Shining a Light on the FUN in Fund a Life
“So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life.”
Life should be fun, folks!
And what better way to inject some FUN in your life than by FUNding a life?!
In our March Founders Message, I’m excited to share this year’s Calendar of Events, and bring you in on some exciting changes taking place to one of our staple activities!
First Up: the Spring Bling Jewelry raffle is still rocking and rolling! We have a few tickets left to sell, and we want to sell the winning ticket to YOU. Who doesn’t want to win a $10,000 shopping spree at Cooper & Binkley Diamond Jewelers?! All you need to do is stop by Cooper & Binkley in downtown Brighton, or email SpringBling@fundalife.org to purchase your tickets. Only 100 tickets will be sold, and when they’re gone, they’re gone! We’ll be drawing the winner on April 13th at 5pm, so be sure to join us live on Facebook to see if YOU are our winner.
What’s Next: As for the rest of our year, we’ve already locked in dates for all of your favorite Fund a Life events. Check out the full list below!
Our team is always looking for individuals and organizations interested in lending a hand as volunteers or sponsors. If you see an event that you’d like to volunteer for, or that your organization/business would like to sponsor, reach out today!
In fact, booth sponsorships & registrations are officially open for Drive to Survive, taking place on Sunday June 25. We’ll begin the day at the world-famous Lingenfelter Private Car Collection, an amazing collection of almost 200 corvettes, muscle cars, and exotics in Brighton, MI. Then we’ll cruise to the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, MI where you can track your car, have a professional ride-a-long, or even rent a track-ready fleet car! Once we arrive at the M1 Concourse, our programming starts - we’ll have impact stories, a silent auction, games, food & drink, and more.
This will be our 4th year for Drive to Survive, and I know it’s going to be our best year yet. Make sure to register while you can!
Exciting Changes: Now, if you’re a Fund a Life regular, you might have noticed a new name on the Event calendar: Warriors for Hope! Remember when we promised we were going to be mixing things up this year? This is just one of those awesome changes!
Warriors for Hope: 5k, Yoga, & Obstacle Course is a fresh take on an old classic, the Run for Hope 5K. We’re keeping the 5K, Kids Dash, and post-run yoga, but now we’re adding in an Obstacle Course to help show off our warrior spirit! We’re also switching up locations to give ourselves more space to move and groove, with this year’s event taking place at Mt. Brighton. Keep an eye on our social media pages and the Events page on our website to be the first to sign up (or sponsor!) when Warriors for Hope officially opens.
Before I sign off, I want to bring us back to what this organization is truly about: our grant recipients. All our events, activities, and outreach exist for one purpose, and that’s to help us ignite hope through funding lives. Your donations and participation make a real difference in the lives of the individuals and families we support, like Violet Grima.
In 2011, Violet Grima was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in her head and neck at only 27 years old. For more than ten years, she has battled not only her cancer diagnosis, but the debilitating side effects of numerous harsh treatments. Thanks to your support, Fund a Life awarded Violet a $5,000 grant in April 2022.
Since that time, Violet has continued to battle her devastating disease, including a life-threatening jaw infection as a result of radiation treatments, a heart attack, and time spent in a coma this fall. For the past two months, Violet has been back at home, getting accustomed to her new normal, and preparing for future surgeries.
As a Fund a Life grant recipient, Violet says her grant award could not have come in at a better time. “The grant I received actually was spent to pay all my bills while in the hospital, so all I had to do was get better and get home to my 16-year-old daughter, Kiyla,” Violet told us. “This foundation saved my life in so many ways - financially, mentally, and emotionally. It gave me room to breathe, and hope to keep fighting on!”
“This foundation is an absolute blessing, and I probably would have lost my home had Fund a Life not stepped up and helped us! When you support Fund a Life, you are helping those who truly need the help. Mark and his foundation have touched my life in every way good possible. Please support them if you can - I know firsthand that a little help goes a long way!”
Currently, the number of grant applicants like Violet far exceeds our ability to issue grants. We’re working hard to make a difference in as many lives as possible, with the help of supporters and donors like you. To help us ignite hope this year, you can donate to the mission, attend or sponsor our events, volunteer your time, or simply share our story with everyone you know. Every single dollar and show of support makes a difference.
Until next time: Keep Shining the Light!
