Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk

So I attended Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk in San Diego on Sunday with my bracelets, and arrived back home with 140 out of 300. I set out my bin of bracelets at 9AM and had to leave a little after noon, but When I left, about 100 had been taken, and I left extra to last the rest of the day. The woman who was running the Epilepsy Foundation booth said as it got later, more people were taking them. So I hope they all found good homes! If not, I'm guessing the Epilepsy Foundation took them back with them. She realizes how much it costs to buy silicone bracelets, so I'm pretty sure she wouldn't just discard them.

My only problem this year was that my supplier screwed up my order! I always get glow-in-the-dark bracelets but these don't glow. :-( I also ordered 200 medium and 100 small (and wanted to order large next time around... I had to find a way to get the cost down) and got 200 small and 100 medium!! Small are the least popular, even though I want them to fit on children's wrists, you know? I've been trying to contact the company (they're in China...) for the past week to no avail.... looks like I will be trying out new suppliers. :-/

This year people had some tent/booths set up, which I'm going to try to do next year. I think that will be even better than having my little set up at the info table. I'll have my own booth for the bracelets and information! I don't know if it costs anything, but I say let's make it a goal! Perhaps I could take donations for the bracelets, as well. Other people were selling books, etc. I'm excited about it.

All in all, it was a successful day! I'd like to say hello to anyone who might be coming to the site for the first time because you picked up a bracelet at the walk. Hello! Welcome! I'm glad you're here. :-)

Fundraising! Part 2

So last night I got Jennifer Love Hewitt's new book, stood in line for an hour or so, and got it signed. I'm going to be listing it on eBay this weekend to raise funds for the epilepsy bracelets, which I need to order veryvery soon! I would list the book this morning, but I'm rushing to get ready for a short film screening in Burbank (otherwise known as Far Far Away) today. I wasn't nominated for anything, but it should be fun anyway!

Back on topic! If you want to know about the book, The Day I Shot Cupid, this is it. I haven't read it, but intend to read a bit before I ship it off to the highest bidder.

I have to say, I learned a lot about book signings last night. I mean, someday I want to finish the book I started on losing a step-child (there are no books out there! Does anyone want to collaborate with me?), and I'm sure book signings come with the territory. Last night worked like a well-oiled machine. In a bad way. It was like going down a slip-n-slide. The line moved quickly, she signed the book and the next person was sent right over. I think the most disappointing thing was that we weren't allowed to get photos with her (would have been soooo great to post on Facebook for all the people who keep telling me "you know who you look like...?" I even got it at the birthday party I attended right after the book signing). I've never been to another book signing, but I thought it was a time where you actually got a little time with the author. The only book I have signed is Audrey Hepburn Treasures, and that's because I know one of the authors. Anyway... it was a bit of a let-down but I did get the book signed, and I'm hoping to get a little money from it to pay for more bracelets. The walk is coming up in a month, and I'd hate to miss it.

In other news, I'm going back to Paris this summer (with 2 weeks in Hungary with Habitat for Humanity in July) and gearing up to shoot a little web series. I know that has nothing to do with anything here, but I'm excited about it and want everyone to check it out when it's done!

Stay tuned for my next post! I'll have a link to the auction!

Urgent Request for Donations!

As you might know, every 6 months there is an epilepsy awareness walk in Southern California. Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk takes place this year on April 25, in San Diego, and I intend to be there once again with my bracelets. The problem is - I only have about 50 left! I want to order 300 more - to pass out about 200 and keep 100 on hand at home. But for 300 bracelets it will cost $456. At the moment I'm trying to save money for my summer trip, and the Tax Man, so this is a large chunk of change. I have to pay by the end of this week to guarantee I get the bracelets on time. If I can't raise a little extra money to pay for this, I might not be able to hand out bracelets this year. If you would like to help me in my mission to raise awareness of the dangers of drowning, please go to the page below and click on "buy now" to donate. Please make a note in your Paypal payment that it is a donation towards bracelets for the event. For your donation I will send you a bracelet, as well, to say "thank you."

Donate!

The bracelets are in!

More epilepsy news! I just got the new shipment of "Epilepsy isn't waterproof" bracelets, so now I have them in small, medium, and large. I'm going to give a little over half away at the next epilepsy walk on April 19th, but I'm setting some aside for website orders. So.... put your order in now before I run out again! lol.

Correction - and it's a good thing!

So someone corrected me! It's a Team Captain meeting on March 28, not the actual event. Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk is actually on April 19, which is great for two reasons! One, I think I will be able to make it. Two, it's close to the day Marieke left us, April 30. I like to plan special Marieke-centered events around this time of year, especially if they can raise awareness to epilepsy-related deaths. So this is good news.

I've had a couple orders for bracelets recently, and a donation towards a new batch, so I went ahead and ordered 100 small, 100 medium, and 100 large, and I'll give away 50 of each at the walk. I'm looking forward to it!

It's that time again...

So I just realized that another epilepsy walk is coming up at the end of the month. Unfortunately, on the same day as my piano recital, but I'm sure I will figure it all out. You know my goal... hand out "epilepsy isn't waterproof" bracelets at the walks, twice a year. I just thought this one was in May, not March! The last one was... I think. Anyway, here's the problem. I have about 50 bracelets left (I just sold 22 to someone in Thailand!). Not enough to give out, at least if I want to have any left for online orders, to off-set the cost. Besides, I want to give out at LEAST 100. So I contacted my supplier. Unfortunately, because I have much less spare change this year than I did last year, the cost seems out of my reach. $430 to get 100 small, 100 medium, and 100 large. I'm starting to ask family members if they can pitch in, but no one seems to have anything to spare, so far. So, because this cause is important to me, and I'd really like to have some bracelets to give out, I thought I'd just put it out there - if you think this cause is important, and you would like to lend a hand in educating parents and children about the dangers of water to those with epilepsy, please consider donating to the "bracelet fund." You can email me first, or just donate through the link below. The good thing about helping out Ozville is that you know it's going straight to benefit the people with epilepsy. Nothing has to go to "administration" or other costs associated with a big foundation. It's just me, trying to spread the word. Let's get bracelets on those little wrists!

You know you want one....

So this past weekend, I participated in Sharon's Ride.Run.Walk. and distributed about 70 'epilepsy isn't waterproof' bracelets. They were quite a hit! I left most of them at the info table, on top of a photo of Marieke with the dates of her birth and death, and they went SOFAST! I still have 15 to sell through the website, since that is to help me cover the costs of buying more. Which I will have to do very soon! But if you would like one of your own, to support our mission, please click here.

In other news, I've moved into my new place, and am preparing to green it. I will document this process, but first I have to unpack stuff so it's not such a mess!