The Holleger Kids: April 2012

SUMMARY

Breast Cancer Fundraiser Party, April 20, 2012

Blue Bell, PA

Our Goal: $1500

Actual money raised: $1600.01after all expenses

Money donated to Susan G. Komen: $1417.00

Money donated to the American Cancer Society: $183.01

Number of Guests in Attendance: 40, including ourselves

THANK YOU!

"The Holleger Kids"

(and grandkids)

Left to right: John, Beth, Dianne, Rachel, Julianna, Mary, and Paul

SPECIAL THANKS

Mrs. Heather Ho for letting us use her lovely home.
Shuler's Jewelers for their generous donation of the Pandora bracelet.
Kerrin's Salon for their generous donation of the haircut, massage, and salon goodies basket.
Bocelli's Restaurant for their delicious pasta bar.
Erika Camm of Subversion Fitness for her generous donation of the fitness bootcamp.
Miss Tiffany Borawski for making the scrumptious cupcakes.
Heather from Chickabug.com for her creative graphic design and breast cancer themed decorations.
Mark Meehan and Lindsey McKay for their beautiful live music.
Mrs. Rebecca Misiura for speaking.
Mrs. Lori Hallman for her generous donation of the Hershey Spa gift basket.
J. Davis Printing for providing their services for this event and numerous other occasions.
Our friends and family for their love and support, and all the donations that they gave.

HIGHLIGHTS

Hours of hard work and planning were well worth the effort for our very first Breast Cancer Fundraiser Party. The payoff was more than just the $1600.01 we raised in honor of our mother, Kathleen M. Holleger who passed away from inflammatory breast cancer in 2007. Making memories, bonding with our siblings, uncovering beautiful and at times tough emotions, and giving our mother a legacy to help others in need were just some of the additional bonuses we got to experience on this journey.

Beth and Mary making decorations and preparing raffle items

We couldn't have done it without you- the very core of our friends and family- helping us out. We were able to raise money towards cancer research, and begin our personal goal of educating people about the rare and aggressive form of breast cancer known as inflammatory breast cancer which does not present itself as the "lump" most women are taught to look for.

Rachel dancing to the live music by Lindsey and Mark

But along the way, we got to have some fun! Babies were everywhere, it seemed, with Julianna (Mary's daughter), Rachel (Dianne's daughter), and Rachel's cousin Tommy stealing the show with their sheer cuteness. But competing for a close second had to be the amazing pasta by Bocelli's, the beautiful live music by Lindsey and Mark, Heather Ho's gorgeous home, and the fun raffle prizes! Lots of people bought extra raffle tickets, and we were very happy for all the winners! John, the youngest "Holleger Kid," donated an original painting for the raffle, which was extra special.

John's original painting

All the Holleger Kids did a lot of work, but a special recognition needs to go to Beth, the second youngest, who really took on the biggest load and was our leader for this project. Without her creativity combined with her organization and hard work, we wouldn't have been able to pull this off.

Beth selling raffle tickets

The party, it seems, was a big hit with everyone, and we hope to have your continued support in the upcoming years! Thank you again to everyone who came. It truly was a night to remember, and we know that if our mom were here, she'd be proud and grateful to all of you for your support.

Mary speaking

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

http://holleger-kids.blogspot.com/2012/04/2012-fundraiser-party-ultimate-photo.html

After the party, we took a trip to our mom's grave and placed the flowers that we had displayed on her memorial table and as a centerpiece for the party. Her gravestone reads, "Her children arise up, and call her blessed. Her husband also, and he praiseth her." Proverbs 31:28

OUR FUTURE

Thank you so much for your support this Spring! We'd like to ask you to please plan ahead for our future fundraisers. Ideally, we'd like to do one smaller fundraiser each October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and one larger event each Spring. In the interim, we would like to focus on educating our community about inflammatory breast cancer whenever and wherever we have the opportunity. Ultimately our goal is to achieve official status as a non-profit organization to raise funds to educate people about IBC, as well as donate towards research for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. We hope to achieve this status in the next year or two, but this is a very difficult to achieve so we will need your continued support as we work towards this goal. For now, we are taking the initials steps of defining our non-profit's goals and identity and educating ourselves fully on the process, and also planning a local bake sale for this October. Also, this Mother's Day, May 13th, 2012, we plan to walk together in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k in Philadelphia.