Welcome to the Commenting Pixie Party!
oh my goddess. this is the company that plays with where they buy the prescriptions, right?
Count me in. I don't know a thing about Internet fundraising, but I will do whatever I can. That story of Moreena's is just horrible.
You could take advertising. Julie at a little pregnant just put up an ad and is donating the proceeds to March of Dimes. A bunch of bloggers that get enough traffic could all donate the proceeds of ads to her.
That's horrible; keep us posted.
I think Julie at alittlepregnant would be a great person to "talk" to...she also makes quilts for kids and auctions them off from time to time. And her site gets SO much traffic. Last month (I think?) she raised $2,500 (@$5 a chance) in less than a week for an Internet friend seeking funds for surrogacy.
See how I just passed the buck there? Bad me. But it all comes of being an unimportant blogger vs an Important one.
I'm sure you'll let us know what you come up with. 
Academic Coach set up a PayPal account for Badger when her husband was dying. But some of us (me at least) have an aversion to PayPal, so I wonder if there is another way to manage an account for donations.
And all the more reason to storm Congress with demands for health care reform. Insurance companies wield far too much power, and paper work tricks like what they've done here are inexcusable.
hi. i usually just lurk, but annika's story is breaking my heart.
i wanted to suggest that fundraising efforts be organized by someone other than moreena. she has so very much on her plate already.
several people offered [on her site] to donate things for an auction, which is lovely - and i guess it wouldn't be all that hard to set up an internet auction, if someone has the skills. probably there are lots of ideas about drumming up funds -- website ads, bake sales, asking friends to pony up, asking corporations and businesses for donations, etc.
i wonder if anyone knows a good way to set up fundraising, to avoid the money being taxed as income? maybe it would be considered gifts -- i just don't know. i'll try to dig up some information about this.
my friend's son had brain cancer, and their costs went through the roof. somehow they struggled through the insurance mess, and we never quite got to a fundraiser. heck, it was hard to convince them to let us organize people who wanted to bring the family dinner during the worst couple of months, and a LOT of people wanted to help in some practical way.
I'm afraid I am not the person to organize, but I am REALLY GOOD at writing checks! Just ask the Attorney! I'll keep checking at her site and here to see if anyone has figured it out. Bitch PhD also did fundraising on her site.
Thanks, kathy a, for anything you can dig up.
I think you are a hundred percent right that it would be ideal to have someone other than Moreena organize whatever it is we end up doing, whether it be one thing or several. I don't have expertise on, well, anything, but I'm happy to function as a sort of clearinghouse for people's ideas. An auction sounds like a good idea -- anyone out there an eBay master? I've never used the site (she says, sheepishly).
What's wrong with PayPal, Rev. Dr. Mom? I don't ask in a challenging sort of way; I am just totally ignorant of these things. I think in Badger's case the appeal of PayPal was in preserving the pseudonymity of all involved. Maybe that's not as much of a concern, since Moreena doesn't blog pseudonymously.
And, um, while I would be happy to put an ad on this site if it will bring in any appreciable money for the cause, I think I should just state, at the outset, that I definitely do NOT get traffic like Julie at a little pregnant! I have no idea what kind of traffic she gets, but I would imagine that it's at least ten times what I do... and that's when I'm getting mystery hits from Japanese web sites that have suddenly developed an interest in the poetry of Elizabeth Bishop.
rev. dr. mom -- i think amazon will also take donations, so that could be a portal that isn't paypal. [or there is always the old PO box method, but that is less easy than something online.]
i have this vague concern about what happens to the $ after it is collected -- that maybe they will need a separate bank account or some kind of non-profit medical trust. that might just be my paranoia -- i'll check back.
YES!
I am so glad you posted this. I second talking to Julie at A Little Pregnant, she's done this quite a bit and I'm sure she'd have good ideas and advice. In fact I volunteer to bring it up with her if you're not comfortable doing so; let me know. And I would totally help with the organizing.
If any internet hosting is needed, I can donate space on my webserver. I can do crafty things to donate to auctions, or donate other things, and I can help organize them too. Whatever.
