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| This is Raelyn. Can you help me help her hear? |
Every now and then I get a brilliant idea. I'll be honest. It doesn't happen all that often, so it's worth paying close attention when it does happen. This morning was one of those moments when my light bulb came on and I got an idea so brilliant that I haven't been able to sit still since. I'm bound and determined to make this come to fruition.
Liam has a little girl in his class that is kind of his bestie. She's a tiny little thing full of spunk and spirit. She tells him where to go and how to get there and he actually listens. They love to play and giggle together. They find ways to keep their teacher on her toes all the time. My favorite is watching them hug each other every time they get together. For as little as they are, they have a sweet friendship like no other. This little girl is truly a treasure to Liam and I, for one, think she is about the CUTEST thing on two feet.
His little friend has always worn hearing aids. Her mom is a pro at making sure her cute little purple aids always have color coordinated ear molds that are about as girly as possible. Shortly before school let out last spring, the unthinkable happened. She lost more hearing. A lot more hearing. Having been there and done that, I know how heartbreaking that is for a parent to watch and it was no different for her family than it was for mine. The only resource left for her is a cochlear implant. This seems nice and easy and her sweet parents finally made the difficult decision to implant her and then the worst case scenario happened: their insurance doesn't cover implants because they're "cosmetic".
This is where my brilliant idea comes in. This situation has been weighing on my mind for a while because I know what it's like to want desperately to give your child something she NEEDS, but you can't because money stands in the way. I was in the shower this morning when the answer finally came to me. Her mom is a hair dresser, and a very good one at that. In my mind, I can see this amazing event that I'm going to call "Shearing for Hearing". She is going to get as many of her hair dressing friends as she can, and I'm going to work on getting some more on top of that. I'm talking I want an ARMY of hair stylists to be on hand for the loooooong line of hairy people needing to be cleaned up.
My plan is to offer haircuts for $10 donations per head. Of course, customers can donate more (far more) if they'd like. I'm looking at an outside venue like possibly the parking lot of our HOA clubhouse. (We're waiting on the trustees to approve it and then we can move forward.) We'll only offer cuts and no styling or coloring this time. While people wait, we'll have a clown that does balloon animals, hopefully a bounce house (I'm looking for someone to donate one or tell me how to find a fairly cheap rental), and a dunking booth. Since our clubhouse is full of residents who have children who all go to the same school, my plan is to beg and plead with the school principal, music teacher, maybe even the school nurses, and the two most popular 5th grade teachers ever to come sit in the booth. Who doesn't want to soak their favorite educators, right?
The timing couldn't be better. School starts here the 15th of August, so August 11th is the Saturday we're looking at. I know I like my kids to look good just before school starts and $10 each is a great bargain. What could be better?!?!?
I want to go a step further with this. I want to create The Baby Ears Foundation and raise funds to give to other families like this one who just need some help to get their kids the hearing they so deserve. Batteries, warranty renewals, repairs, hearing tests, etc. all add up and are often not covered by insurance. If I have my way, no child will ever go without hearing due to their parents being unable to afford it. It's a long term goal, but I WILL see it through. Mark my words.
In the meantime, I need to get my wheels turning for this first event. I need help.
1. Who knows about donations and tax laws? Do I need to do something special? Can the hair dressers collect the fees and then just gift it to the family or do I have to get some sort of permission? HELP!!
2. A bounce house. I REALLY need one cheap. Anyone know where to start on that one?
3. I need MORE MORE MORE stylists. Badly. Please? It's a great cause.
4. Ideas and things I should know. Do I take only cash so there are no bounced checks or do I just take the risk? What do I need to know?
Okay, readers. I know you're all out there. Help me help someone else.
A couple years ago I attended a fundraiser at the TC Clubhouse for a neighborhood boy with cancer. They held a big auction that raised a substantial amount of money. (I want to say $20k, but I do not know for sure.) Auction items included signed sports gear from STL professional athletes, local business services, etc. I think you could coordinate something similar. You could also (or instead) host an online auction doing the same thing.
ReplyDeleteHow did they get the items for the auction? I would LOVE to do an annual auction of some sort for causes like this.
DeleteDonations for auction items.....Simply ask. Businesses donate. The biggest issue you will run into is that places like Walmart and those type stores are looking for a tax write-off when they donate. I am not saying you won't get anything from places like that, but don't be disappointed if you don't. For this short of notice, try hitting up restraunts for meal donations, golf courses for a round of golf, bed and breakfasts for a free night, cinema's for movie passes, ect.
DeleteAs for the tax write off, to be able to deduct the donation, the donor must give to a non-profit agency. Even if you give them a receipt, it won't be legally tax deductable unless you have a tax ID number. Those cost money and take time for the IRS approval. That is a long term thing that cannot be done before August 11.
We actually will have a tax ID number for write-offs if people really want it because we'll fall under the Olive Osmond Perpetual Hearing Fund. It's more work for us, but we can provide that to businesses that need it.
DeleteAnswer in order:
ReplyDelete1. Dependant on the state this will occur. I recommend calling local charities and banks. They will probably be able to advise best from personal experience.
2. For funding the bounce house you might try a raffle. Ask your school for permission and see if you cannot send fliers home with the children in regards to this.
3. Check your local cosmetology schools. They will have the greatest network to other hair stylists.
4. I trained for 8 months without certification; but was "gifted" the cost of the session. I filed an additional form for tax season and reported my income.
I recommend cash. And hand out reciepts.. If you are planning on making an llc for this charity; Refunds can be opted to those who have the proper paper work to present when filing taxes.
