September Childhood Cancer Awareness Auction

EDIT:  just thought I would post that we miraculously raised $563 through my Facebook auction.  Such a wonderful surprise.  The Alabama Children's Blood Disorder and Cancer Foundation sent us a wonderfully sweet letter thanking us for our donation and assuring us that every penny goes towards finding better treatments and a cure.  I can't wait to do another auction and a Cookies For Kid's Cancer Bake Sale this year.



Hi, blog hopping friends.  I wanted to make an announcement on my blog about my ongoing auction on Facebook to raise funds for Childhood Cancer research and treatment.  September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, and I hope to auction off lots of crafty and food items to raise money to go towards finding a cure and better treatments for childhood cancers and brain tumors.  Why am I doing this?

Well, last November my youngest son, John, was unexpectedly diagnosed with a brain tumor after a routine eye exam showed swelling of his optic nerve.  The optomotrist said this was a sign of pressure in his head, so off we went to a neuro opthomologist in Birmingham.  He concurred that there was something wrong and sent us over to Children's Hospital to the ER to get a CT scan since it was late in the day and he didn't want us to have to drive back to Birmingham in the morning.  All the while we are doing this, a brain tumor is never ever on our radar.  Having the doctor come in and tell the boys to leave the room with the nurse was terrifying.  Hearing the words, "Your son has a brain tumor," about made me hit the floor.  To make a long story short, John's brain tumor was mostly removed a week later in a very long surgery.  After pathology did their tests, it was found that he has a type 2 atypical meningioma.  The biggest thing to know is that it was not malignant, so we have never had to look at chemo.  John had a radiation treatment in March called a Gamma Knife treatment and since then his MRI's show that the part of the tumor that could not be taken out and had started to grow back in just 3 months after surgery in November is shrinking.  Praise The Lord!  We are fortunate indeed.  In fact, if you didn't know all this about John, you would never ever know he has been through any of this.  God has been so good to him.

Why are we raising funds for Childhood Cancer then?   Well, we have met several children in our visits to our oncologist who is coordinating our post surgical care and MRI's  and online through Facebook pages who ARE battling cancer and malignant brain tumors.  One close to home already lost his fight just this past spring.  It is heartbreaking to see what the chemo treatments do to these little ones.  Most that we know of are less than 7 years old.  So while we are not going through some of the things they are, our hearts go out to them and we want to help.  I made a goal of raising $400 this year through selling my crafts and Jordan Essentials and Dove Chocolate Discoveries products.  I am no longer a Dove Chocolatier and my JE business is limited to close family, so I have only raised $200 so far.  I am so thankful.  This auction in September is my last push to try to get the last $200 raised.

Just about every day in September I will be posting items on my Facebook event page for friends and you to bid on.  I will be placing a minimum bid price to cover shipping costs.  You will need to bid higher than that to make a donation towards our goal.  When the bidding time frame is over, I will pick the winner from the top bid.  I will contact them to let them know they won and get them to send me payment.  When payment is received and cleared then I will ship out the goodies.   Super easy and fun.

I have lots of things on tap to auction off:  gratitude journals, coffee gift sets that include cookies and coffee, chocolate sets, Jordan Essentials skin care set, card sets, holiday gift packaging and decor, and lots more stuff.  I can't wait.  I just hope I have time to create all the things I want to.   Join me in raising money to help find a cure and better treatments for Childhood Cancer.  All proceeds minus shipping costs will go to Children's Hospital of Birmingham, AL and their research department.