I am certainly no ebay expert or anything, but I'd guess that any auction-type thingie would basically entail each individual selling their items and then donating the proceeds to a paypal account (or some alternate, if for some reason paypal seems inadequate) we set up for Moreena. I've never sold anything on ebay before, but I'll be happy to (a) donate what I can directly to her, (b) buy stuff that is going to benefit her, (c) wrack my brain to try to come up with something I could auction off for her, (d) ask around for any other suggestions of ways to help, and (e) any or all of the above.
Fucking insurance companies.
I was also going to suggest something along the lines of what Julie at a little pregnant does. I am just a lurker, usually, over there but will also volunteer to contact her and ask about logistics if you need somebody to do that. Being in Switzerland, however, I'm not sure I'm a logical choice for this.
And I weave, and if it comes to an auction I volunteer to hand weave something to auction off. I'm a beginning weaver, my stuff is not as cool as Julie's quilts, but I've made one or two lovely things, imvho.
You guys rock! I will contact Julie at a little pregnant. Andrea, I'll email you. After what you did with your winter holiday extravaganza, I have no doubt of the excellence of your organizational skills.
swissmiss, thank you so much for the offer! From what you've posted on your blog, I think your stuff looks gorgeous.
Whatever y'all decide to do, I'm in, in whatever way I can help.
I know that other folks love PayPal, but it's been nothing but a pain in the butt for me--from having trouble getting it set up in the first place to getting scam messages about my account. I'd just rather not deal with it.
If Amazon takes donations that might work....I don't really know how these things work, but I'd sure contribute.
Another possibility is to do something like what Stephanie did at Yarn Harlot for the Knitters without Borders fundraiser -- people donate things (in her case, yarn, knitting goodies, etc.) and they go into a pool as sort of raffle-esque prizes for the people who donate. Most people donate money just because it's a good cause, but the possibility of winning something from the pool is an additional incentive. It also offers an option for the people with no money, but things they could offer as prizes.
Her method relies heavily on the honor system; the people who donate send her emails letting her know they have done so. I don't know how well that would work in other situations (though I know we're all honest folk here).
Oh, and about the PayPal scam messages - just delete them. I haven't done much with my PayPal account except to occasionally wander over to update an address, and it does just fine on its own. I figure if something goes wrong with it, I'll find out as it happens, and will go straight there and deal with it; it's not worth bothering trying to figure out which emails are real or not - I delete them all, and set my filter to screen out as many as I can beforehand.
(I like PayPal, though Amazon is an okay option too.)
I'll help in anyway I can too. Thank you for thinking of this, Phantom, I felt so helpless when I read Moreena's recent posts.
oh, this is exciting!
here is a useful website from the mass. attorney general, about fundraising like what we have in mind:
http://www.ago.state.ma.us/sp.cf...cfm?
pageid=2223
short version: donations are considered gifts [not taxable as income to the recipient]. donations to individuals are not deductable for the donors. and -- the recipient should set up a separate bank account for donations, to keep it all straight.
* i think that local banks set up trust accounts for emergency and tragedy situations all the time, and so moreena's bank is a good place to start. rules might be different in different states, but the bank should know the rules.
here is info about amazon's "honor system" payment accounts. people with websites can put a button on their sites.
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea...9566774-
5645567
i'm thinking about what i could maybe donate to an auction, if that happens. but some other ideas -- *assuming the pixie fundraising extravaganza is ok with moreena*:
- amazon buttons and posts on various websites
- email campaign to friends -- referring them to donation websites, and/or providing a bank address for donations
- donations from things that individuals sell
- for kids to get involved: bake sales, lunch sales, change drives at school [if someone is willing to drive 800 lbs of pennies to the coinstar machine!]
katy a! Bake sales! [hand slapping forehead!]
Assuming all this gets worked out, the kids and I can bake cookies and mail them to people.
Hi - I'm a friend of the Tiedes', I actually was Anni's babysitter while a student of Jorg's at IWU. I'm writing to sign up for whatever work needs to be done. I've never set anything like this up before, but I know I want to help! Please email me if there's anything I can do... Thank you!!!
Lauren
Normally, when someone's sick, at least in my midwestern world, you bring them dinner, right? A casserole, a sheet cake, a salad made of iceberg lettuce and a tiny amount of carrots (I'm SO midwestern). And you know some nice lady from the church (meeting house, shul, etc.) organizes it all so the family gets food every night for a couple weeks? You know that lady, right--her name is always gladys and she wears cardigans?
