This weekend I had the honor of working with the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance. When you first walk in to their Black, White and Teal Gala, you instantly feel the love. Every single person in the room was in one way or another touched by Ovarian Cancer. There were survivors, spouses, children and friends who had lost someone to this disease. Everyone was decked out in the colors of the evening...Black, White & Teal. The room was a sight to behold.
The live auction was lively and the fund-a-need started like all others. They showed an inspiring video (which I always recommend) about a young girl and her dad who had lost her mom to ovarian cancer earlier that year. After losing her mom, she wanted to do something to make a difference. So this brave 8 year old girl, went door to door asking for donations to give to MOCA. It was a beautifully inspiring story and we were blessed to have her at the event. I started the fund-a-need like most others: $5000, $2500, $1000, etc... I got down to $100 & $50 and fewer hands were rising than normal. At this point, I asked the young girl how much she raised going door to door: $35.77. Instead of stopping at $50 donations, I turned to the audience and asked who would like to honor this young girl and her mom by matching the efforts she had done to raise funds. In a crowd of 400 people, nearly every bid paddle went up to commit to give $35.77.
While the cause of the night, ovarian cancer, is an inspiring and personal cause that everyone in the room felt led to give financially. At the end of that fund-a-need, people weren't raising their hands for MOCA (I mean they were), but they were raising their hands for one girl who wanted to make a difference in honor of her mother. They stood behind this young girl who had a vision of making a difference and dreams of a day where no other boys or girls will have to lose their moms to Ovarian Cancer. This one girl's efforts multiplied beyond tenfold (more like two hundred fold). It was an honor to facilitate this group effort to make a difference. I pray that this sweet girl, will remember it forever.
