posted on April 7, 2001 10:03:00 AM new
Over on Epier there is an ongoing auction for a teddy bear and all the procedes will be going to the American Cancer Society. I did not start this a seller by the name of connie*s--closet has this auction up for sale
http://www.epier.com/BiddingForm.asp?131396
This is definitly not a scam as many of us that have just plain outright donated to this have already recieved reciepts from the American Cancer society for our donations. If you do not wish to actually bid on the bear itself you can make a donation by check money order or paypal to connie. So far we have raised over $350.00 dollars please give if even you can only afford $5.00 it all helps. There is not one of us who have not been touched by this disease. Last year my dad and my grandfather passed away from this terrible disease. We can make a difference, Thanks.
Vince aka bladepusher at Epier
[ edited by vinnysknives on Apr 7, 2001 10:03 AM ]
posted on April 7, 2001 11:43:27 AM new
Let`s also do our part to help spread the word about cancer prevention. For
all you women out there, tell your Moms, daughters, sisters, girlfriends how
very important it is to schedule yearly pap and pelvic exams, do monthly
breast self examinations, and regularly schedule mammograms (yes, they are
somewhat uncomfortable but so important for early detection!). For all you
men out there, tell your Dads, sons, brothers, other male friends how very
important it is to regularly schedule testicular and prostate exams and do
monthly breast self examinations (yes, men do get breast cancer - this
disease does not discriminate between the sexes!). Also important are
colorectal exams, especially for those of us (myself included) who have a
family history of colorectal cancer. Spread the word about prevention - you
literally could be saving someone`s life!
posted on April 7, 2001 11:46:46 AM new
This message was posted by my friend Connie on the ePier chat forum, and I wanted to be sure everyone got a chance to read it....
Hello Everyone,
My name is Connie Starr and Sally Hoffman is my friend. The point here is to raise awareness for early cancer detection and the fundraising efforts of
thousands (maybe millions) of people to find a cure for cancer. Cancer has
struck my family and friends many times. Me... well May 5th will be my 1
year anniversary of my last chemo treatment and July 21st will be the 1 year
anniversary of my last radiation treatment. I thank God everyday we have
come as far as we have in our research because only a few short years ago
myself and many of my loved ones would be dead. In American 1 in 3 women
will have cancer and HALF of all men will have cancer. Today, 50% of
Americans will survive their battle with cancer. But, there is still a long
way to go. And, that is why Sally, and many others have joined this online
crusade.
I sincerely understand your reluctance to blindly have faith in someone with
whom you have never met and send them money. But, I would like to point out
that everytime we win an auction we do just that. Is there really a
difference?
When I first started listing these bears for auction I only hoped to raise a
few dollars. But, now it has gone WAY beyond my wildest dreams. And, every
single person who has won the bear has asked me to keep the bear and try to
raise more funds. Yes, I am a little amazed at the faith and trust of the
people I have met since this all started. But, you have to admit that it is
a wonderful feeling to know there are so many kind and generous people in
our world. Yes, they have taken a leap of faith by sending donations to my
PayPal account or snail-mailing donations... but, isn`t that what it`s all
about... having faith in ourselves, our brothers and sisters and in those we
have entrusted to find a cure??
Again, I DO understand your reluctance and would be reluctant myself if
standing in your shoes (or sitting in your computer chair). But, PLEASE, if
you don`t do anything else today... go to www.cancer.org and make a
donation, contact your local American Cancer Society office and find out
what you can do, visit my auction (http://www.epier.com/BiddingForm.asp?131396) and place a bid or email me
at [email protected]) whatever you feel most comfortable with.
Who knows, maybe it will be your donation that finds a cure!!
Thank you all for everything you do! I am blessed to be a part of it
all. --Connie*
posted on April 7, 2001 11:47:42 AM new
I received the following email from a friend of mine and it seemed so
appropriate to our American Cancer Society fund raising cause that I had to
post it. And yes, I cried like a baby when reading it......
Special Delivery!
Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the Surgeon come out of the operating
room. She said: How is my little boy? Is he going to be OK, when can I see
him? The Surgeon said: I`m sorry, we did all we could.
