A Chance To Give Back

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Dear SRNA Families,

In July of 2010 our daughter was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder. Since 2008, she has experienced several attacks of the disease and it affected her spinal cord, brain, and vision. The Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association graciously took our daughter with NMO under their wing. SRNA hosts a family camp every summer for children that have been diagnosed with TM, NMOSD, ADEM, ON, and AFM. We have attended camp for the last 3 years. Our family loves SRNA camp! Our daughter has had the rare opportunity to meet kids who have similar experiences and diseases, and we have had the chance to meet supportive parents and knowledgeable doctors.

Because SRNA has helped us, we have been looking for a chance to give back. On June 22, 2016 our family hosted a SRNA night at our local Chick-Fil-A. Many restaurants have fundraising opportunities and will give a portion of their proceeds to charities. We chose Chick-Fil-A because they donated a percentage of the evening’s profit, and customers did not have to say they were there for SRNA night. We also asked a local vacation rental business if they would donate anything to be silent auctioned for SRNA. They donated a 2 night stay in a condo. In total we raised $308 for The Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association. This isn’t a huge amount of money but the thought occurred to me that if several of the families who have been helped by SRNA had their own SRNA fundraisers, collectively we could raise a large amount of money.

With your involvement, we can turn a small donation into a huge one. If you are looking for ways to give back to SRNA, the restaurant fundraiser was a great option and was very easy to do.

For those who are thinking about it, here’s what we did!

  • We went in person to our local Chick-Fil-A and asked to speak with the manager.
  • We introduced ourselves and our child and asked if we could do a fundraiser night for our charity. We told them a little about The Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association and about our daughter.
  • Our Chick-Fil-A gave us a few dates to choose from and we chose an evening that worked best for us.
  • We contacted SRNA and let them know about our fundraiser date, and they posted on SRNA website and on Facebook.
  • We made a small poster (8×10 inches) in Microsoft Word inviting people to attend our fundraiser. We included the date, time, and a little info about The Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association and how NMO has affected our child.
  • We brought the poster to Chick-Fil-A a week before the event. Chick-Fil-A displayed it on their bulletin board.
  • We advertised the event on our own Facebook pages and invited friends and family.
  • On the day of the fundraiser, we brought SRNA brochures and donation envelopes with us to the restaurant. Our Chick-Fil-A set up a small table by the entrance and we placed all of SRNA items on it along with another copy of our poster.
  • Our fundraiser was from 5-8pm. We enjoyed eating with friends and family that attended!
  • The day after the fundraiser, I called Chick-Fil-A and asked them what the total amount donated would be and if they would be sending the check directly to SRNA. I made sure that I left a donation envelope from SRNA for them to put the check into. The tax ID# for SRNA is EIN 91-1780467 and it is a 501(c)(3) organization. All of this information is also available on SRNA website.
  • After getting the total donation amount, I sent an email to SRNA and let them know to expect a donation.

And that’s it! Happy fundraising!!

Eric & Brooke Thomas