Imagine you’re a mom of four, living with MS, still readjusting to life in the states after years spent abroad, and finally seeing a dream come true. The book you’ve researched for years and poured your soul into is finally, today, being released into the world. After all the struggles of moving, of helping children acclimate, of learning a new city, of juggling motherhood and family and writing, you get to celebrate the realization of a dream.
And on that same day, your doctor tells you to come in right away–you you have stage 4 T-cell lymphoma, possibly caused by the medication you’ve been taking for MS.
This is what happened to Sandi Rog on November 1, 2010. For the last year, Sandi has endured chemo, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant, with the hope of destroying this aggressive cancer. And then, just a few weeks before the release of her second book, new tumors were discovered near her spine that show the cancer has not succumbed the way we had all hoped.
So now, in the face of the holiday season, the Rog family finds themselves settling in for another year of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual battle as Sandi faces more treatments–one of which holds much promise but is not covered by insurance. As you can imagine, the financial cost of fighting cancer can be overwhelming, and that’s why we’re hosting this fundraiser.
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
Donated items such as books and ornaments and a wide assortment of other items have been added almost daily to the fundraiser site. These will be available for you to win starting today, November 25th at noon MST.
To purchase a raffle “ticket”, donate $5 at GiveForward.com. (If you wish to enter the drawings for donated items, be sure NOT to mark your donation as anonymous or to hide your donated amount!) Every $5 you donate will purchase you one raffle ticket.
The fundraising site will post two awesome gift “baskets” per day. To enter the drawing for a basket, leave a comment on the post. Want to enter more than once on the basket you really want? In your comment, note how many “tickets” you’re spending. They’ll be able to track through GiveForward.com how many tickets you purchased.
They regret that most items are only able to be shipped to US addresses. HOWEVER, there will be a special for Canadians Only Gift Basket. As well, Aspiring Writers from anywhere in the world will not want to miss the opportunity to win a 2,500 word critique from the Jerry B Jenkins Christian Writer’s Guild. I’ll keep you posted on those important dates.
Note that, once your ticket has been spent, you won’t get it back if you don’t win. (Just like a raffle with physical tickets–once you enter it in a drawing, your ticket is gone.) The comments will close at noon the next day; comments left after that time will not be counted. We’ll use Random.org to choose the winner and will post their name the next day. Read yesterday’s post at the fundraiser site for more detailed instructions.
Your donation is not tax deductible. This is strictly a sacrificial, out-of-the-goodness-of-your-heart donation.
HOW TO PURCHASE A RAFFLE TICKET:
Be sure to have your credit card info available. Click the GiveForward.com button and enter your info there. (Note that if you want to purchase more tickets later, you will need to reenter your information at that time as GiveForward.com does not store payment info.) Donate as much or as little as you want, and every $5 increment will get you an entry toward the gift basket of your choice. GiveForward.com will keep track for us of names and email addresses, so we’ll be able to contact you if you win.
We know times are hard for everyone. The economy is in the tank, folks are losing their jobs, and Christmas is probably going to be a lot less materially-focused this year for many people. But, for most of us, the Rogs fall under the “it could be a lot worse” category. Every donation helps. So please prayerfully consider how you might help, and help spread the word to help keep the Rogs afloat as Sandi fights for her life.
HOW TO BID WITHOUT A DONATION TO SANDI:
To keep things legal, they have to allow an option for people to enter the raffle at least once without making a purchase. If you wish to bid on a gift basket, leave a comment that states your name, email address so we can contact you if you win, and the phrase “entering without purchasing a bid”.
~Alison
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Great to "see" you here today! I look forward to reading your comment.