Peg Kerr's Journal

Here is a flyer for the Car Wash/Bake Sale/Rummage Sale which will be held this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Ramsey School at 50th Street and Nicollet Avenue South.

skylarker, I will try to call you tonight about coming to pick up that bookmark.

At the meeting this past Sunday, they said they were down to the last $2,000 - $3,000 or so.

Edited to add:

Update III:

Apparently, we didn't break the website after all (phew, not my fault!) The site went down due to a power outage at the data center that hosted it, which affected thousands of other sites.

At any rate, the good news is that we are halfway to goal! Since the treasurer's report at the beginning of the meeting on Sunday, saying that we owed $7,300, the group took in $1,800 in funds from parents finishing paying their pledges and turning in checks from donors and from pizza coupon and candy sales.

The next news is this: PayPal has taken in $2,000 for us since yesterday afternoon, due largely, I think, to this post, and the people who linked to it. Boy, I have a lot of friends. And they, in turn have a lot of friends. And those friends are kind and generous people.

This means we still have $3,500 to go. They were hoping to raise about $3,200 at the last fundraiser, so it looks as though we are really going make it! Thank you all so much!

Update II:

Yes, the reachuplink.org site is down. If you would still like to donate now, go to PayPal directly, and then donate to the e-mail wayne@reachuplink.org. My elves tell me that will allow you to continue donating, although the reachuplink.org site is down. You can mention in the memo line that you are making the donation on behalf of/in honor of Delia (that way they know the contribution came in as a result of this post, which helps them to track things)--but remember, the fundraising is for the group as a whole and so it goes to help all the other kids, too. Delia does not get to go unless all the other kids go, too.

[You folks rock. Um . . . I hope the nice people at reachuplink.org won't be mad that between us all we seem to have broken the site...] I have called one of the coordinators of the program to let them know, and I have asked them to get back to me and give me an idea of how we are doing on the fundraising, so I can report back to you.

Update to this post:

The reachuplink.org site seems to be down temporarily. The response to this appeal has been so extraordinary, I wonder if we have exceeded bandwidth? Or maybe even crashed the site??? (oh dear, oh dear...) I will try to find out and keep you posted. Um . . . I think we had better hold off for the time being.

Original post:

This is OH MY GOD TIME URGENT CRITICAL!

This is very un-Lutheran of me, but I am throwing all pride to the winds and begging as hard as I can: please please please help make it possible for Delia and 45 other children to go to Space Camp.

We had a meeting today and the news is grim: we still have $7,300 dollars to raise of the $64,500 total, we have just one more fundraiser coming up which will probably not raise it all, and the kids are leaving in just nineteen days. If you have contributed already, many many thanks! I know that quite a few of you have. If you have been meaning to contribute and just haven't gotten around to it, we need money NOW. Here once again is Delia's letter to you, asking for your support.

To see Delia's handwritten appeal, click here. Your contributions are tax-deductible.

Ah, you maybe couldn't read that, could you? Click here to see the information typed out for you.

*winces and yet lays it on stupifyingly thick* Look at that adorable little girl over there in the icon. Isn't she sweet? Aren't those dimples something? Won't you help make her dream come true? She has glue all over her fingers from gluing together balsa wood airplanes! She has made hot air balloons out of tissue paper! She'll shoot off rockets in your honor!

Speed is of essence now (we are past due on a payment that Space Camp should have received by now). You can send a check to the P.O. Box mentioned in the letter, but EVEN BETTER would be if you have a PayPal account and would be willing to contribute that way RIGHT NOW I MEAN THIS MINUTE, you can donate at the Reach for the Stars website, using the PayPal button, which you can access here. You can mention in the memo line that you are making the donation on behalf of Delia. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can still donate, using a credit card. Click the PayPal button at the link above, and then you can choose the option "If you do not currently have a PayPal account, click here."

For everyone on my friends list and my friends-of-friends list, as well as anyone reading this syndicated on blogger, MySpace and anywhere else on God's Green Earth, I would be so grateful if you would pimp this on your own journals (YES, I AM AN ABSOLUTELY BRAZEN SHAMELESS HUSSY.) For the locals: we have one more upcoming fundraiser: there will be a bake sale, rummage sale and car wash on Saturday, May 6 at Ramsey Fine Arts Elementary School 1 West 49th Street, Minneapolis, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Bring your dirty car and a healthy appetite for baked goodies and lots and lots of money and we will be ever so touchingly grateful.

Thank you.

Edited to add: The site seems to be down temporarily. The response has been so good, I wonder if we have exceeded bandwidth? I will try to find out and keep you posted.

Please come to the Irish Astronaut's ball (link to the flyer is here, or click on the link to the flyer at this page here.). It will be held in the back room (the Titanic Lounge) at Kieran's Irish Pub tonight, Friday, March 24, starting at 6:00. Three bands will be playing: Over/Under, Machinery Hill and Jazz Fly. Bring your friends and pay the $5 cover charge, as well as anything else you are willing to pony up! (There was talk of doorprizes for raffles, too, although I don't know if we got any donations for that.) Kieran's is located at 2nd Avenue South and 4th Street in Minneapolis.

Remember to donate at the Reach for the Stars website, using the PayPal button, which you can access here. You can mention in the memo line that you are making the donation on behalf of Delia. Thanks.

At my request, Reach for the Stars, the 501(c)(3) organization which is helping to send Delia and other kids to Space Camp, has now arranged to be able to receive donations by PayPal. They don't have a PayPal button on their webpage yet, but if you have a PayPal account, you can send a payment by PayPal to the group's Treasurer's e-mail, wayne@reachuplink.org. If you are so inclined, you can note in the memo line that you are making your donation on behalf of Delia. Thanks so much!

Edited to add: copperwise was kind enough to plug this on her own journal. I would be exceedingly grateful to anyone else who would be willing to do the same. Spread the word!

In my earlier post about the Space Camp fundraising brunch at Jitters, I said that tickets were available at the door. Wrong: they really want to get a head count in advance so that they can have the proper amount of food for everyone. Makes sense, doesn't it? If you would like to attend, please e-mail peter@reachuplink.org as soon as possible (Tonight!) Thanks, and sorry for the change in information.

Also: we are looking for a third band to play at Kieran's on the night of March 24. Some of the people on my friends lists know local bands. Anyone have any suggestions? (I know that people on my list know Tramps & Hawkers, for example, who have played there before or do you have other suggestions?)

Cross posted to twin_cities, mnstf, mnsf, and minneapolis.

On Monday, January 30 at 7:00 p.m., Reach for the Stars, the 501(c)(3) organization which is raising money to send Minneapolis kids to Space Camp, will be renting the Riverview Theater for a special showing of the movie Galaxy Quest. We have rented the entire theater for this fundraiser. Please come with your friends, and your $5.00 ticket (a tax-deductible contribution) will help send a child to Space Camp. The theater address is 3800 - 42nd Avenue South, Minneapolis (at E. 38 St. and 42nd Ave. S.) Tickets are available at the door. Thanks.

Cross posted to twin_cities, mnstf, mnsf, and minneapolis