Friends of Geraldine

Geraldine and Vivi

We officially launched this site on Friday, September 17th, 2008. It was live for a few weeks before that as we worked on building out the donation and tracker modules.

In less than a week, this site has raised over $2500! 18 comments have been written on various posts.  Many emails have poured in from all over the world.  The traffic and results are more than we expected so soon after launch, but we are ecstatic about your responses.  There certainly are a lot of people moved by Geraldine’s story!

On behalf of FriendsofGeraldine.org, we’d like to thank those that have donated.  Geraldine herself has plans to write individual thank you notes to all contributors, but this may take a while.

If you haven’t donated yet, please consider doing so.  The amount truly is not what matters here.  But if you are having hard times and unable to donate, we understand…but please leave words of encouragement by commenting on any post, and please forward this site to as many people as possible.

And if anyone knows a CPA, lawyer, or business consultant that is willing to help us turn this into a non-profit organization/trust/foundation, please leave us a note by emailing info at friendsofgeraldine dot com.

Again, thank you!  You’re all wonderful!

Geraldine and Vivi

“If I can do anything…”

Since being diagnosed, Geraldine has heard these words a lot. As her friends we’re here to tell you that there is something you can do: donate.

If you’re not up to speed with what has been happening with Geraldine, you can find most of it by reading this recap from her father and other posts on this site. To sum it up, she has been fighting a very aggressive form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (a blood cancer) for over a year now, and it is far from over. Ahead of her lies a transplant – either autologous stem cell (from her own cells) or allogenic bone marrow (from a donor) – more chemotherapy, and a period of constant medical care to keep her weakened immune system to from being compromised.  This period alone could last up to another year – another year without the ability to earn a steady paycheck.

To obtain the best care in the United States can cost thousands–or even millions–of dollars. In addition, many Americans lose their jobs due to the extended leave required for their recuperation. Other times, insurance companies may arbitrarily refuse treatments they deem “experimental” merely because they are costly, or will not benefit the care provider. For our friend, job loss and financial strain are already the realities of battling cancer. Your donations help to offset Geraldine’s current care and upcoming transplant, two things whose price tags have quickly slipped beyond the average person’s ability to finance.

As for the amount of your donation, it doesn’t matter; this is truly a situation where every little bit helps–ten dollars or ten-thousand dollars. If you’re uncomfortable about leaving your name, donate anonymously. Donations are quick and secure, and the proceeds directly benefit our friend and her family in this trying time.

So, by all means, keep her in your thoughts and prayers, but don’t forget that there is something you can do.

Please make a donation today.

Thank you!

FriendsofGeraldine.org

We’re proud to announce that the donations page and the donation tracking page are both ready for use!

Many thanks to Pete for working through actually making the donation page work. It wasn’t an easy task, and at times was a bit frustrating, but he got it done quickly and professionally. Great work Pete!

And to Nick for making the donation tracking page work. It’s one thing to take the payments, but a different animal altogether to make those donations display for the public to see – and track. He told me today he is still working on a widget for the right rail that will show a brief overview of the total and recent donations, but for now everything is working and ready to go.

So what are you waiting for? Click here to donate!

In other site news, comments are no longer moderated since we have updated spam protection, so feel free to leave your comments – they should show up instantly.