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| Megan Mallory and "cherry red" Ellie Ganelin |
I often write about people who contribute their time, talent
and treasure to keep PHA strong. Usually,
it’s about patients and their families who respond to the value they see in
PHA, sometimes it’s about industry fulfilling their role as corporate citizens,
often it’s about event organizers building awareness and support from their own
communities.
Today, I am writing about a different group – one we don’t
usually think about as donors – your PHA staff.
We have always had a staff that understands the value of
what we do. Most contribute as donors
but, recently, the way they have been contributing has evolved to something
different. It has become collective and
spirited in a new way…a way that has been inspiring for me to see.
The change began with Ellie Ganelin. Ellie is one of the creatives in our
Publications Department. What she came
up with certainly reflects that. She
raffled her hair color!
Ellie sold lots of tickets to raise funds for our work and,
while a lot of us were rooting for periwinkle, Diane Greenhalgh won with her choice
of cherry red…a color with which Ellie continues to light up the PHA office.
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| Danielle Clifford pulling raffle tickets at McGinty's |
At around the same time that Ellie was completing her
raffle, Danielle Clifford announced a Restaurant Night Out at McGinty’s Public
House in Silver Spring. McGinty’s
donated a portion of their income for that night and a raffle added
considerably to the proceeds. With most
staff and many friends participating, enough was raised to fund a patient scholarship
for the 2014 Conference. A second event
is being planned for November.
Other staff are doing fundraising pages – Doreen Lucadamo in
memory of her mother, Debbie Castro in honor of her sister.
I’ve always known that our staff understands the importance
of our work. It’s inspiring to see that
understanding manifest in a new – and fun – way. I remain grateful for the people I am
privileged to work with.
