Give a little. Share some hope.

First and foremost, I wish to offer my condolences to those of you who may know of someone injured or lost in the Haiti earthquake...what a heartbreaking catastrophe, and I am thankful to have everyone I know and love, safe at home.

In an effort to demonstrate our commitment to our vision, "give a little, share some hope, pay it forward," PIFC will be temporarily supporting Haiti Relief fundraising efforts through our cans4chemo program. While the focus of cans4chemo is to support families of children undergoing chemo, I feel it is absolutely critical (since we do not have a family to support at this time) to follow our vision of paying it forward, by helping this cause.

Therefore, through the end of February, 100% of the funds raised through cans4chemo efforts, will go Haiti's many needs. We will likely be sending our contribution through the American Red Cross, on behalf of PIFC.

Please start collecting cans TODAY - at home, at your office, school, your college kids' frat/soroity house...where ever you see empty aluminum...it's all over the place! We accept empty aluminum beverage cans, any size (preferrably crushed) and they just need to be in some kind of bag or box. I am also looking into a centralized drop location for a designated weekend, so please watch for that.

I have been told by many, that this is one of the easiest fundraising efforts out there - not only because it's easy, but because it takes little time/money to participate. Even my boys and I make it simple; we toss our empty cans into a used gift bag outside our front door.

Thank you all in advance, for taking part in this effort...let's keep the victims and their loved ones, in our thoughts and prayers.

Using funds from recycled 12-oz. aluminum beverage cans, we are offering the proceeds to a deserving, uninsured or underinsured family with a child undergoing chemo treatments. If you, your company, school, or family would like to participate, we would love to have you supporting our cause...our Winter 2009/2010 Campaign is in full swing!

Additionally, we were thrilled to announce our largest effort - collecting the empty beverage cans at the UW Husky Football "tailgating" parties! With approximately 20,000+ fans participating in these infamous pre-game parties, we were able to fill the back of a Ford F350, FOUR times...a very successful job! We were are also able to procure in-kind donations of plastic trash/yard bags, snacks, and beverages for our volunteers. Thank you to all who made this happen!

For 2010, our goal is to get as many local schools (an even those far away) involved with "cans4chemo" as possible. This is a wonderful opportunity to get school-aged children into the habit of not only caring for the environment, but for caring for others less fortunate. We are already excited to have the Edmonds School District corporate offices, Meadowdale Middle School, Meadowdale Elementary School, Seaview Elementary School, and Sherwood Elementary Schools on-board! Each school is running either an ongoing campaign or doing it during a designated month as a school "project"...please contact me to get your school set up!

For questions or are interested in joining us for some fun, please contact us at Lisa@payitforwardcharities.net or 206.271.2050.

Thank you!