After all my meetings and all of the paperwork I signed today, I feel that we have approached our "reality" enough to share our dream. I have spent all day in meetings with our attorney (wonderful firm), our awesome family (enough said - they are Lisa's kin), our CPA, and a financial planner and, well here goes:
On March 19, 2007 (what would have been Lisa's 49th birthday) the
Lisa K. Lowe Memorial Foundation will incorporate. Our initial Board of Directors is in place (all volunteers), our corporate officers are assigned, and after final apporval of all of our 501-3c IRS paperwork (and all the other red tape such wonderful people like Joe and Christine have had to wade through) we will officially open business as a chairitable foundation.
Our goal is multi-fold, but the bottom line is raising funds for the
treatment and
support of this insidious disease, (we feel there are enough "awareness organizations" out there God Bless them...). We will sponsor an annual bike race from "Lisa's chemo center" to the park by our home (to honor the travel that Lisa performed weekly) and follow that up with and outdoor music festival called "The Gooseberry Jam" (another dream of Lisa's fulfilled - another topic sometime if you are interested). We will also sponsor an annual Little League Baseball tournament in Lafayette, our home town. We strive for 100% of donations to go into the hands of those in need and/or those that make a REAL difference in this war against b/c. (Currently the board is planning on paying 100% of the cost of doing business - wish us and my bank account luck)!
Our goal is to raise enough funds to "sponsor" a chemo chair at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Boulder Colorado. If a patient with breast cancer is provided with chemo (or adjuvant therapy) in this chair their visit that day is paid for - NO MORE OUT OF POCKET or Co-Pays. Sorry insurance companies - we grass rooters are gonna fight on!!!! We will ask our oncologist to "try" to ensure those with the greatest financial need get the chair.
Additional funds raised through our foundation are ear-marked for (don't read this Joe we have not spoken yet
) the HER2Support Organization. If/when (right away - please God please!) we have enough funding for this chair we will give 100% of additional gifts to THIS SITE.
Heck, I'll be honest, we might never raise a dime - but I dream of a day that money is never an issue for treatment and ANY family member can reach out to resources like this site for love and support. I dream of a day to NO-ONE has to go through the trial and tribulations that Chelee has faced recently. I want to wholeheartedly say "If you need help - WE ARE HERE!"
My first personal goal is to get "big" enough to attract Sara Hickman to sing "Best of Times" in Lisa's honor at the Gooseberry Jam (and have her come back EVERY year) - and my second personal goal is to get Willie Nelson (Lisa's ALL time favorite) to sing "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground". Then maybe one day actually win the bike race we are sponsoring - probably not - have YOU SEEN the hard bodies in Boulder Colorado -
.
Pray for us - we'll need it. We're just a bunch of people that the Love and Light of Lisa Lowe has made such a profound impact upon we cannot sit quietly by and not assist in the fight. WE WILL NOT GO QUIETLY INTO THE NIGHT - we have been touched by breast cancer and refuse to stand idly by! If we make a difference in ONE life, we will have been successful - if we can alleviate financial pressure in ONE household, Lisa will smile upon our efforts - if a patient can have that ONE more treatment that saves their lives - we will humbly PRAISE GOD.
Look for more news in the near future.
Love and Light
Mel
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