Anyway, what would it be like if we spread a campaign for a virtual casserole campaign, and try to get families to contribute an amount roughly equivalent to what it would take for them to deliver a dinner to Annika (which would of course, include chocolate cake.) That way folks could give what is within their family's means to do....most families that can afford internet can afford to bring a sick neighbor a casserole and a cake---how fancy those items would be would depend on how fancy your budget is. I don't know. It could be a fun way to be a virtual community.
The best method, from my camper's experience is to set up a non-profit with Annika as the first beneficiary, but with a second beneficiary in the event that we raise more than Annika needs. Most kids have it set up as for their medical costs and any surplus going to their hospital or Ronald McDonald House or whatever. This way there's no chance of the money getting taxed or of the money being misused (which we know wouldn't happen anyway.) Anyone know some tax law to set up a non-profit?
My reading of Moreena's post is that worst case scenario, they'll need to buy the 3,000 a month additional insurance, which means 36,000 for the new insurance, plus deductible costs plus reasonable expenses for travel/lodging for parents. I think if we can work with the Annika's to establish a non-profit, we could donate to the fund, and probably folks from the University could as well. I know the University where her husband teaches, and though it's labeled university it's actually quite small (2,000ish), so they don't reasonably have the same resources of a big U. On the plus side, a much higher number of those students and staff know Mr. Annika.
I hope you don't mind but I posted a note at Moreena's to tell folks about this discussion. Thanks for hosting it, Phantom. Hey, it's Friday! Are you baking challah? Can we smell it as we discuss this together? Yum.
If you set up an auction/raffle-y thing I'd be happy to donate a custom written murder mystery party game (I provide the backstory and the clues for each guest) or a custom written children's story to the pool of prizes.
Thank you so much, PPB, for posting at Moreena's. The more people who can get involved, the better. And I love your idea!
Before we ramp up anything, of course, we need to talk to Moreena and make sure this is all ok with her. Also I'm hoping that the expertise of several lawyers out there -- you guys know who you are, and you rock! -- can point the Annikas in the right direction to get the insurance decision rescinded.
hi, i'm glad this discussion is happening. i mentioned the Drop Cash campaign on moreena's site, but someone else would definitely have to run the campaign for her. that's what Julie at alittlepregnant.com used. it *is* paypal based and they do take a fee, but i'm not even sure how much. i'd love to help in any way possible, so please email me if there's something i can do. i also knit really fast and would be willing to knit things to raffle. someone else offered to make jewelry for a raffle and purplekangaroo said she'd do a quilt or something. anyway, let me know.
i also emailed moreena the website for the National Transplant Assistance Fund in case she wants to set something up there. even with that i still think we could raise a lot of money through the internet with very little effort.
FWIW, I've been told that setting up an actual non-profit corp in Georgia will run you about $600.00. While we are potentially going to try to raise a really big chunk of money, it will all come from probably very small donations (most under $100.00 I would imagine). My mother worked in banking for 40 years; I will see if she knows anything and if so, I will report back.
Thanks, Lauren, Nikki, and Moxiemomma for stopping by. Nikki, according to the link kathy a provided up above, it's not necessary to set up a non-profit in order to raise money for a single beneficiary. At least not here in Massachusetts. Anyone wants to do research on the rules in Illinois, we'll all be much obliged.
Hey, where did my earlier comment go??
Whatever, the gist of it was I hadn't heard Moreena's and Annika's story before today, and god, I cried fat tears reading it in my cubicle at lunchtime. Whatever, however - count me in.
I'm a fellow liver transplant parent and stayed just down the hall from Annika and Moreena last week at Children's in Chicago.
I must tell you how amazing you all are!!!
ALF (American Liver Foundation) and COTA (Children's Organ Transplant Association) both provide fundraising assistance for children with transplant issues. You can donate right through the COTA site once a patient's account has been set up.
I do use paypal quite regularly with no problems and I know that some transplant families do use it with their fundraising.
Thanks again to all of you angels!!!!!
