Fund Raising

When Andrei’s cancer relapsed in the early summer of 2011, the only real option for a “cure” was a bone marrow transplant. While Andrei had solid insurance through work, what wasn’t covered was our housing in Seattle during the time he’d need to be there for the transplant. That’s when we began our fund-raising efforts. We took a three-part approach, to make it as easy for people to participate as possible.

First we held a “Treasures for a Transplant” Sale (held July 2-3, 2011), mining our own storage stashes and taking donations from folks who were doing the same.

Next, we held a “CHAIR-ity Auction” (held July 31, 2011) inviting our friends and families to donate art chairs and theme chairs to be auctioned off at a special dinner event. We had the Magical Mosaic Chair, the Washington Adventure Chair, and many more. We worked with a local restaurant (insert plug for the awesome folks at Joeseppi’s Restaurant in Tacoma, WA) to do a “take-over” night where we earned a percentage of all food sold that night. We also included a fantastic silent auction that had the place humming. Of course, none of this would have been possible without the help  and talent of so many friends and family.

Lastly, we set up a campaign online donation site through IndieGoGo that allowed friends and family far and wide the opportunity to simply help fund the transplant and the kids book we’d planned to work on while Andrei was recovering. This site also helped us process credit card orders at the CHAIR-ity Auction, helping make it a huge success.

I mention all these options as a means to share with others a smattering of the fund-raising options out there.  We felt strongly that people should get something for their money, so we placed highest priority on the sale and auction. That’s also why we opted for the IndieGoGo site because funders get “perks” for their donations, even if it is just a handwritten thank-you note. Luckily we were able to offer cool stuff like Andrei’s music CD and my young adult novel as perks.

While I’m so sad that Andrei didn’t make to transplant, I am determined to use the funds we raised for the secondary purpose we’d outlined—creating a truly useful book about cancer for kids. I am working on that book now, and will continue to raise funds for this purpose.

If you’d like to contribute to the book project, you can contact me at:

S. Lile

PO Box 2121, Gig Harbor, WA 98335

Thanks for caring.