Understandably, there is something bittersweet about the events every year. In one regard, we celebrate the number of years we have held the event, raising more money each time. On the other hand, each year is another year that ALS has gone uncured, that Dave has suffered from this terrible illness, that all ALS families mourn their losses. 

If you haven’t seen the video posted on the AMND Facebook page of the committee members finding out how much money they raised, take some time to watch it. It is pure joy. One week ago, we felt remarkable success. Today, we feel staggering defeat. On Friday night, we found out that Dave was suffering from pneumonia in the hospital. It is with the utmost sadness that I tell you he will be entering end-of-life care tomorrow. I was lucky enough to get a chance to say goodbye today. But for those of you who didn’t, I will tell you that Dave’s teary eyes expressed two things: love and gratitude.  I can say nothing more than what I told him today:  he changed my whole life. Not only did he inspire me to pursue science and fundraising, he changed the way I view the world and every interaction I have.  In his speech to the graduating class of Northport High School in 2005, Dave spoke about the lessons he learned from his father’s death. He said, “I learned that life can be short. I learned that in the end, family and friends are all that matter. I learned that I should cherish every day as if it were my last. I learned that I should do the things that make me happy now. I learned that I should view the world and my life as a gift. I learned that I shouldn’t waste time being sad and grumpy.”

I speak for everyone who has ever been touched by Dave when I say that we learned all that and so much more from him. His strength and grace in the face of adversity will remain unmatched. How many people can truly say that hundreds of students, friends, colleagues and family members call them their hero? Dave can. He has touched us all in a different way. But I know I can speak for everyone when I say we will take his lessons and his wisdom with us wherever we go. We will never stop fighting this disease, and most of all, we will never forget his smile.

I love you bunches, Dave. Rock on.

Saturday, December 10th
6:00 PM—8:00 PM

 Join us for our Holiday event, where students will partake in 2 hours of fun, including ornament making, stories, and a few magical surprises! Please bring a new toy to benefit the Family Service League’s ‘Project Toy’ http://www.fslli.org/supporter/ProjectTOY.php 

To register…Please contact Bryan Horan at amndphilanthropycenter@gmail.com or bhoran@northport.k12.ny.us. For more information about AMND or the Philanthropy Center, please visit our website – www.amnd.org.

I think I can speak for all AMND alumni when I say AMND has prepared us to be adults a little better than any class, club, teacher or work experience ever could. As a professional in the non-profit world especially, I’m grateful for that. It’s an amazing thing to feel so accomplished at such a young age, and it’s something I will never take for granted.

While we’re on the topic of time flying, the event is around the corner! Could this really be number 8? I remember hearing about the first event over the loud speaker in high school. I can’t believe I am now not only removed from high school, but also from college. In an effort to keep heart palpitations to a minimum, Strasser put me in charge of the presentation last year. I’m really looking forward to that experience again. I’ve always enjoyed working under pressure, but having 550 eyes staring at a screen and microphone, waiting for the show to go off without a hitch is a whole different kind of pressure — the kind I live for! I’m really looking forward to the event this year and after my visit with Dave a few weeks ago, I know he is too. Providing a night out for ALS patients and caregivers is one of my favorite aspects of the event. Not only are we raising money for the cause, we are letting those afflicted with this awful disease put on a suit or a little lipstick and relax with 500 of their closest friends. It doesn’t get any better than that.

I hope to see you all there on January 12th! I’ll be the one in the corner of the ballroom dimming the lights.

A Midwinter Night’s Dream is pleased to be chosen this year as a participant in Americana Manhasset’s Champions for Charity® event. Help support CCI doing your holiday shopping from Thursday, December 1 through Saturday, December 3, over 70 participating Americana Manhasset and Wheatley Plaza stores will donate 25% of designated pre-tax purchases to the participating organization(s) of the customer’s choice.  Purchases are not automatically eligible; you must register for a complimentary CHAMPION CARD.

 IT’S EASY:  Simply designate A Midwinter Night’s Dream as your charity of choice and present your CHAMPION CARD when making purchases during the event.  25% will be automatically calculated and submitted to us.  Your Champion Card is not a credit card or used as any form of payment; your Champion Card simply allocates the charity you chose to support. Please be sure to allocate A Midwinter Night’s Dream as your charity of choice when registering and Champions for Charity will donate 25% of your pre-tax purchases to AMND.  It’s that easy.  

 IT’S SIMPLE TO REGISTER:     Click here to sign up today for your complimentary Champion Card at championsforcharity.org. Be sure to select A Midwinter Night’s Dream as your charity.

                       Or call direct at 800 818-6767

                       Or you may go in person to the Americana Manhasset’s Concierge Store

You must register for your Champion Card as you will need it at the time of purchase.  If you forget to bring your card, simply call or walk over to the Concierge and they will assist you.     Register to support A Midwinter Night’s Dream.

 PERSONAL SHOPPING: Americana Manhasset offers Concierge Service and complementary personal shopping to accommodate those who may need assistance or those who may not be in town and would like to pre select their purchases.