PS - You are right. We did not set up a Non-profit for our daughter. And we live in Illinois.
Moreena's just updated -- they are probably going to set up at COTA account. So we can stop worrying about setting up bank accounts, and start worrying about creative ways to raise money!
Thanks for coming by, Becca. You and your daughter are the angels around here, I think.
PPB, i *love* the virtual casserole idea!
i don't know whether the cost and effort of setting up a nonprofit will give any benefits beyond setting up a bank account in trust for medical and related expenses. this is way out of my area of knowledge. checking out the bank account is easy. if anyone knows of a lawyer in IL who can help for free, chime in!
oh, nevermind about bank accounts and nonprofits!! hugs to becca and natalie. xoxoo
I was so happy to see this discussion here. I know it might really sound lame, because it isn't going to generate a TON of money... but it would be SOMETHING. I won't post the web site until I hear back from you all that you are interested. If you are, I'll send anyone a catalog who asks and donate all but my cost of the jewelry to CODA or wherever Moreena tells us to.
The casserole idea has a special place in my heart because I helped get a casserole ministrty going at our church and it has really floursihed. It just made me cry like a baby to think of the same kind of love that goes into that ministry going into something for our Anni.
I'll keep checking.
You guys are amazing.
Sounds like Moreena and Mr. Annika (why can I never remember his name---I know it's something in the world of Jorge?) have made their choice---COTA it is! COTA is easy,for sure, and I like that anything we raised in excess of what she needs (I refuse to go down the "if we lose her" road) will be used for another child. Seems like we need someone to create a cute little blog button to do fundraising on our sites--linking to the COTA site. Jo(e)? Phantom's LG? A common logo would be cool, don't you think, even if we are doing different fundraisers.
I just figured out online how much it would cost to make my mom's tuna casserole, her Texas sheet cake, and a midwestern salad (all the flavor of water, and none of the refreshment), and, assuming I have not even an ounce of flour in my house, it comes to $27.81. Obviously, I can do it cheaper, because I don't have to buy things like salt and flour, but I figured it out for the sake of argument. I can surely afford $27.81. And I wouldn't think twice about spending $27.81 for a neighbor or church member who was sick.
What other comfort foods could I price out? Heck, maybe we can collect recipes int he process.
I can do a button!
I have lots and lots and lots of ideas .... I was thinking I could put up a simple "catalogue" page, with photos of anything donated for raffles/auctions (and if it's an ebay auction, a link to the ebay page where it is being sold), maybe an RSS feed of Moreena's page for updates (don't know if it's feasible, but it's a thought), links to the account for donations, the address for gifts, and whatever other ideas we end up using--one-stop Annika shopping. I also suggest that for auctions we set minimum amounts (won't work for raffles, but we don't want someone spending $50 on something to auction and only raising $20 for Annika).
And for donations, I was thinking I could do some homemade books or scrapbooks, blog designs, maybe some sewn stuff .... Lots of options.
And now that it's definitely going through, I'll post my own plea on Beanie Baby. I was hoping they'd have better news on the insurance. 
You know, the more I think about it.... I'm just going to go ahead and throw something up on my webspace. For now very simple, not fancy, just a list of ideas as they are brought up. When we get a little bit farther along in the process we can make it prettier and publicize it; but this way we can keep track and we'll all have a place to go to see what's going on.
Is that ok? I don't want to step on your toes, Phantom, if you want to keep it here. But I'll draft something and it can go up when/if you give me the word.
If we want to do several rounds of fundraising eBay things, I volunteer to handle all of that organizing and posting and coordinating and what not. I've been buying and selling on ebay for nine years and have a red star rating (1595) so it's all good.
Plus, eBay is across the street from my Whole Foods. That doesn't have anything to do with fundraising, it's just kinda neat. 
Point is, I'm an old hand at the eBaying so no worries.
No, that's great, Andrea. Go for it. People can discuss here, there or anyplace. The more eyeballs we get on this, the better.
Count me in, too. This discussion has been quite an amazing thing to witness.
Yes. Me too. I'll be happy to donate anywhere. I'm new to Moreena's blog and Anni's story and am awed by what they've been through and by both of them as people.
If putting something on my site would help (a button, brief mention), count me in.
