Julia Markel, of AFWPI, is grateful to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for their research and is anxious to give back. Her mother was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1998 and after five aggressive chemo treatments, thankfully went into remission.
Now Julia is nominated for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 2009 Woman of the Year! Every dollar raised by Julia counts as a vote. If you would like to help her reach her goal of $10,000 by June 6, 2009 you can help in the following ways:
* Donate $50 or more to LLS. You may send your donation to Julia Markel c/o AfWPi, 6700 Freeport Blvd Ste 202, Sacramento CA 95822 (and make the check out to LLS), or go to http://sacr.llsevent.org/jmarkel to securely make your donation by credit card online.
* Donate a gift valued at $50 or more for bidding at the silent auction during the LLS Man & Woman of the Year Gala, June 6, 2009. Please email or call Julia for more details on this.
* Volunteer to be part of her campaign team, spending a few hours over the next few weeks to help her secure donations.
If you would like more for your money, there are a couple of different options for you:
* Participate in her âI'âll Do (Almost) Anything for a Donationâ project. If you make a donation, I'âll do (almost) anything you want me to do. The donation must be at least $150 (or $500 from a group) and there are limitations.
* Become a sponsor of the Grand Finale Gala. There are several different levels of sponsorship, starting at $250, and all include an ad in the 2009 Man, Woman, Celebrity & Teen of the Year Program and Auction Book. Some of the higher levels include your company'âs name and/or logo on a full-page advertisement in Sacramento Magazine, announcing the winners. The highest levels include your companyâs name and/or logo on billboards and/or bus ads.
Contact Julia today at julia@afwpi.com or 916.392.5000
Kelly is doing a presentation of her volunteer time in the Dominican Republic this last summer for her local school kids. She asked me if I could put together a little something for her with her images and some of her favorite bachata music.
You can read about her volunteer teaching, but what you may not read is how amazing Kelly is. She truly can make you smile and laugh each time you see her. She's an uplifting person, and so giving of herself. I am honored to be her friend. And you'll be honored to have her shoot your wedding!
Click the below image to start the slideshow. This is one of my fav images!
At dinner last night, Kelly entertained us all with stories of her DR trip. She told us of her video of the tarantula and the pot holder. We told her to You-tube it....and she did so as soon as she got home. Here it is!
Cory and I arranged our trip this last weekend to be home in time for Kelly's welcome home bash this afternoon. Here is a small snippet of Kelly's last post upon her return from DR.
I got home at 7:30pm last night. My mom, dad, Stacey and Jayson picked me up and then we went out to dinner where I had a YUMMY salad (Iâ??ve missed salads the most) and some pasta.
I fell asleep in the car on the way home. I dragged my bags into my parents house, fell asleep in my old bedroom and I donâ??t think I moved until I woke up this morning.
When I did wake up I had a realization. I love life.
Usually when I come home from a long trip in Latin America I have a weird â??readjustmentâ?? time where Iâ??m not quite sure I like America or Americans. I have these weird feelings that I donâ??t belong. That I wasnâ??t ready to leave the country I was visiting. You name it. This time is different.
I realized that I now have a home in the D.R. I have friends there. I can go back any time. I am planning to go back too. I have finally realized that there are differences between countries, cultures, people. Instead of comparing them and favoring one, I just need to look for the good in all and appreciate them for what they are.
I will miss everything Dominican. But, I now appreciate having power 24 hours a day. I appreciate running water. I appreciate drinking from the tap.
I missed American things. But I now appreciate down time. Sitting and talking, or sitting in silence with someone. I appreciate â??just beingâ?? and not feeling the need to â??doâ?? all the time. I appreciate simple things, simple life, and most of all I appreciate life. The fact that I am here, and that I can do, see, and be.
I also realize that none of this would have been possible without a home base. Without the support from my family this would have been a very difficult thing to try to do. My mom paid my bills, changed my flight, got me a seat on my last leg home, my sister changed appointments, sent me emails with info I needed. My dad spoiled my cat â?? so I didnâ??t have to worry about her while I was gone, and Jayson sent me some emails that reached me on some difficult days.
And you, my friends, sent me emails. Kept me grounded. Read my long accounts of life in the D.R. and it was just nice knowing that you were there with me on my trip, experiencing it with me.
I am missing my home in the D.R. It really did feel like home to me. But, I know that itâ??s in my power to return, and that I will be going back. So, that helps me not to miss it so much.
In the mean time I have my friends, my family, and my photos.
Thank you all for reading, and for responding. It was an incredible experience.
