagnosed with Breast Cancer for the 2nd time and this is her story. Shannon began her hockey career in 1988 with the RI Panthers. It wasn’t long after that, that the town knew of Shannon’s strength and fight as she became the first female to play for her high school team the Smithfield Sentinels. Little did we know that Shannon would once again have to fight like she had never fought before when she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in 2004. With amazing strength and bravery Shannon took on her course of treatment: lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy, chemotherapy, radiation, and oral medication for the last 5 years Eventually, she was considered in remission and was working hard as a talented Graphic Designer in Massachusetts. Her curly hair grew back and a sense of normalcy returned to her life.
Recently, her inspirational story has taken a twist. After 12 plus years with her employer she was downsized leaving her without medical coverage. There wasn’t a pretty severance package and extended benefits. That alone is a daunting situation many families have felt and are experiencing during these difficult economic times. What separates this situation from others is that Shannon was informed a week later that, “the breast cancer is back.”
Shannon is facing her next battle with breast cancer which has metastasized to her lung. The treatment will be similar, the side affects all too familiar and with YOUR HELP the outcome will be positive. So help us by being a part of Shannon’s next chapter in life because there is more story to be written.
There is a charity hockey game at the end of August to support Shannon. I am collecting money through ChipIn and will pass along your well wishes and donations at that time. So help out if you can: a small donation or a prayer, anything will help. I am lucky to call her my friend. And I want to have this friend for a long, long time.
I have been working with a great nonprofit group in Boston called the Lawyers Clearinghouse on a pro bono basis to redesign their website for the past several months. Along with a friend, Jeff Baker of Partner Alliances, we have redesigned their website and provided them with a way to manage the content using Wordpress.
A little about the Lawyers Clearinghouse:
The Lawyers Clearinghouse provides pro bono legal services to nonprofit organizations, groups seeking nonprofit status, and guests of area homeless shelters. We offer lawyers meaningful and rewarding pro bono opportunities. We also provide educational programs for nonprofit organizations and lawyers.
The project consisted of coming up with new creative for the site, creating a custom Wordpress theme and carrying over the content from the existing site. From there, the group at the Lawyers Clearinghouse made content updates to get it ready for launch.
Here are a few screen captures of the site we started with:
The original site was very informative but dated. They also required a web designer to make simple content changes for them which made it difficult and time consuming to update the site. The goal of the project was to give the Lawyers Clearinghouse a modern look and provide them with the tools to manage the content themselves.
As a nonprofit, it is difficult to justify costs for web design services. It is equally as difficult to make rapid web changes when you need to work around the schedules of designers who are donating their time. So providing a content management system was key to the success of the project.
Here are a few screen shots of the launched site (live site here):
I want to thank Jeff Baker for his help with this project. The creative (with the exception of the logo) is entirely his work. I also want to thank David Bissett (of Dimension Media) for his custom Wordpress theme based off of Jeff’s creative.
I received an email from a close friend of mine today that happens to be a runner. He started running marathons last year and has battled through some tough injuries that would have certainly forced me to quit.
This year he wants to run for a charity, a cause. Here is the email he sent me (reprinted with his permission):
As you know I started running marathons last year. I completed the San Diego marathon in 4 hrs 27 minutes, the Cape Cod Marathon in 4 hrs 4 minutes and the Hartford 1/2 Marathon. I logged over 1300 miles and 6 pairs of sneakers last year. I also spent 12 weeks in physical therapy (bad knees).
Now I want to do it all over again this year, except I want to do it to help out other people. This year I am going to run for Curt’s Pitch for ALS (better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). I will be the first EVER to run the San Diego Marathon for Curt’s Pitch. If you could please help me raise money for this devastating disease, I and the ALS patients would really appreciate it.
If you would like to help out my friend please consider a donation by way of a check made out to:
The ALS Association MA Chapter
The check can be sent to Matt’s home:
Matt Labrie
82 West Central Street
Natick, Ma 01760
I am collecting contributions from my readers in order to send a laptop to a child in a developing country. For those not familiar with the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Program, you can read about it here.
If you are interested, please use the widget below to donate or by using this link. All donation will be sent to my PayPal account. When I reach my goal, I will donate all the funds collected to the OLPC program. Any contribution at all is appreciated.
Gifts in kind giving is a great way to give this holiday/New Year season. Often times there is a lot of overhead involved with your cash donations where gifts in kind have a more direct impact on the charity itself. Money aside, there is also the feeling that you have actually made a difference when you donate your time or materials.
Have a look at the websites of your favorite charities (here’s one, here’s another) to see what services or materials they are in need of. You may find services they need that you are expert in (a web developer for a charity in need of a website; a homeless shelter that needs their front stairs replaced, etc).
Geoff on July 23rd, 2008
I received an email from a close friend of mine today that happens to be a runner. He started running marathons last year and has battled through some tough injuries that would have certainly forced me to quit.