Amy, yes, yes, yes, you get lots of traffic! Lots of traffic=good. I get lots of traffic from all the other people that will be advertising on their own blogs. Not so good, but I'll try.
It's up:
http://www.athenadreaming.org/annika
Very, very plain right now; but at least it will get us started and keep all our ideas in one place.
Way behind here, but I would be happy to put a button on my blog and to knit something for a fundraiser.
And, I meant to add, to do what was ppb suggested and donate the cost of a dinner I might bring. Except I so often end up buying the dinner I might bring, mine might cost a little more than hers...
Thanks, Beanie Baby, since flippin' Blogger won't let me in right now to add the link to the main post. Grrr.
The knitting, we love the knitting! Knitting fundraisers would be awesome.
Also, on the subject of the casserole dinner, Mr. Blue is of the opinion that the person who always arranges such things is named Harriet, not Gladys.
wow, beanie baby! you are amazing!
Wow, I got caught up with chasing around kids and making dinner and whatnot, come back a few hours later and lookit all this progress! You guys are all amazing. I'll get a post up on my blog as soon as I can--guess I should link to both this post and Beanie Baby's?
Yeah, both for right now, while there's no ability to comment at Andrea's page. I'm happy to host the conversation indefinitely, but we'll probably want to consolidate. Anyway, we'll get it all sorted out eventually.
I posted this on Moreena's blog already, but I'll donate at least one crafty-type thing, maybe more. It will probably be a crocheted afghan or a baby quilt, or maybe something woodburned--I haven't decided yet.
How do we decide whether to auction it or raffle it?
Perhaps this is a religious difference.....or regional. The midwestern low church protestant version was always a gladys with cardigans and lilac polyester pants. What did Harriet wear?
pk, I think it's up to you.
UPDATE: comments thread has been added on the site, so people can leave feedback there directly. As areas for different ideas are developed, comment threads will be added for each so the discussion can be more focused.
Whew!
I'm thinking tan knit pantsuits for Harriet, PPB.
Thanks, Andrea.
I agree that it's up to you, PK. Whatever seems best/ is most convenient for you. These decisions don't all have to be made tonight, for sure.
I just put up a post directing people thisaway and to Beanie Baby's spot. I tagged it with both "Annika" and "help-Annika," since it looks like there are a number of other people using the tag "Annika" for stories about, for example, Annika Sorenstam.
Tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I am not a good idea person, but the doing, that I can handle.
I'm happy to do anything that might help, too. I'd certainly be happy to put something up on my blog, at the very very least.
OK, Amy. For right now, unless you are a crafty person and want to jump right into making something fabulous to auction or raffle off, there's not much to do except brainstorm.
Once Moreena has an account set up, I suggest the first thing we all do is jump on the virtual casserole campaign: Someone should host a write-up of the casserole concept as PPB explicated above, with recipes and dollar amounts and the whole nine yards, and a link to Moreena's donation page. Then we all link to it like crazy in our posts, our sidebars, etc. etc.
If you want to make cool sidebar button in your spare time, that would be extremely hip. I'm sure y'all can do better than these attempts.
I'd like to donate a piece of Mr. Badger's artwork to be auctioned (eBay, whatever). I appreciate all the love and generosity the blogging community showed my family, and I'm eager to help Annika in whatever way possible.
Well, I'll host it: what else is the page there for?
I'll put up ppb's bit and the first recipe; others can add their own and as I get the time, I'll put them up.
I tried a few badges, too, but they were pretty bad. I'm hoping for a brainstorm over the weekend.
(((badger)))
Badger, you are so awesome.
Thank you, badger. Thank you so much.
About eBay auctions . . . eBay does have pretty specific rules for charity listings, so whoever is spearheading that part of the effort will need to make sure people know the rules so that the would-be donors don't get in trouble.
Badger donating a piece of Mr. Badger's artwork... now I'm _really_ going to cry.
I will fiddle with graphics. And purple_kangaroo has inspired me - maybe I will attempt to quilt something again. Hmmm...
Okay, I put up my stuff on my blog, which I still can't remember how to html to, but you can just click on my little id and find it.
