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7/2/19
Hello friends, Happy July! I hope you all have big plans for the holiday, or at least something that will make you happy while we celebrate our independence. Big news on the fundraiser front!
PHASE TWO HAS BEGUN
PHASE TWO HAS BEGUN
Mission Statement
“To give my mom the life she deserves.”
-What I’m working for: Improving my mom’s quality of life in any way I can as I seek to get her a new house.
-What I am doing: Managing a charity fundraiser myself, a surprise birthday party with a silent auction and GoFundMe; Reaching out to as many organizations and businesses as I can to get the word out and help my mom.
-How to get involved: Buying tickets to the fundraiser; Any donations of goods or services directly to my mom; Donations of goods and services to the silent auction or the event itself; Contributions to the GoFundMe.
I've started reaching out to businesses and other folks about getting my mom some help, and I couldn't be more excited! Next week, after the hub-bub of the holiday has simmered back down, I'm going across the state to get donations for the silent auction. The theme is "Stay-caytion", since this is a fall fundraiser and winter will be looming by then. I want to give MN businesses a chance to get people to stay here in our beautiful state, despite the weather which makes us ask ourselves why we bear it for (what seems like) nine months out of the year.
Again, if you can help, please don't hesitate to reach out to me! Thank you!
-J
6/26/18
Hi friends.
Today was a little discouraging, but I won't let it slow me down. I registered Rhonda's Fund LLC yesterday, but there's still too much up in the air for my liking. I reached out to a lot of new resources, and learned a lot of new things, and though its had its lows, its had its highs, too. One great thing that came out of today was that I finally got in touch with Goodhue County Habitat for Humanity, spoke with John Parkes, and he was great to talk to. I think that the portion of this dream to get my mom a house might really come to fruition. Getting that application printed tonight, and I'll get it signed and submitted as soon as I can.
I enter my work week now, so I won't have much time to work on anything that isn't bartending until next Tuesday.
Keep dreaming, keep living, and never settle.
Love,
-J
6/20/19
Today was big for this event, and not only because a dear friend of mine, in sharing the event on Facebook, tagged mom. Though the surprise might not be so well-kept anymore, I haven't stopped working.
Today was big because I feel like I really brought this thing into the real world. Mom's GoFundMe got its first donation, and the Eventbrite sold its first ticket. With the venue set, I reassessed my priorities and have been working all day to make sure I'm moving in the right directions. I spoke with someone at the MS Foundation earlier, who shared some good ideas with me and was just generally pleasant to speak with. Tonight, I've been really making sure that everything I am trying to do is attainable, and that I am doing what I need to do to attain it.
Right now, it looks like the best idea for me is to form an LLC and apply for tax exempt status as a charitable organization. In looking at different grant requirements and corporate sponsorship eligibility rules, I think it's going to be a necessity for what this quest. I think the timeline of it all is manageable, if I hop to it and do whatever I can to expedite it. This is great, because I've had a dark cloud hanging at the back of my mind, like I wasn't sure that this whole thing was doable. Now, I feel like I've found the right way to make it so, and that storm feels like its fading into the night.
A year ago today I was recovering from a breakup, I was lost, and I was doing everything I could to find myself again. I never imagined that, now, I'd be typing into the blog of a website that I made for my mom to promote her birthday fundraiser. Just goes to show, you can never tell where life will take you. Thanks for hanging with me, amigos.
-J
6/19/19
Good Evening,
Today has been huge, because today I found my venue. I want to thank Joe and Paul, and everyone else at the Uptown VFW, for giving me this chance. I cannot wait to see this benefit happen there this September!
I also need to express my thanks to the Women's Club of Minneapolis, Brookview Golf and Country Club, and Day Block Event Center for meeting with me as I headed for this milestone. Everyone I worked with at all three of these places were great folks, and very supportive in this venture. If you ever need to host an event yourself, I recommend them highly!
Now that the time, date, and place of the fundraiser are all settled, I can get to work on making sure we hit out funding goal. I'm going after the big corporate folks first, and the construction companies. I met some very helpful people last week in calling the MS Foundation and a few other organizations, and I will keep exploring the avenues that were shared with me. There are resources for people trying to do things like me out there, and Debbie got me hooked up with a lot of them. I need to get a hold of Habitat for Humanity still, and Rural Development, who my mom has her home through. Last week, I also got Power of Attorney documents signed and notarized, so that I can work on mom's behalf as I try to get these lofty goals accomplished.
I have one more day off this week, so let's see what else I can do.
All the love,
-J
6/11/19
Hey friends,
Today we took some big steps in helping my mom out, ensuring that her future is planned for and her wishes are respected. No one likes to think about that stuff, but in this project, i want to make sure all bases are covered. Last week, when I visited her again, I learned about her finances and the finer points of what this fundraiser needs to accomplish, and what my next steps are.
While I work on finalizing a venue (down to just two or three, now, all of them in Minneapolis), I will be reaching out to Rural Development, the federal office she has her house through. I hope to find the right people there to work with, and some sort of means to an end with her house. I'll be reaching out to United Way, the MS Foundation, and Habitat for Humanity tomorrow as well, to learn what I can from them. Hopefully we can also find her a little relief before the big day, with the hottest days of summer still ahead of us.
Choosing the venue will determine the course of how the rest of this goes down, so I'm very excited to get that finalized. Again, everyone I've worked with has been so great, and that really means a lot to me. Thank you, world, for showing me some kindness. Let's hope we can get a full, concentrated blast of that kindness over here this September, when Operation #SavingRhonda launches.
<3
-J
6/4/19
Hello!
Today is a big day for the campaign, as the website was finally born! From here, I can share my progress on this seemingly insurmountable project I've taken on, recognize those who have joined my Army of Charity, and get my message out to the entire world. I ain't thinking small here, folks. Can I keep it all a secret? Ugh. I don't know for how long, but I'm gonna try.
So far, my work has been mostly foundational. I'm reaching out to local venues to find out where I am going to hold mom's surprise birthday party. I have a lot of great leads, and have already talked to a lot of great people as I get this thing off the ground. Other businesses, like printing shops I will be getting informational materials from, have been equally warm and great to work with. As someone who's never done this before, that kind of support in these earliest stages means the world to me. I started a Twitter, too, and hope that this old fart can manage it to mom's advantage!
Stick with me here as I keep on keeping on, folks. Four months seems like a long time, but I know that the big day is gonna be here before we know it. Stay tuned!
With insurmountable love,
Josh
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