The Big Day!

Friday, September 24, 2010, will be a big day for the Dannika White Fund, as it is the day that we will hold our wine-tasting and silent auction event at the Wine Warehouse of St. Augustine. Planning this event has been an extraordinary experience for Kaurie and me. We have witnessed an outpouring of love from so many members of our community. With their help, this event is going to be a night to remember for everyone who participates.

So save the date! Join us at the Wine Warehouse on A1A in St. Augustine (about a block south of the Oasis) on Friday, September 24th at 5:30. The Wine Warehouse will be providing a variety of international wines to enjoy; there will be a live band, a prize raffle, and best of all, the silent auction.

All of the arts and services up for auction have been generously donated by the talented members of our community. We will have gorgeous works of art by renowned artists, Rachel Thompson and Louise Austin; we will have spa packages, vacation packages, and even pet packages in the auction! There will be something for everyone, and it will be a great opportunity to pick up something special for a loved one.

Five dollars of each ticket and all of the proceeds from the prize raffle and the auction will go directly toward providing Dannika with the life-saving surgery she requires. Tickets are $15 at the door and space is limited, so come early!

And before I close, I would like to personally thank all of our donators to this event:

The Wine Warehouse
The Print Shop
Old Towne Trolley Tours
Park Avenue Paws
The Rachel Thompson Gallery
Louise Austin
Book Warehouse
Panache Aveda Salon and Spa
La Cocina Restaurant
Discount Grocery: Scratch and Dent
Paradise Poochie
Putnam State Bank
The Pet Camp
Small Indulgences European Day Spa and Salon
Robert’s Feed
Hot Shot Bakery
Ripley’s Believe It or Not
The Alligator Farm

Without these generous individuals, this event would not be possible. Thank you so much for your generosity.

And lastly, if you’d like to keep up with the latest news from the Dannika White Fund, follow me on Twitter. I’m @AWriteWord and I tweet updates on the latest items going into the auction and a whole host of other news items, musings, and thank yous.

See you on the 24TH!

Save the Date (Sept. 24th) and a Call for Goods and Services

The Dannika White Fund has been busy over the last month planning a fun-filled community fundraising event, and we are finally ready to make it official. The Dannika White Fund has partnered with the Wine Warehouse in Saint Augustine Beach to hold a wine-tasting and silent auction on the evening of Friday, September 24th. We will have live music, hors d’oeuvres, and a prize-filled raffle, in addition to the Wine-Warehouse’s superior selection of world wines and a silent auction that features the arts and services of our extremely gifted community.

This is where the request comes in. I know that all of our friends are tremendously generous and have excellent goods and services that they provide our community. If any of you would like to donate a service or item for our raffle or auction, please contact us at DannikaWhiteFund@gmail.com. To help to thank you all for your donations we would like to advertise your business on our flyers, posters, press-releases, blog articles, tweets, etc. And the sooner you make a donation, the more we will be able to advertise your awesomeness to all of North Florida.

Please help us make this vital event a success. Invite all of your friends to attend and help us get the word out about it. All proceeds will go directly to the fund and toward Dannika’s surgeries. We need to raise about $10,000 just to get her healthy and out of danger. Anything you can donate will help us reach this goal. Thank you all again for your support,

Erin Wiedemer
The Dannika White Fund

Update on Dannika and a Request

The Dannika White Fund has been busy exploring new and interesting avenues of fundraising. We've joined Chip In! (http://dannikawhitefund.chipin.com/the-dannika-white-fund) on the web, and have been collecting amazingly generous donations through our collection jars that are placed in local St. Augustine businesses. Our Modest Needs campaign has been steadily growing toward the goal, but we are running out of time to fund it. If we don't reach the goal in time, we will have to reapply and try again. Lastly, we also have some amazing collectibles up for auction on our Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Dannika-White-Fund.