Ok, I'm in for a button on my blog (so all 12 of my readers... all of whom probably come here as well! can see it again), a casserole campaign AND a crocheted something-or-other for the auction.
Having recently spent more than a year working on IRL fundraisers for a friend with ALS, I am really impressed with how quickly this is coming together and how well the work is being divvied up. Those are things we really struggled with -- though we did end up raising a LOT of money -- so while I'm sure there will be glitches along the road, it's awesome to see all this generosity and ACTION right away. You guys rock.
No blog from which to link, no special craft-making skills, no better ideas than those here, but just wanted to say how wonderful you all are, and that as soon as there's a COTA button to push to contribute money, I'll be there with as many people as I can round up to join me.
There's a virtual casserole campaign page up on the annika site I put together, and a few "cake" buttons that people can use.
www.athenadreaming.org/annika/casserole.html
This is going to be a really busy weekend for me, so I was wondering if anyone else who is doing graphics etc. would like to have access rights to that ftp account so they can add things as they come together? If so, email me: andrea@athenadreaming.org . It doesn't take me long to set up, and it's not hard.
If not, that's fine: I don't mind doing it. It just might be a bit slow.
I'm in. I'll help any way I can.
Oh, geez. Reading through all this made me a little teary, too. Especially Badger's offer, for which my immediate thought was, "Oooo, can I bid, too?" I've loved seeing photos of his artwork posted.
Thank you all sooooooo much. Answers to questions:
Yes, the money could go to the 3,000 deductible. That counts as a legitimate medical expense. From what I understand, they require receipts and preapproval before releasing any funds, so they sound like a very responsible organization. I've heard nothing but good things about them.
Yes, any money raised beyond what we need would go to other COTA kids. You can go to their website to see the other adorable kids listed there. I guess I was just going down the "if we lose her" road because I am realizing that if she pulls this one off (and she's full of surprises, you know), that we will probably need to plan ahead for this happening again. Every year, we will always have this limit. Of course, once we hit the lifetime limit then we would be eligible for fairly cheap insurance through public aid. But, thinking really far ahead, I worry about her insurability as an adult. So I suppose having access to a fund strictly available for medical stuff, like incredibly high premiums, might not be a bad idea.
I think COTA will take about a week or so to set up. They need to have confirmation from the doctors here that she really exists and that she really does have the medical condition we claim. And we need to recruit 3 volunteers to run the thing.
Sorry that it took me so long to get over here. On Fridays, the place with the internet access in the hospital is only open during the exact same hours that the doctors are rounding, and I hate to be out of the room to miss them when they come by.
Thank you, Andrea, for setting up so quickly a page to round everything up. You are truly a born organizer, a trait Annika clearly shares with you.
And thank you, all.
We are still trying to see what Jörg's university (and, yes, it is an incredibly small place to carry the title) can do about our situation. Of course, I'll update about that, too.
Ugh. Too long for a comment, huh?
So, again, thanks.
I'm in.
Thank you, Moreena. I think one of the reasons this is getting off the ground so fast is that we have all been wanting to do something -- anything -- to help you for a long time now.
If anyone has buttons, graphics, or anything else to go on the site, you can send them to Andrea or to me.
andrea AT athenadreaming DOT org phantomscribbler AT gmail DOT com.
I'm teary over here too! What a wonderful group of people we have around here, huh?
I'm in, for whatever we need. If COTA doesn't work, I've set up non-profits and trusts before. Not in illinois, but I can still look into it.
Things like this really reaffirm my faith in humanity.
By which I mean, the fundraising part, not the dickhead reinsurer part. Anyway.
I've had a few offers come in for donations, so the page has been updated--now with photos!
I'm so glad everyone is rallying around so quickly. And I want to bid on Mr. Badger's artwork too. What a precious treasure to share.
I discovered last night that I am NOT particularly good at quilt making. Next idea . . .
This is unbelievable guys! My daughter Anna also had a liver transplant at Children's in Chicago. We have met Annika and her family on several occasians. This is a very specail family and very special girl as we all know. I have offered to help out in any way that Moreena needs since we live close. We never had to use COTA for Anna, so I don't know just how that all works. I will have to study what you guys are doing for them right now as far as fundraising. Whatever I can do to help. I agree though, Moreena is well liked in the blogging world, and she will great donations for Annika up the wazoo!!!
