One of the reasons many of us love to do major gift fundraising work, is the great nonprofit charities we get to work with. Our firm has just started working with Shriners Childrens Hospitals in Portland and St. Louis to prepare them for major capital campaigns. The staff has been telling me their case stories. I'd heard about the spring prom that they hold for kids each year. I saw the sign inviting teenagers to attend, but the full impact of this case story didn't hit me until I read this newspaper article. It describes the kids with severe disabilities and life challenges having a regular kids night out, a hospital prom.
Here are some highlights from Tom Hallman, Jr.'s powerful story.
"They didn't have to worry about fitting in. Or being understood. Or being accepted. . . . An elevator door opend and Megan Johnson, who just turned 17, stepped into the lobby in a long prom dress. She's been coming to the hospital since she was 5. She's had 24 operations on her face. Her mom noted that she is a straight A student. They came to the prom from Seattle (the Portland hospital serves 5 states and 2 Canadian provinces). 'Tonight, no one will laugh at her. No one will snicker behind her back. Tonight she can just be Megan.'
"Everything — the food, DJ, and decorations — is donated. . . . A girl on crutches dances, standing in one place but swaying to the beat. A boy in a wheelchair dances with her, his wheelchair twisted back and forth by one of the high school volunteers."
"After Eleanor Crawford get her daughter, Ashley, registered, she takes a seat and watches her 17-year -old daughter, who has spina bifida, slowly move to the dance floor on crutches. After 20 major operations, she's at the dance. 'My daughter never had any friends. . . . At last year's dance, Ashley met a girl in a wheelchair. They became friends. Best friends. They now text message each other. That one dance changed my daughter's life. It gave her the confidence to open up to other girls in school. She blossomed.' So much so that she invited one of the girls from school who is autistic to come to this year's Shriners prom."
Share winning gift stories like these with your donors. We sure have great jobs don't we?
Tom Wilson
Author, Winning Gifts
Author, Winning Gifts
Permanent Link: A Wow Impact Story at Shriners Childrens Hospital
http://majorgiftsguru.com/2008/05/wow-impact-story-at-shriners-childrens.html
1 comments:
Yes they are doing great job.I can't live here with out appreciating them.They are doing great job.Thanks for their work.keep it up.
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WoW Gold
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