 ***All 2011 Champions for Charity® shoppers will be eligible to win a $1,000 Americana Manhasset GiftCard.***

 For more information about Champions for Charity®, visit championsforcharity.org ,call 800.818.6767, or visit Americana Manhasset’s Concierge Store.

  ]]> http://www.amnd.org/2011/11/01/upcoming-philanthropy-center-event-3/feed/ 0 http://www.amnd.org/2011/09/23/passion/ http://www.amnd.org/2011/09/23/passion/#comments Sat, 24 Sep 2011 03:38:54 +0000 sarahpattison http://www.amnd.org/?p=1397 Continue reading →]]> I’ve been thinking a lot about non-profits lately. There are over 1 million non-profit organizations in the US. 1,202,573 was the last reported number (that I can find with a quick Google search, at least). Just think about that number for a second. Remember trying to conceptualize Avogadro’s number in Chemistry in 10th grade? (For those of you less nerdy folk, it’s 6.02 x 1023 – particles in a mole, molecules in a mole, atoms in a mole…you get the idea). That’s the feeling I get when I consider 1,202,573 living, breathing, good-doing, non-profit organizations. Of course, spread out across the entire country, it’s not really that many. What makes the number unique is realizing that behind each one of those million and some odd organizations, there is a following of people passionate enough to devote their lives to the worthy cause. Now that’s a lot of passion.

Besides the invaluable real-world preparation AMND gave me, the thing I learned most about was passion. Whenever I see Dave Deutsch or Mr. P, or any patient for that matter, it feels more tangible than ever. Of course we’d all like to say that we don’t let petty things bog us down in our daily lives. Let’s not kid ourselves – a spilt cup of coffee on a new pair of pants? A stressful school day or work meeting? Someone we love giving us a look of disappointment? It’s all enough to throw us over the edge. But then there are times when I think about Dave’s attitude toward life and Mr. P’s never-ending words of wisdom. Some might say they are the ones with the real troubles, but I’m pretty convinced they don’t think so. I think we all have a lot to learn about the healing nature of passion. Every day that Dave and Mr. P wake up, I imagine the passion to find a cure for ALS is just bursting from inside them. And with passion, the little things that stress us out just don’t seem worth our energy anymore.

A lot of people ask me what is the best piece of advice I’ve ever received. That’s an easy one. About 3 years ago, Dave and I were talking online. Before he signed off, he wrote “Whatever it is, do it for Dave.” I have a lot left to learn, but I think those 1,202,573 organizations are on to something. I think passion might be the cure to everything.

AMND Philanthropy Center students learn about dinosaur digs and altruism from SBU paleontologist Dr. David Krause

On Saturday, August 20^th, the AMND Philanthropy Center hosted an event titled, Roar! Back to School with Dinosaurs. Twenty-two students in grades K-5 took part in a two-hour exploration of both fossils and philanthropy. Stony Brook University professor/ paleontologist, Dr. David Krause, gave an entertaining and informative presentation that touched on his work with fossils, especially dinosaurs, and his philanthropic effort to improve the lives of children living in Madagascar. Following the lecture, the students worked collaboratively on a model T-Rex fossil dig and reconstruction. Finally, Philanthropy Center director, Bryan Horan, read the book, How Dinosaurs Go To School, and highlighted how the school supply items donated by the students and their families will benefit the Family Service League “Backpacks for Back to School” supply drive. The 164 school supply items collected will help many children in our neighboring communities get ready for the new school year.

For more information about Dr. David Krause and his remarkable non-profit organization, Madagascar Ankizy Fund please visit: www.anat.stonybrook.edu/dkrause/, and www.ankizy.org.

Regardless, here I am in the post-college real world, reflecting on how I got here, and all I can think about is AMND. Like I said in my previous post, I wasn’t willing to let go of AMND in college. I brought it with me everywhere I went and I quickly became “the ALS girl” on campus. Even then, I didn’t realize what a huge impact AMND had made on my life and my career goals. I went to school for Chemistry with the intention of becoming a teacher. As I started my own club, volunteered at a non-profit nearby, and began work as an administrative assistant for a non-profit consulting firm, I knew that my future goals were shifting a little.

It wasn’t until I actually walked across the stage to receive my diploma that I realized the extent to which they had changed. With the “real world” no longer looming and now an actuality, I faced a dilemma. I had spent the year mocking my friends who spent hours and days on cover letters and interviews, confident that I would be attending Graduate school in the fall. Now I faced the banal tasks they had been complaining about all year as I looked for a job in the non-profit field. I’m lucky that it didn’t take long for me to find my dream job. I’m currently in my third week as Field Coordinator at the Huntington’s Disease Society of America and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s incredible to think that something I considered a club in high school changed my entire life. I have no doubt that I would be happy as a teacher, and that may very well still be in my future, but the feeling I get from working at a non-profit cannot be matched. As I reflect on the path that brought me here and watch as many other AMND alumni pursue careers in the non-profit sector, it seems clear that there is no coincidence we ended up here. AMND breeds do –gooders, and I’m proud to be one of them.  As Douglas Adams once said, “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.” Stay tuned!