I. Am. Horrified.
Count me in as a blog that can advertise.
Despite those who have an aversion to paypal, when we set up a fund for Badger, it was a very simple way for people to donate. Perhaps it could be something stop gap until the COTA efforts are set up.
here's the link for Badger's husband.
P.S. I'd be glad to use my web designer again, and my web site, to host a page for annika (though it is a bit confusing to have the url start with "successfulacademic".
Then Badger could talk with Moreena about how to set up a bank account and the paypal account.
Just let me know if this would help.
I am late to this part of the party, but I have to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the casserole idea. I frequently make meals for local friends or community members after they return from the hosptial with newborn babies.
I'll recreate the last meal I made, plus add an extra special dessert.
I also might also go semi-public to try to raise a few funds...you know, get more than 6 people reading my blog.
Yesterday afternoon, the curator of the Whiskerino put out a message asking if anyone had a favorite charity, so I directed my Whiskerino-ers to my post, and from there to Moreena's. I'll hit all of them up again once we've got an account to donate to.
Which I say by way of agreeing with Academic Coach--is it possible to get a Paypal account up right now, or by tomorrow? We can switch over to COTA then later in the week once that's straightened out.
I think we need to ask Moreena directly if it's ok. I'll send an email.
OK.
More updates to the site--LOTS of buttons, more prizes, and a fancy-pants new look. To be made even more fancy-pants shortly!
Academiccoach--I think if we do end up going the paypal route (and I admit to confusion brought on by total ignorance of the subject) it would be best to keep everything in one place. It wouldn't take me more than 30 minutes to add a link to the existing page, and we already have all kinds of buttons. kwim?
Does anyone have posting rights at Daily Kos? This would be a natural for a diary for a number of reasons, including the chance to get press for this.
Oh, such a RELIEF to have something concrete to do. My darling daughter and I have been daily visitors at "Falling Down..." for the whole of Anni's most recent traumas, and have prayed our socks off and longed to be able to help in some way. Feel a bit removed from all this exciting fund raising...the UK isn't great at this kind of cause, as we've been spoiled by the existence of the National Health Service, but if I can have a button on my blog, and can click on it whenever I can myself, then at least there will be something I can do to make things better for such a special family.
I understand we have a number or crafters here...I would like to join in with an offer for what we've long called a "Boo-Boo Blanket."
We have had several friends with kids in the hospital, and I used to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald house here in town. One of the projects that I have done several times before, is to make a quilt, or a fuzzy flannel/chenille blanket that goes to the hospital with the child. This is not just any blankie, though. All of the child's tears, fear, and pain are directed into the blanket, which then converts them into to prayers for good health. The few that I've made have goen over really well, and have become go-everywhere blankets.
I'd love to make one for Annika, but I don't want to overload Moreena with blankets and quilts. If Moreena and Annika would like one, just email me. If there's a certain character (Mickey, Cinderella, Dora...) or color she likes, just let me know.
Let me know how I can help if you need extra help, too.
KLee, this is just an idea off the top of my head--but if you decided to make a blanket, what if you posted it on the site as every quilt square (or some other measure if you don't do a quilt) is "sold" for, say, $5? Or $10? And that money goes to the Annika fund?
Or if you wanted to do a blanket and weren't sure if Moreena could use it, you could always auction or raffle it off. It is totally up to you, of course.
Just something to think about....
Count me in, Phantom, absolutely.
I think Beanie Baby has a great idea there, KLee. What a lovely thing to do, by the way.
Helaine, that is also a great idea. If anyone has connections and would be willing to use them, that would be fantastic -- though better if we wait until the account for making donations has been set up.
Thank you so much to everyone who has offered to help. We will keep everyone updated and let you know when Moreena has a live link for donations. Once that happens, it would be great for all of y'all bloggers to go crazy with the links.
You guys are the best, all of you. Thank you!
I used to have a dKos diary, but haven't touched it in ages. I doubt it's active, but I can check...
Why not also publish the insurance companies name and get us to call? Though there is the fear it could backfire, there is the threat of publicty and power in numbers. Not to mention all of those calls.
Commenting by HaloScan
