A couple of months ago I was contacted by one of my dearest friends to see if I would be willing to make and donate something for The Cure JM concert & auction fundraiser. Now, let me back up a bit and tell you something. Five years ago my brother-in-law had a tumor removed from his brain stem that left him unable to do many things including walking. At that time we called upon many people & business to donate items to be auctioned off at a fundraiser for their family. The great outpouring of donations was amazing. My heart has been touched by the generousity of complete strangers & of loved ones and this is why when my friend asked if I would donate to Cure JM I could not turn her down.
Like myself I bet many of you have never heard of JM or Juvenile Myositis. Let me tell you a bit about it. Juvenile Dermatomyositis and Juvenile Polymyositis are the most common forms of JM - a very rare autoimmune disease that affects approximately 17,000 children and adults.
JM causes a variety of debilitating symptoms including:
*Muscle weakness and pain
*Severe fatigue
*Rashes
*Swallowing and digestive difficulties
*Lung and heart problems
*Vasculitic ulcers
*Calcinosis
Some children may experience a remission, while others will battle JM their entire life, and complications from this disease can prove fatal. Medication can help to alleviate the symptoms of Juvenile Myositis, but there is no known cure. http://www.curejm.com/
Alright, so I bet you a wondering why I'm telling you all of this. I decided that I wanted to do more than just donate one item to the auction. This is where you all come in. I wanted to get the crafting, blogging community together and see if we couldn't just come up with a number of donations. I ask that you open your hearts and make just one thing to donate to this amazing cause. I have emailed some of my favorite bloggers and people who I consider to be my friends and asked them to blog about this and to donate and my heart was touched by their responses. One of them even said to me, "Thank -you for contacting me, I've been wondering how I could use my blog to help others." Excuse me but that just made me love her all the more. Over the next couple of weeks they will be blogging about this and also asking for your donations. Please check out their blogs:
Cheri of -I Am Momma Hear Me Roar
Jen of - Tatertots and Jello
Brittany of - Love Stitched
If you are interested in donating please contact me with the information on where to send your item. All donations need to be mailed out no later than August 31st, 2010. The benefit concert will be held on September 11th, 2010 at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon. Please take some time to read about the concert and auction here . Did you see that the headliner is Blake Lewis of American Idol - sooo fun.
I'm super excited, lets see how many hands can lift heavy hearts. Let's help them find a Cure for JM.
Big, Big LOVE,
Like myself I bet many of you have never heard of JM or Juvenile Myositis. Let me tell you a bit about it. Juvenile Dermatomyositis and Juvenile Polymyositis are the most common forms of JM - a very rare autoimmune disease that affects approximately 17,000 children and adults.
JM causes a variety of debilitating symptoms including:
*Muscle weakness and pain
*Severe fatigue
*Rashes
*Swallowing and digestive difficulties
*Lung and heart problems
*Vasculitic ulcers
*Calcinosis
Some children may experience a remission, while others will battle JM their entire life, and complications from this disease can prove fatal. Medication can help to alleviate the symptoms of Juvenile Myositis, but there is no known cure. http://www.curejm.com/
Alright, so I bet you a wondering why I'm telling you all of this. I decided that I wanted to do more than just donate one item to the auction. This is where you all come in. I wanted to get the crafting, blogging community together and see if we couldn't just come up with a number of donations. I ask that you open your hearts and make just one thing to donate to this amazing cause. I have emailed some of my favorite bloggers and people who I consider to be my friends and asked them to blog about this and to donate and my heart was touched by their responses. One of them even said to me, "Thank -you for contacting me, I've been wondering how I could use my blog to help others." Excuse me but that just made me love her all the more. Over the next couple of weeks they will be blogging about this and also asking for your donations. Please check out their blogs:
Cheri of -I Am Momma Hear Me Roar
Jen of - Tatertots and Jello
Brittany of - Love Stitched
If you are interested in donating please contact me with the information on where to send your item. All donations need to be mailed out no later than August 31st, 2010. The benefit concert will be held on September 11th, 2010 at Hillsboro Stadium in Hillsboro, Oregon. Please take some time to read about the concert and auction here . Did you see that the headliner is Blake Lewis of American Idol - sooo fun.
I'm super excited, lets see how many hands can lift heavy hearts. Let's help them find a Cure for JM.
Big, Big LOVE,
Wow! That's awesome! I'd love to do a little something too. I'm not as good as my sister (Cheri)-- but I can still hold my own.
ReplyDeleteMy email is taylors@genevaonline.com . I'd be glad to help out any way I can. I can do a post for you if you'd like too. lecaunplugged.blogspot.com
My dearest dearest Jen. Oh how I love you. I marvel at the beautiful person that you are. I can't not even tell you how happy I was to talk to you today and to hear that you were sending this message about Cure JM to the crafting/blogging world and building an army of amazing, talented people who are opening their hearts and are willing to create and donate. My heart is full. The words thank you are not enough. I love you. To all of you who read this and contribute I can not thank you enough for your sincere generosity and know that my family is in awe. Together we will all make a difference in the lives of these children and these families that suffer from JM. My nephew Mason and my brother and his family are a true inspiration and they never give up hope that someday there will be a Cure for Mason's disease.
ReplyDeleteIf you would like to know more about Juvenile Myositis visit www.curejm.com If you would like to know more about Mason and his battle please visit www.damonandkris.blogspot.com
Thank you to all of you for your love and generosity. With all your hard work the auction will be a great success. All proceeds will be given to the Cure JM Foundation and used for research. Please help us in making a difference and please continue to raise awareness about this disease.
Jen, I wrote you a great big comment. I must not have hit send. Good grief.
ReplyDeleteI just hope you know how much I love you and appreciate what you are doing for the Cure JM Foundation. Not only are you donating some of your beautiful work you are reaching out to others and helping to raise awareness and helping to raise funds for research that is needed to help find a cure for Juvenile Dermatomyositis. On behalf of my nephew Mason, myself and the rest of our family we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Together we can all make a difference.
P.S. my first comment was longer and much nicer and written much better, but it is late and I am tired. Thank you for the phone call today. It was a ray of light in such a dark time. For now I think we are going to try and stick to our original plan and see you on the 12th. I will let you know for sure as the week goes on.
Love you. H
Thank you Jen! This is amazing.
ReplyDeleteGary thanks you too. Gary is three. Diagnosed May 2009. : ) Blessings!
OK Jen, I've made a post. Check it out at www.lecaunplugged.blogspot.com . Now I need some more info from you. Email me at taylors@genevaonline.com . I need the address ect.
ReplyDeleteThanks
I am super excited to help! Thanks for letting me know about it Jen.
ReplyDeleteXOOX
Jen
Hey! I saw on Tatertots and Jello that you were looking for donations, and I have something that I would love to donate. I made a ton of these, while I was perfecting the pattern: http://www.thecreativemaven.net/2010/07/ballerina-slippers-free-pattern.html
ReplyDeleteand I'd love to pass some along! When do you need them by, and where would I send them? Email me and let me know!