BECAUSE YOU CAN’T ALWAYS
MOOCH 
Your traveling
tightwads recently opened their wallet for a noble cause and despite the lame
joke we were very happy to donate and participate in a charity called the
Valerie Fund.
For 40 years the
Valerie Fund has been helping children with cancer and blood disorders get
comprehensive treatment closer to home. Started by Ed and Sue Goldstein after
their daughter passed in 1977, the event we participated in was a 5K run and
walk in Verona Park, in Verona, New Jersey. I grew up in the area, so it was
great to see the old stomping grounds again.
We were recruited for
this day by Janet’s college chum Patsy, whose grandson Trey sadly suffers from a
form of leukemia, that thankfully is curable. Regardless, the support for Trey,
and all the similarly afflicted children was immense, and we were very proud to
help in our small way.
In fact, Team Trey’s
entourage was the largest of the entire gathering, and they raised the most
money for the Valerie Fund and were recognized as such at the end of the day’s
festivities. For our donation we were given Valerie Fund t-shirts as we paraded
around the idyllic Verona Park led by the banner carried by the team leaders
and feasted on food donations by several area restaurants. We even got commemorative chocolate bars courtesy of Team Trey!!!
If you would like to
donate money to the Valerie Fund’s cause and specifically Trey, go to the
website and assign to his name and follow the website’s instructions. Or you
can send the money to me, and I can forward it to Patsy where she’ll put it in
Trey’s personal account. 
Don’t worry, I’ll see they get the money.
I promise.
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Now, the Valerie Fund
is just one of several such charitable organizations devoted to this cause.
Probably the most renown organization is the St. Jude’s research hospitals.
Founded in 1962 by the actor Danny Thomas (Marlo Thomas’s pop), St. Jude’s
pushes for cures and preventative care for pediatric diseases through research
and treatment all free of charge.
One can donate directly
to this, or any other organizations dedicated to this cause through their
website, or participate in a fund-raising event, as we did with the Valerie
Fund. A few years ago, my daughter Ally ran the Nashville Half-marathon. I
donated money to her team and then was able to track her progress on the
computer back home. I was very proud that she not only ran the race, but also
to help St. Jude’s.
OTHER CHARITIES
On-line searches reveal
plenty of other charities. Here’s a quick list of some of them and you can
decide if you can donate money or time in a fund-raising event.
All charities are
worthy, but they must have a clear goal. Read through the website about their
mission statement as a charitable organization. Without clear and attainable goals,
even the best intentions may fall short or even fail, squandering your donation
of money or time. So, be diligent and check to see if the charity has a
measurable target and learn what its progress is in attaining their set goals. Check
their finances and stats. Any trustworthy organization will provide upon request.
And, if you’re not sure where to go talk to others who may have some knowledge
of the charity, for word-of-mouth first-hand experience does go a long way.
Thanks for reading.
Love Trey!
© 2023 by Gregory Dunaj
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