Martino Madness: Matteo's Dream Fund Benefit

We held our very first fund raising event for Matteo's Dream Fund on Saturday, August 6th in the Bay Area. The event consisted of a dinner and silent auction. Our goals were to have 75 people attend and raise $3,000.00 for Packard Children's Hospital. Packard Children's is where Matteo was born and also had tubes put in his ears. It consistently ranks as one of our nations top children's hospitals, is a home away from home for many sick and terminally ill children, and it has also been my employer since March 2005.

We are thrilled to announce the event was an absolute SUCCESS!! Our attendance hit 78, and together we raised a total of $4,495.00 for Packard Children's. After reviewing the many options for how to direct our funds to be used, we finally decided to have our donation result in something concrete... something the kids will visually see and be able make use of. Thanks to all the wonderful friends and family who attended our benefit, the in-hospital school will receive 2 Mac laptops, 1 projector, 1 triple beam scale, 2 digital scales and 3 microscopes. In addition, the Forever Young Zone & Dialysis Center will receive $550 for new toys, art supplies and books.

While I would do anything to turn back the clock and change everything that happened on July 4th 2009, I know i can't. I would much rather spend my time holding and playing with my sweet Matteo... but that isn't even an option. I guess in a way it sort of helps the hurt to know that Matteo's name and memory live on, and that because of him, so many people came together to do something really good to benefit a lot of kids who are sick and terminally ill. And, coming from a parent who lost a child... I know that donations like this also probably put big smiles on the parents of those children as well.

We have so many people to thank for the success of this event. Kathleen Hart was my partner in crime from the very start to the very end, providing constant assistance and advice. Marisa Desai and Todd Kleinheinz helped procure a number of fantastic silent auction items, and also made their own donations. Also assisting with procuring silent auction items were Julie & Ed Grabscheid, and Jody Rich. We were also so incredibly lucky to benefit from the many businesses and individuals who so generously donated everything from game tickets, to hula hoop lessons, wine, gift certificates, jewelry and art.

We are SO THANKFUL to everyone who joined us for this event... especially in what is undoubtedly a very difficult time in our nation's economic history. So - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

In addition to the above mentioned successes, we walked away with one HUGE WIN. I am thrilled to announce that Matteo's Dream Fund is in the process of becoming an official 501(c)(3) non-profit! HUGE THANKS to Julie Peterson for starting the discussion and Kate Austin for taking on and managing this pro-bono work with the help of some of her colleagues at Oppenheimer & Associates. Once again, we are acutely aware of how lucky we are to have built friendships with such wonderful people, and also how lucky we are to still have them in our lives supporting us and being so generous of their time.

In the next month or two, I will have more information about how everyone who donated items to our silent auction and/or attended our event can obtain the information needed to write-off your contributions to Matteo's Dream Fund. Please stay tuned!

Also, as a constant fund raiser for Matteo's Dream Fund, we are selling apparel! Our current inventory includes ladies t-shirts (very soft cotton, fitted... LOVE & wear mine all the time!), uni-sex t-shirts (Dan is modeling these), and fleece jackets (super-soft & thick!).

For each item sold, $10 will go directly to Matteo's Dream Fund. If you are interested in purchasing anything - please drop me a note so I can assist you: jodimartino2002@yahoo.com. Prices are as follows:
White Unisex T-shirt (Hanes Beefy T)
M, L & XL = $16.00
XXL = $17.00