Market this; contact your local news team. See if you cannot have them cover your story. And additionally ask if they would be willing to cover the actual day that it occured.
Goto your local Retailers; they generally have a budget for supplementing items (food, snacks, water). See if they are willing to contribute and/or post fliers for this.
Later for your goals;
Keep a website. (hire local students (hs even) they will work for less and have many of the skills/knowledge) college students have.
Talk about to those you meet. Networking is the key to business. Talk about it.. alot share your story..
Marketing:
Have the kids express why these implants help them.. and load a video to facebook.. let people hear and see why it is important.
Good luck
and if there is anything i can do to help. I would be more than glad to assist.. This is an impressive endeavor you are attempting to attain..and i would like to be apart ofit.
Thanks for your tips, Jason! Those will come in really handy. I hadn't thought of a lot of them. We had heard about contacting a styling school and getting their senior students, but I bet they'd also be able to let us know about some recent graduates who'd like to drum up more business. If this event is well attended, they could pass out their business cards and get noticed.
DeleteI will contact my stylist Julia as well as another hockey mom who cuts hair. Try All the Fun Inflatables at 240-4098. We have used them a few times and they are reasonable. Plus for a good cause they may be even more so. They have bounce houses and a. Dunk tank.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gracie! Be sure to let any stylists who are interested know that they can bring their business cards and hand them out. Hopefully we'll get a great crowd and they'll get lots of free advertising.
DeleteWhile I think that the fundraiser is an EXCELLENT idea, the fact that insurance denied the CI on the basis of "cosmetic" makes me think that whomever denied it believes that they are hearing aids. The family needs to appeal the decision and point out that CIs are NOT hearing aids, they are a prosthetic device, and in most places it is illegal to flatly deny prostheses (the Let Them Hear foundation has made sure of that!)Make sure that they ask for a case worker to oversee their case, that way they only have one person to deal with. They should also go ahead and schedule a surgery date, that way they can ask for an expedited appeal process, since they are on a "deadline". Make sure they have the surgeon write a letter of medical necessity stating that a cochlear implant is the ONLY treatment for her level of hearing loss. They can also submit letters showing that CI users cost society less money, and that implants are cost effective.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely contact the newspaper and the local news media - they could do a story and even state that an event is planned for a specific date and donations of a bounce house, cosmetologists' time, and other items would be appreciated. This is a fabulous idea (and it makes me physically sick that their insurance company won't cover implants)!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteMy name is John and I have a quick question about your blog! Could you please email me?
Thank you,
John
As a parent of a profoundly deaf child and member of Moog, I totally support your plans and think you are a very good friend for helping them set up this awesome fundraiser! Nate, Jeanette and Raelyn deserve all the best and I want to help with whatever I can so please e mail me with any thing I can do! Ashleigh_grubb@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteDo you know Gift of Hearing Foundation at www.giftofhearingfoundation.org? This non-profit organization provides funding to recipients who cannot get insurance coverage for their cochlear implants. Please do feel free to contact me (cochlear[at]rachelchaikof[dot]com) if you have any specific questions relating to the organization because I have close ties with the founder and board members.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I would LOVE to hear more about this. I will be e-mailing you this evening. THANK YOU!!!
DeleteI came across your blog from Emily & Sophie. What an amazing person you are! I am not american but my husband is & we moved their when we had our first son. We are now back in Australia & thankful because my daughter was born with a hearing loss. If we where in America we would be stone cold broke. Insurance there is appauling & it breaks my heart to hear this sweet little girl cannot get the implant that she needs. I wish i could send our health system over to you so that she wouldnt have to pay anything.
ReplyDeleteInstead i would be happy to donate if you let me know how? do u have a pp account?
Also im currently organizing a fundraiser for my daughters deaf school as well. Some suggestions i can offer are Raffles, door prizes, bake sales, face painting a bbq (just basics & get a local butcher to donate meats, definately contact media, every little bit helps! My best friend is also a couponer (http://licouponqueen.com/) I have passed this info on to her to see if she can help in anyway. All the best with it & i will definately keep up with this xx
We are doing the raffle, face painting, clown/entertainment, and the big one is the dunking booth. We have local school administration and teachers willing to sit in the dunking booth and let kids dunk them, so I think that will be really big. Everything right now hinges on our venue, so I'm praying we get the one we want. We should know today.
DeleteOh! And I don't think you need a paypal account in order to donate. I never had a paypal when I would make purchases on e-bay and it worked fine. Let us know if it doesn't work for you and we will find another way.
DeleteIm the manager at a furniture company and we do lots of business with charities. I have passed your blog to all my FB friends and would love to help in anyway possible. We have many connections in the STL area. I will do some research for you tomorrow and hopefully I can help!
ReplyDeleteHolly@mcguirefurniturerental.com
Holly, thank you so very much!! I will e-mail you with my contact information which you may freely pass on to anyone you think would benefit from knowing. I will gladly drive just about anywhere to pick up raffle donations, pass out fliers, or talk to stylists willing to help us out.
ReplyDeleteI have some tips and suggestions if you would like to email me. I tried to post here, but there are character limits. Please email me at: taperat@hotmail.com.
ReplyDeleteI've nominated both of your blogs for an award :D
ReplyDeleteHi, my name is Jen Dorner, I am friends with Allan Large, Jeanette's brother, I posted the link on my page, and a friend of mine wanted me to pass on her information. She owns her own salon and is interested in helping. She asked for someone to email her. Nikki Silipo-Ehrhardt: ragehairstudio@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Hope this helps!