Dannika had a health set-back over the Memorial Day weekend. An abscess burst and nearly sent her to the hospital. Luckily, her dentist was able to order her antibiotics and pain killers right away. It took nearly a week for her health to improve enough for Dr. Oxford to consider taking out the infected teeth, but in the end she had two teeth removed and the fund had collected enough money to cover this small surgery.

Removing these two teeth should provide us a little more time to tackle raising the necessary 6K. We are hoping to be able to get Dannika into surgery by the end of the summer. So here's our request: please help us with our fundraising campaign by posting our Chip In! widget on your blogs, Facebook page, and any other online community to which you belong. Simply copy the script and paste it where you'd like it placed. This widget will facilitate the placement of funds into the Dannika White Fund Paypal account and is 100% secure.



Thanks for helping us spread the word. I'll write again soon with some more good news about our progress!

A Quick Thank You and a Call to Bid

I wanted to send out a quick thank you to Diane’s Natural Market (http://www.dianesnaturalfoods.com/) on SR 312. They have generously agreed to help us collect donations for the Dannika White Fund. Diane’s has been a St. Augustine fixture for many years (winning St. Augustine Best Health Food Store 11 years in a row!). They are a true gem of the community and we are so grateful for their help.

The Dannika White Fund now has collection containers placed in Roberts Feed (Master’s Drive), Discount Groceries Scratch and Dent (on SR 16), Coffee Creations in the Cobblestone Plaza (on SR 312), and now Diane’s Natural Market. Please patronize these businesses to help us thank them for placing our containers.

Lastly, the Dannika White Fund Ebay store has two new auctions listed. Up for bidding this week is an original watercolor painting by renowned Florida artist, Leah Wiedemer, and a unique, beaded, clutch-style purse. The painting is a one-of-a-kind floral piece that is matted and framed – ready for hanging. The purse is a beautiful, intricately beaded accessory that would be a boon to any couture collection. Go to http://stores.ebay.com/Dannika-White-Fund to bid.

$500 Raised in Two Weeks

The Dannika White Fund is so pleased to announce that with your help it has raised nearly $500 in two weeks! Coffee Creations in the Cobblestone Plaza (best coffee in the city!) http://www.myspace.com/coffeecreations, Discount Groceries Scratch and Dent (on SR 16) http://discountgroceriesandmore.com/, and Robert’s Feed (on Master’s Drive) http://tinyurl.com/285as9z have generously allowed us to place collection containers in their businesses. Please help us thank them by patronizing their businesses.

The Dannika White Fund Ebay Store has also had a successful launch. We have lovely collectables, art, clothing, and every day items that have been donated for the Ebay store. We are uploading new items on there every day, so please stop by frequently to see what’s new. http://stores.ebay.com/Dannika-White-Fund

Our Modest Needs account has reached 3% of its goal and we have high hopes that between direct donations to this account http://tinyurl.com/2afj2gg and the donations collected through the Dannika White Fund Putnam Bank account (http://www.paypal.com/ to dannikawhitefund@gmail.com), we will meet our goal. We have about 45 days to reach our goal, so time is of the essence!

And soon we will have a huge announcement about our upcoming community fundraiser. We are planning an event that will be a fun for all while raising money for Dannika’s oral surgeries. We are very excited about it and can’t wait to make the announcement. As soon as all the Ts are crossed and Is are dotted, we’ll send out the announcement through this blog and many media outlets.

Thank you all again for your unfailing support,

The Dannika White Fund

Charity Auction Going On Now

The Dannika White Fund has opened an auction to raise money toward Dannika's surgeries. The first item up on the block is a rare, French crystal Baccarat bull. The bull is a true collectors item and it is in pristine condition. Check it out here. http://tinyurl.com/2ex2zhb

And let the bidding begin!

