Celebration of Life Fund Raiser begins!
We are kicking off our annual Celebration of Life fund raiser today! This is our annual fund raiser that lays a solid foundation for our coming year’s expenses.
We are honored to be using the story of Lee Heaton in this year’s Celebration of Life event. Here’s Lee’s story: “Our youngest son, Lee Andrew Heaton was born to us later in life and was such a loving, joyful son that always gravitated to the person with the most need for friendship, no matter what their age. He was a Christian and was so kind and loved by everyone who knew him. We homeschooled him through 10th grade and then he did a post-secondary option. After he graduated from high school he joined the Army at 18. He served one tour of duty in Afghanistan and when he left the Army at 28 we thought he was safe. However last year, one week before Christmas, on December 18, 2018 we received a call that Lee had been shot and was dead at the age of 29. We have known Pat and Judy for several years and have been up to Smile Again Ministries many times to help on work days. Never had we ever imagined that we would be in need of the services that SAM had to offer. We spent one week there and our friendship with Pat and Judy became so much more. As horrible as it was for us, they helped us through it by letting us know how “normal” we were for someone in our time of grief. They knew because they’ve been there. I don’t know how we could have made it without the Lord and Smile Again Ministries. We do have the blessed assurance that we will see him again in heaven.” (Used by Permission)
This year’s goal for our fund raiser is $50,000.00. And once again we have donors who have committed to matching gifts to Smile Again dollar for dollar up to $15,000.00. That means for every dollar you give to SAM, they will match it with one of their own.
Here’s how you can give. Just go to the home page of Smile Again Ministries website www.smileagainministries.com and click on the donation tab at the top of the page. That will take you right to a page that will give you options to give online. You can also give by sending you donation directly to SAM by mailing your check to SAM, P.O. Box 563, Crosslake, MN 56442
Just a reminder, families are only charged $50 per night at Whitetail Lodge. That’s for the entire family’s stay. Obviously, at stay here costs more than that. That’s where the Celebration of Life fund raiser comes in, as well as our monthly donors who so generously underwrite people’s stays here. You gift to SAM enables us to reach out to families, like Lee’s, in their darkest hours.
Please consider passing this information along to your social network too! Encourage people to match your gifts to SAM. And by passing along this information you’ll also expose SAM to families who may have lost a child and are in need of the services we provide.
Judy and I want to thank all of you for giving to our Celebration of Life event. God bless, Pat & Judy
