Until There's a Cure There's a Dog :
Recently I had the
opportunity of being one of the producers for a respected charity event called,
“Until there’s a cure, there’s a dog”. This event took place on Saturday September
18th 2012 and was held at the Orlando Civic Center. RachelleTravaglini and I put a lot of energy into this event as reps from Full Sail.
She is one of Full Sail’s career development specialists for the EBMS program
and I am known for large events in Philadelphia. Together we made quite the team!
This charity was completed to
raise money for a guide dog for a 3 year old boy named Kelvis. This young boy
was unfortunately diagnosed with a terminal form of Diabetes that needs
assistance through a service animal. As a young boy he spends numerous hours in
the hospital receiving treatments intravenously. Not an ideal experience for
someone this age! Having this new disease at only 2 Kelvis is sure to have a
unique childhood as he struggles with adapting. A service animal usually
runs around 20 thousand so we hoped to start making a dent in that for his family.
The family was given the task
of promoting the charity (reach out to your friends and family for support) as we organized the talent, photographers, volunteers,
food, and vendors. When Rachelle and I spoke about some of my ideas, she
realized quickly that I could do more then most. I added to the talent roster a
famous Dub Step producer from Philadelphia at no cost. Damian was already in
town so adding a pit stop for the event to do a Live PA was now in his schedule. Next I explained that my sister is blind with
a guide dog and would love to speak on our behalf. Rachelle loved the idea so I
worked out a flight and a speech with Raina. Another key element was organizing strategies for our volunteers, since Propeller wasn’t able to put up the
ad for volunteers as scheduled. I was able to offer GPS points and explained
that it would be a great opportunity for anyone in my program. I’ve been
pitching it to many and got a great response even to outsiders I knew in the
area. As I gained momentum I began randomly collecting sponsorships such as
Kres Chop House whom donated gift cards. Another donation came from the owner
of Sandwhich Bar. Also OLV donated wine and gift certificates to be raffled. Meditation
gift certificates came from a fellow volunteer Michon whom I was grateful to
have on my team. Michon and I did a lot of leg work to keep more sponsors
coming in and the responses came quicker then I expected for donations.
Next I laid out duties for the
staff to perform prior to the show. I had 2 of my volunteers as greeters at the
front, Jodi Gross and Tiffany Doll. They also sold raffle tickets and collected entrance
fees. We had promo girls after that which handed out Full Sail bags and
directed people through the venue. Brandon Davis and his daughter were
organizing food trays and Vince and Michon were helping with raffle tables. I
over saw talent and basically partnered with Rachelle to trouble shoot as
things came up.
Our goal was to raise awareness
for Kelvis and his service animal needs. Our next purpose was to sell as many raffle tickets as possible and
individually raffle off our sponsors donations. We had 3 other performers
singing, 2 spoken word performers, Raina giving her story about her guide dog
and disease, a DJ for the night known as Evolution, and we closed the event
with Subzinger. Our staff was large, our attitudes were positive, our speed was amazing, and the show was a success from our ends! Rachelle and I were very pleased with the amount of talent, vendor
tables, volunteers and sponsors were attained. She thanked me prior to, during, and at the
end of the event over and over for all that I did. It was a true joy helping
such a great cause and working with Rachelle and our team! I would do it again in a heart beat! I also loved knowing that I was helping Kelvin and his
family... and supporting a cause close to my sister's needs! We all were impressed with
our accomplishments and look forward to the next event together!
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