Sally said, Why do little children get cancer, doesn`t GOD care any more?
GOD, where were you when my son needed you? The Surgeon said, One of the
nurses
will be out in a few minutes to let you spend time with your son`s remains
before it`s transported to the university. Sally asked that the nurse stay
with her while she said Good-bye to her son. Sally ran her fingers through
his thick red curly hair. The nurse said: Would you like a lock of his hair.
Sally nodded - yes. The nurse cut a lock of his hair and put it in a plastic
bag and handed it to Sally. Sally said: It was Jimmy`s idea to give his body
to the university for study. He said it might help somebody else, and that
is what he wanted. I said, No at first, but Jimmy said, Mom I won`t be
using it after I die, maybe it will help some other little boy to be able to
spend one more day with his mother. Sally said, My Jimmy had a heart of
Gold,
always thinking of someone else and always to help others if he could. Sally
walked out of the Children`s Hospital for the last time now after spending
most of the last 6 months there. She sat the bag with Jimmy`s things in it
on the seat beside of her in the car. The drive home was hard and it was
even harder to go into an empty house. She took the bag to Jimmy`s room and
started placing the model cars and things back in his room exactly where he
always kept them. She laid down across his bed and cried herself to sleep
holding his pillow. Sally woke up about midnight and laying beside of her on
the bed, was a letter folded up. She opened the letter, it said:
Dear Mom,
I know your going to miss me, but don`t think that I will ever forget you or
stop loving you because I`m not around to say I LOVE YOU. I`ll think of you
every day mom and I`ll love you even more each day. Some day we will see
each other again. If you want to adopt a little boy so you won`t be so
lonely, he can have my room and my old stuff to play with. If
you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn`t like the same things
as us boys do, so you will have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like.
Don`t be sad when you think about me, this is really a great place. Grandma
and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it
will take a long time to see everything here. The angels are so friendly, I
love to watch them fly. Jesus doesn`t look like any of the pictures I saw of
him, but I knew it was him as soon as I saw him. Jesus
took me to see GOD! And guess what mom? I got to sit on GOD`S knee and talk
to him like I was somebody important. I told GOD that I wanted to write you
a letter and tell you Good-bye and everything, but I knew that wasn`t
allowed. God handed me some paper and his own personal pen to write you this
letter with. I think Gabriel is the name of the angel that is going to
drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one
of the questions you asked him about-Where was he when I needed him? God
said,
"The same place he was when Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as
he always is with all his children.
Oh, by the way mom, nobody else can see what is written on this paper but
you. To everyone else, it looks like a blank piece of paper. I have to give
God his pen back now, he has some more names to write in
the Book Of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for Supper.
I`m sure the food will be great. I almost forgot to let you know - Now I
don`t
hurt anymore, the cancer is all gone. I`m glad because I couldn`t stand that
pain anymore and God couldn`t stand to see me suffer the pain either, so he
sent The Angel of Mercy to get me. The Angel said I was Special Delivery!
posted on April 7, 2001 12:23:54 PM new
Hello everyone,
I am "candlelady" on ePier and was the high bidder for Connie's Relay Cancer Bear, which is now relisted. I am so proud to have been a small part of Connie's efforts to raise funds to help find a cure for this killer disease, which hurts so many people, either directly...or via a friend or family member. I personally lost my Mother, Father and an Uncle to Cancer, and know firsthand how hideous the disease is. <P>
I received my tax deductible receipt shortly after my payment via PayPal to Connie. This is a genuine appeal from a wonderful Cancer survivor....and I applaud Connie and Sally, for their ongoing efforts to raise funds to help find a cure.<P>
If, in our lifetime, a cure is found (and I truly believe that it will)...how thankful we can all be for ladies like Connie and Sally who fought the good fight,<P>
Bless you both
posted on April 7, 2001 01:21:55 PM new
Thanks Candlelady for your post! I too have lost family members to this horrific disease - my maternal grandmother and aunt, along with countless friends of the family. My Dad is a two-time cancer survivor - his first bout with cancer was 14 years ago when he was diagnosed with colon cancer and in 1999 he as diagnosed with prostate cancer. Through the wonders of medical science and the research done by the American Cancer Society, my Dad has been cancer-free for almost two years now.
