I often talk about ways in which we can all go about raising money for the ICA and how simple it can be. So I thought I would share the email that I just sent out to family and friends asking that, instead of getting me a Christmas gift, they instead make a donation to the "Imagine No IC" Campaign using my Personal Fundraising page on the ICA website. Last year, as I said in my previous post on fundraising, simply by sending out an email like this, I was able to raise over $400 for the ICA.
Here's the email I just sent out to my family and friends. I hope it inspires you to consider setting up your own fundraising page, as I urged in my previous post, and see what you can do to help raise funds for the ICA too!
"Dear Friends & Family: As many of you already know, I am
continually trying to raise awareness and research funds for Interstitial
Cystitis through my Personal Fundraising Project for the ICA. I have written
about this before and with this being the Holiday Season, once again I am
asking for your support.
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I wanted to take this opportunity to make a very special request. If anyone is considering purchasing a Christmas gift for me (or even if you weren’t) I am asking that you PLEASE DO NOT buy me a present, but instead make a donation to the ICA as a tribute to my ongoing battle with IC. Truly, this would mean SO much more to me than any other gift I could ever receive (and a big plus – no shopping involved!).
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I wanted to take this opportunity to make a very special request. If anyone is considering purchasing a Christmas gift for me (or even if you weren’t) I am asking that you PLEASE DO NOT buy me a present, but instead make a donation to the ICA as a tribute to my ongoing battle with IC. Truly, this would mean SO much more to me than any other gift I could ever receive (and a big plus – no shopping involved!).
A federal grant funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) IC Program provides approximately 50% of the ICA’s budget. With the threat of significant across-the-board cuts to health programs in the federal budget (sequestration), it is now more important than ever to urge Congress to protect funding for all medical research, including research for interstitial cystitis (IC).
Sequestration will result in massive cuts to the FDA, NIH, and CDC—federal agencies that fund and support IC research and awareness. It also includes policy changes that could hurt IC drug development in the private sector. The tremendous strides in IC advocacy we have made will be severely impacted if sequestration goes into effect this January!
If these cuts happen, it will
not be possible to keep the ICA’s mission alive, and continue to help patients
like me, without additional fundraising through the generous support of people
like you. So, everyone in the IC Community is working together to help keep IC
Awareness, advocacy and research going by raising funds for the “Imagine No IC”
Campaign! In addition, IC patients have been asked to Tell
Congress to increase—not cut—funding for IC research and
awareness programs. Time is of the essence!
Since becoming disabled, I have become a strong advocate for IC and the need for better treatments, doctors, fundraising and awareness. I am a Patient Advocate and help other women and men diagnosed with IC by talking with them on the phone. I provide online support and have helped my Support Group Leader get our local Support Group off the ground and we have continued to grow over the years. I am a Member of the Interstitial Cystitis Association, which is the ONLY nonprofit association dedicated solely to improving the quality of healthcare and lives of people living with Interstitial Cystitis (IC). Recently, I also started to write my own IC Blog in an attempt to help provide information, support and encouragement for others suffering with this disease. Here’s a link to my Blog if you’d like to check it out! There are also some videos I created posted on my Blog which can be viewed by scrolling down the Blog page to the link to my YouTube Channel.
http://iccatherine.blogspot.com/
I sincerely hope that you will consider making a donation to my Campaign as a gesture of support for me for Christmas and to help support the battle that all of us suffering from this painful, incurable and difficult to treat disease struggles with every single day. I have set up a link on the ICA’s website to my Personal Fundraising Page so that those wishing to donate can do so easily. I know in these tough economic times, it’s difficult for many to make charitable contributions, but if you had considered making a charitable donation this year, I hope you will consider the ICA as the organization you choose to support. I have instructed the ICA that 100% of donations received through my Fundraising Campaign go directly into the “Imagine No IC” research fund; no monies will go to administrative costs but solely to research. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Here is the link to my Fundraising page on the ICA website where you can make donations.
https://www.ichelp.org/CatherineHorine
Thank you for considering my request and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Since becoming disabled, I have become a strong advocate for IC and the need for better treatments, doctors, fundraising and awareness. I am a Patient Advocate and help other women and men diagnosed with IC by talking with them on the phone. I provide online support and have helped my Support Group Leader get our local Support Group off the ground and we have continued to grow over the years. I am a Member of the Interstitial Cystitis Association, which is the ONLY nonprofit association dedicated solely to improving the quality of healthcare and lives of people living with Interstitial Cystitis (IC). Recently, I also started to write my own IC Blog in an attempt to help provide information, support and encouragement for others suffering with this disease. Here’s a link to my Blog if you’d like to check it out! There are also some videos I created posted on my Blog which can be viewed by scrolling down the Blog page to the link to my YouTube Channel.
http://iccatherine.blogspot.com/
I sincerely hope that you will consider making a donation to my Campaign as a gesture of support for me for Christmas and to help support the battle that all of us suffering from this painful, incurable and difficult to treat disease struggles with every single day. I have set up a link on the ICA’s website to my Personal Fundraising Page so that those wishing to donate can do so easily. I know in these tough economic times, it’s difficult for many to make charitable contributions, but if you had considered making a charitable donation this year, I hope you will consider the ICA as the organization you choose to support. I have instructed the ICA that 100% of donations received through my Fundraising Campaign go directly into the “Imagine No IC” research fund; no monies will go to administrative costs but solely to research. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Here is the link to my Fundraising page on the ICA website where you can make donations.
https://www.ichelp.org/CatherineHorine
Thank you for considering my request and I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Love,
Catherine"
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