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EVERY DAY COUNTS FUNDRAISER—HARVEY’S EVENT A unique and soul-touching fundraiser event took place on April 18th, 2004. Over 200 friends, family and colleagues gathered at the Mill Valley Community Center to show their love and support for Harvey Frank and his family in their efforts to give Harvey choices in alternative treatments as he fights against ALS. In all, the event raised over $130,000 and far exceeded our dreams of success!! This was far beyond our expectations and an amazing tribute to Harvey. Wow, the power of a small group of people to affect change and achieve a dream is just incredible—truly inspiring. After the event Harvey felt so invigorated & energized; he said, “I had to pinch myself to believe that this all really happened.” This was a celebration of a wonderful man who is a giant in his support for others in all walks of life and with all types of challenges and difficulties. His specialist, Dr. Miller, an expert in ALS, described Harvey as a truly extraordinary man who has the ability to make extraordinary things happen around him (and we all agree!) Friends arrived from far and wide to be at Harvey’s side and show their love and friendship. Many more who could not be there, sent their wishes and support in other ways—all of which are so important to Harvey’s progress, energy, and well-being. Judith Fraser and Lindsay Todd spoke of their long friendship with Harvey and his family and Harvey’s generous character, his love of life, and his interest in making every day count. Harvey’s own speech expressed his deep gratitude with elegance, style, and humor. A good portion of the event was spent on the live auction which was spectacularly successful and fun. Roger Reedy and Sherri Shaner kept the audience riveted to their seats as the excitment kept building along with the bidding. Generous donations and prizes included trips to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Telluride, romantic weekends in San Francisco, cases of fine wines, unique gifts, and spa weekends. In the spirit and excitement of the live auction, several auction donors doubled or tripled their gifts in order to raise additional funds for Harvey—it was fantastic! The live auction raised over $62,000 in a single evening! The spirit of the event was beautifully enhanced by the reggae music of Cosmo who played lyrical and soul-catching music; delicious appetizers were generously provided by Benissimo and Piazza D’Angelo restaurants, and a hosted bar by Dennis and Susan Ring. As we all know, Harvey’s favorite entertainer of all time is Barbra Streisand. Heart-shaped seed packets to commemorate the night were inscribed with a favorite verse from Barbra’s music and were generously donated by Bill Leonard of Ignite Promotions. Harvey’s friend, Debra Watson sang the classic Streisand song, “New York State of Mind,” with an incredibly beautiful voice and true emotion! Your generous contributions helped to make the Every Day Counts Fundraiser a tremendous success. Your continued thoughts, wishes, and support will make an enormous difference to Harvey and his family in the coming months and in the future. Remember that, Every Day Counts, always... |
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