With your help, we can all win this fight! Please give generously! I thank you for your support!
posted on April 7, 2001 01:26:17 PM new
This message was posted by my friend Connie on the ePier chat forum, and I wanted to be sure everyone got a chance to read it....
Hi Everyone...
I thought a post on how this all got started would help folks better understand what`s going on.
I live in a small town near Lansing, MI. We are putting together our FIRST Relay for Life event which will be held May 18th & 19th. Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society`s signature event and held in more than 1,750 communities across the country each year. Because I am a VERY RECENT (less
than a year) cancer survivor, I was asked to captain a team. And, I am currently putting together teams from our local police department, fire department and city hall employees.
(taken from the Relay for Life Team Captain`s manual)... "Relay for Life is
a 24-hour team relay event to celebrate survivorship and raise awareness of the cancer issue in the community and to raise funds to fight cancer! It is a 24-hour celebration of life, honoring cancer survivors, while also remembering those who have died from cancer. Relay for Life proclaims hope for a cancer-free future! While the relay is going on, team members camp out, enjoy entertainment, food games and camaraderie that creates a community party atmosphere.
Teams of 10 to 15 (or more) people from businesses, hospitals, civic groups and families take turns in the Relay. Teams make a commitment to have one member of the team on the track at all times, walking, running or wheelchairing around the track. The is a RAIN OR SHINE event!
This is a donation event each team is asked to raise an average of $100 per team member from donors prior to the event.
The Relay for Life opens with the introduction of teams followed by the
Victory Lap. The Victory Lap is the survivors walk. Cancer survivors are
asked to take the first lap of the Relay as a celebration of their victory. Golf carts are provided for those that may be unable to complete the entirelap. The Victory Lap may be emotional for some and exciting for others. But overall, it sets the stage for the importance of each participant`s
contribution.
The Luminary Ceremony is another highlight of the event. The ceremony is held after dark to honor cancer survivors and to remember those who have lost their battle against cancer. These luminaries line the track and are left burning throughout the night to remind participants of the incredible importance of their contribution.
Cancer will touch everyone is some way during their lifetime. This is an opportunity for the entire community to get involved. Today, one out of two patients diagnosed with cancer survives. Relay for Life proclaims that cancer can and will be beaten! Relay for Life is about a community that comes together to fight cancer!" (end quote)
Well.... I read that over and over and decided to take that last paragraph
and expand on it to include my online family.
I was able to get the organizers to let me have a few of the Relay for Life bears to see what I could do with them in the online auction format. I listed one on BidVille, ePIER, eDEAL, BidBay and AuctionAddict.
Because I had posted on ePIER chats before I felt comfortable asking everyone there to just take a look. Sure enough... people started bidding on the bear. Then one day, a couple of weeks ago, I came home from work and went to ePIER to check my auctions. The bear (we call him "Relay" had more than 70 hits on his ad site where there were only 40 that morning. And the bid had gone to $33. Needless to say I was a little shocked and couldn`t figure out what was going on.
I went over to the chat board and discovered that the gal (candlelady) who was holding the highest bid had started a discussion on how they could raise more money for ACS. There was quite a discussion on it and they finally decided to all donate as much as they could and have me send Relay to a
child with cancer. Along with the bear they want to have a card sent around to all the donors to sign and then the card will accompany the bear. It was also decided that I would list another bear so more money could be raised for ACS. There is currently a bid of $20.50 on the bear on ePIER.
Everyone who has donated has been sent a receipt. And, the card will start making it`s rounds next week.
Sally then took it one step further when she discovered I had listed Relay on BidVille, BidBay, eDeal, and Auctionaddict and began posting for the cause on their chat forums. She is completely committed to this online crusade and has been here to answer questions and respond to posts when I can`t. Her enthusiasm and energy has generated a great deal of interest and we now have three sellers from the BidVille site who will be donating proceeds from their auctions.
