The Pins for Pauly Foundation: Help Battle Children's Leukemia
Mar 18 '09
The Bottom Line Please take a look at pinsforpauly.org and see if this is a cause which you agree with.
A few years ago I hosted a write-off called "The Pins for Pauly Write-Off." It focused on promoting the threat of leukemia by offering a link to the Leukemia Foundation website and a small blurb about the threat of leukemia. Today, The Pins for Pauly website is up and running, and I have slowly started going back through my write-off submissions and replacing the Leukemia Foundation link with the Pins for Pauly link - pinsforpauly.org.
The Pins of Pauly Foundation is a charity which was started in 2001 (without a formal name) in light of my cousin, Paul. In 2001, Paul was on a local bowling team despite being diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. A bowl-a-thon even was held in his name, and donations were made to the charity not specifically for his own medical expenses, but for the medical expenses of others who were less fortunate than his family in terms of financial strength. In 2002, Paul tragically died at age 15 - leukemia had defeated him. From then on, an annual bowl-a-thon has been held in his name, and all proceeds have gone to The Pins for Pauly Foundation.
The Pins of Pauly Foundation mission statement is to provide children who have leukemia and their families with the emotional, financial and educational support necessary to cope with their life-threatening illnesses. Unlike other leukemia foundations, money which goes to this charity is NOT for medical research. Instead, all proceeds go directly to the families of victims of the cancer for financial relief from mounting medical bills. Most victims who are donated to are young children and youth.
The Pins for Pauly Foundation staff has 100% working staff. Because of this, 100% of the donations go directly to the victims of leukemia and their families. Operating expenses for the charity are generally funded by the St. Demetrious Church in Merrick, NY. Therefore, it is a guarantee that any donations being pumped into the foundation are also being pumped into the hands of sick ones.
My personal experience with The Pins for Pauly Foundation has been a profound and emotional one. I know all members on the board, and they spend hours upon hours planning fundraising events and other ways to promote the cause. These humble individuals do such work without any monetary gain. Instead, they do it out of the sheer kindness of their hearts. Their hard work and dedication keeps the spirit of my cousin, Paul, living on.
It touches me every time I walk into my aunt and uncle's house to see letters from people who have been donated to. My aunt and uncle now have personal connections with people who are beating the disease. In a way, it is retribution - though their son died, something beautiful has come out of it: the ability to help other children, who now have this one additional resource to combat their disease. Larger charities often do not have this personal connection with the ones they help. Financial help is not all that is needed. Instead, knowing that there are human beings behind those checks who know what you are going through can be equally - if not more important - than a monetary amount.
I wholeheartedly urge that the Epinions community take a look at The Pins for Pauly Foundation website - pinsforpauly.org - and decide if it is a charity which you think should be donated to for next month's write-off event. I certainly do.
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