Will you give up a latte for me?

More specifically, will you give up $5 to help me support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS)? I am 11 days away from the big race, my second marathon. I’ve been training for six months with Team In Training and it’s truly been an inspiring and life changing experience. I’ve met wonderful people along the way, and, sadly, I’ve realized just how many people are affected in one way or another by blood cancers.

My great aunt, Aunt Bev, who was the closest thing I had to a grandmother for many years, succumbed to Leukemia 6 years ago. She was always a fighter, always an optimist, and always a planner. I have to laugh remembering her specific orders for certain mums to be planted in the flower boxes at her house before she passed. Knowing that people would be over, she hated to think the flower beds would look neglected or out of season. She also insisted on a margarita machine at the house after her funeral. She was my kind of lady, and I didn’t even realize it so much at the time.

When we began training we had the opportunity to meet Luke, our honored hero. He’s nearly 3 now and has been in remission for a while, but I shudder to think all he has been through in his short life so far, and it makes me incredibly grateful for the health of my loved ones, especially Kendall.

And, just last week I met another wonderful man who lost his partner, the love of his life, to Lymphoma this spring. I just can not imagine going through something like that, and it breaks my heart.  A Light the Night team was created in his memory, and last month they raised over $10,000 for the LLS. It’s really such an inspiration to me.

My goal is $2,900, and I’m just about $600 short of reaching that. I’m hoping this final fundraiser will put me over the top, but I need your help. If I can get just 120 readers to donate $5, I’ll be there!

There’s more in this for you, though, than just the warm fuzzy feeling you’ll get from it. I’ve managed to get some last minute product donations from some awesome companies and will be giving them away to random donors when I get back from my marathon on November 18th (that’s 2 weeks from today). Every person who donates $5 or more will automatically be entered to win one of the prizes.

Here’s a list of my awesome sponsors and what you could win (I am still in the process of contacting companies and will hopefully be adding to this. If you’d like to donate a prize, please send me an email – jlll at babyrabies dot com- and let me know!):

SunshineDiapers.com – $50 store credit – one winner
Bloom Maternity– Skip Hop Pronto- one winner
BearHands– BearHands from the Buddy collection- one winner
Hugs and Kisses Designs– burp cloth, bib and paci clip set- one winner
Blogs By Mandy– digital invitation design – one winner
Blogs By Mandy– blog makeover – one winner
Ultimate Cupcake – one dozen gourmet cupcakes- two winners
Boogie Wipes– one 30 count pack of Boogie Wipes – three winners
NippleSeal– one NippleSeal – two winners
Happy Baby Foods– one Happy Baby prize pack – one winner
Digi Time Capsule– one My Pregnancy Digi Time Capsule- one winner
Three Peas Co. – (TBD)

Added 11/9

ShutterBuddy – One Shutter Buddy – one winner
Lassig– one Lassig Messenger Bag – one winner
Maureen Lipinski– one autographed author’s copy of A Bump In The Road- two winners
Sincerely Silver– Navajo Bear silver pendant and necklace- one winner

Added 11/12

Hot Mama Designs Jewelry – $100 credit toward purchase of your choice – one winner

Hopefully I’ll have more to add to this list the next couple weeks!

So here’s how it works, just click HERE to make a donation. It will ask you for your full name and address, but none of that info will be shared publicly. I will, of course, need access to that to arrange for a prize to be shipped to you if you win.

Starting today, anyone who makes a donation will be eligible to win, but the donation must be for at least $5. If you’d like to have multiple chances to win, please make multiple donations of at least $5. If you just want to donate more than $5, go for it!

Unfortunately, I am only able to select winners from the US and Canada (and some prizes only ship to the US). If you are from another country and would still like to donate, I would be so grateful, but please know that we won’t be able to ship any of the prizes to you.

I know that with all of your help I can get to my goal, maybe even smash it. I really appreciate the donations, and please help me spread the word. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a fabulous organization doing a tremendous amount of good. Thank you so much!! GO TEAM!

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