The Dannika White Fund

Have you ever had that nightmare where all of your teeth start crumbling and falling out of your mouth? That horror is a reality for Dannika White. Dannika was born with the genetic disorder, Amelogensis Imperfecta (AI). AI causes abnormal enamel formation, and can have varying degrees of affect on those afflicted with it. Unfortunately Dannika has a very severe form of this disorder. She has had 12 surgeries since her infancy, simply to maintain a low level of oral function. These oral surgeries and dentistry are no longer maintaining her fragile teeth. Her teeth are cracking and breaking into shards. They have incurred dangerous infections that threaten her life. She can longer chew food, and is in constant, debilitating pain.

Dannika needs oral surgery immediately. She needs to have all of her teeth removed, her infections treated, her bones seeded to prevent collapse, and dentures implanted. Because amelogenesis imperfecta is such a rare genetic disorder, very few oral surgeons have experience in treating it. Dannika has found an experienced oral surgeon, Dr. Gregory Oxford, in St. Augustine, who has developed a treatment plan for her. Though Dr. Oxford has generously discounted his work, the first phase of the treatment has a cost of nearly $7,000.

Dannika is a high school student. She does not qualify for health insurance, Medicaid is not accepted by the Oxford Dental Group, and she has been turned down for lines of credit. She is in desperate need of these surgeries, but has no way to pay for it. Family and friends have organized the Dannika White Fund to help her raise the money she needs to get started. Donations to the fund are gratefully accepted at all Putnam State Bank locations, the Paypal Donate button to the right of this post, as well as through the http://www.modestneeds.org/ application ID #150838. The Fund is also raising money through its auctions at its Ebay Store, http://tinyurl.com/2ex2zhb .

URGENT REQUEST -- HELP NEEDED

Hello All,

I am writing on behalf of my dear friend, Kaurie, because she is in desperate need of your generosity. Her daughter has Amelio Genesis Imperfecta. This is a genetic disorder that caused her teeth to form without enamel. Her teeth are crumbling which has triggered a life-threatening and incredibly painful infection. She needs immediate oral surgery to remove all but six of her teeth, the bone prepped for preservation, and eventually dentures. This will cost $7,000, which is far more than Kaurie has been able to save. Kaurie has applied for and been denied for credit to pay for this operation, so her last resort is a grant from ModestNeeds.org.

Modest Needs is a non-profit organization that takes in donations and uses the funds to provide grants for people in need. Kaurie’s grant request has been accepted by Modest Needs, but it still requires funding from people like us. When you make a tax-refundable donation to Modest Needs, your account is credited with points (1 point per dollar donated) and you can apply those points to any grant request in their network. Kaurie needs 6,598 points to receive her grant for her daughter’s surgery.

Any contribution is gratefully received. Kaurie’s daughter needs this surgery as soon as possible. If you can make a small donation to this cause, please review Kaurie’s request here Application 150838. After registering with Modest Needs you can make a tax-deductable donation to the organization and the corresponding points will be allocated to your Modest Needs account. Please then apply these points to application #150838.

Kaurie, her daughter, and I thank you in advance for your generosity. Your donations will go directly to saving a young woman’s life and giving her an opportunity to live her first pain-free days in nearly a decade.

Thank you again,
Erin

PS: Please forward this request to as many people as possible. The more who can help, the faster Kaurie's daughter can get her opperations.

Free Speech Needs Your Help

There is a movement to reform England's draconian Libel Laws, but they need your help. The Libel Reform Campaign is collecting signatures for a petition to parliament. Currently the laws require the writer or speaker to carry the burden of proof of malicious intent instead of the accuser. This means that anyone who posts their work in England OR ON THE INTERNET can be sued for libel in England's courts and will have to pay thousands, sometimes millions of pounds to defend themselves.* This creates an atmosphere of fear. Reporters, bloggers, even essayist must consider the fact that they could be sued into poverty at any moment if they anger the wrong person or group with their work. Please take a moment to sign this petition and protect Free Speech http://www.libelreform.org/

*This has happened to Investigative Science Reporter, Simon Singh. To learn more about his story go to: http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/340 & http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/333/ &

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/14/simon-singh-chiropractors-appeal