Sally`s post has also generated interest in the auctions for Relay. On Bidville a gentleman purchased Relay on the Take it now option and then asked me to relist it. Which I have done. Currently Relay has no bids on some of the sites where he is listed, but I am hoping someone will come along and decide they can`t live without him!!
These are legitimate auctions... just like everyone elses. The only difference is I`m not making the profit... ACS is! Please check out my feedback on eBay (user id = starr-master). Anyone who wins the auction will be sent Relay along with a receipt for their donation. Those generous souls
who choose not to receive Relay will still get a receipt and I will relist Relay in their honor.
Yes, this is a leap of faith. But, everytime we win an auction it is a leap of faith to blindly send a stranger money for the item we have won. I really don`t see the difference here.
Perhaps I am taking a risk doing this... I hope not! But, please think about
this.... If no one had been willing to take the risks or take that leap of faith last year, 5 years ago, 10 years ago... we wouldn`t have come as far as we have in finding a cure for cancer. Myself, several friends and loved-ones and many people YOU know and love would have died from this
horrible disease!! The problem is our friends and loved-ones are STILL dying
and we need to FIND A CURE!!
That is why I do this... That is why Sally is out here EVERY DAY keeping these messages at the top of the boards. That is why so many people have placed their trust and faith in me and I am honored to be a part of it all!
posted on April 7, 2001 04:56:47 PM new
Hey Folks,
There is a great bidding war going on at ePier......all for Charity.......come join us and support a great cause....http://www.epier.com/forum_new.asp?13,0
posted on April 7, 2001 06:36:23 PM new
Come join the bidding war for Relay bear and support a great cause - help find a cure for cancer!
http://www.epier.com/forum_new.asp?13,0
Even though I got outbid on Relay bear, I just sent Connie Starr ([email protected]) a Paypal donation for my maximum bid (which was $100) and I CHALLENGE EVERYONE ELSE who gets outbid when this auction ends on Monday to make a donation equal to their maximum bid on Relay. We all know it's for a good cause. Besides, I want to see those fund raising totals reach $600 or more!! Wouldn't that be just too cool!?!
posted on April 7, 2001 06:54:05 PM new
Outstanding Sally,
I just posted on a couple other threads..hoping to get some other gentle folks involved.....in this wonderful fund raiser....fingers crosed.
Cancer touches everyone...one way or another, and let's hope they find that cure...with donations...PLEASE help the cause!!!!!!
posted on April 8, 2001 02:50:12 PM new
Thank you EVERYONE!!!
For all your wonderful posts, your support and your kindness. I can't tell you how overwhelmed I am by all this. I am so amazed at how this has all snow-balled... and for such a good cause!!
I know first hand what a horrible disease Cancer is. I am closing in on my first year as a cancer survivor. My dear mother-in-law is battling lymphoma right now. My brother had cancer.... and the list goes on.
One in three women WILL get cancer in their lifetime and one in two men will get cancer. The odds are NOT good. The good news is that in 2001 nearly 51% of all cancer victims will survive the disease where as only a few short years ago that figure was closer to 20%.
We have come a long way and I am so VERY thankful for all the good people who have donated their time, talent and treasure to find a cure! But, we have a long way to go. Our friends and loved-ones are still dying and we need to find a cure, SOON!!
Please go check out the auctions and chats at ePIER, BidVille and BidBay and see what we're up to. There have been many donations to our crusade, sellers donating proceeds from their auctions and even a bidding war!!
Bless you all for your kindness and generosity. I am honored to be a part of this all. --Connie* (connie*s--closet)
posted on April 8, 2001 02:59:25 PM new
Hello everyone,
While I realise that this is a worthwhile cause you are supporting and youare to be commended for that, the CGs prohibit discussion of specific auctions and Auction IDs as well as the promotion of your auctions.
Unfortunately, I am going to have to lock this one up.
had more than 70 hits on his ad site where there were only 40 that morning. And the bid had gone to $33. Needless to say I was a little shocked and couldn`t figure out what was going on.