Need fundraising ideas and advice for coworker's terminally ill husband with no life insurance

[kval07]

I have a coworker who recently discovered that her husband has stage 4 cancer. It is so far advanced that there is nothing doctors can do. I am looking for fundraising ideas to help with expenses - mainly funeral expenses since that will be the hardest for her.

They recently lost their house due to him not having a job. They used all their savings to buy a trailer, so have no additional income other than my coworkers. She has insurance, so she is okay there. She is working on getting a hospital bed and someone to come in and help care for him. He has no life insurance at all, so everything will be coming out of pocket. At this point, it is only a matter of time for him. They don't have much of a social life or support net, and are not active in the community/church/etc.

I'm working on coming up with ideas and need some assistance from those who have been in her situation, or those who have helped raise funds for something like this.

I am creating a phone tree for her to call for help or just to talk or whatever. I am planning on setting something up so meals can be delivered to them a few nights a week. He can only eat soft foods. He was the cook in the family as well, so they definitely need assistance there. What else can I do for them? What would be helpful to her in this situation?

My fundraising ideas for work are severely limited for reasons I won't go in to. I'd like to be able to work on ideas for raising funds outside of work. Most of the people in our department won't donate to something unless they will get something out of it.

I would like to see about setting up some sort of account to put all our fundraising money in to. Is there anything I need to know about this?

These are ideas I have so far:

Garage sale/bake sale - We could also advertise that if people would like to drop off pop cans as donations, we will accept them at the garage sale. Have a donation jar for people who don't want to buy anything but may still want to donate. Make pre-printed thank you notes to hand out to people who purchase. Have a sign explaining what the garage sale is supporting. Sell cold pop at the garage sale.


50/50 raffle

Dinner for two: See if we can get a few restaurants to donate a dinner for two, which we would raffle off.

Y.C.J.C.Y.1.D. Put up signs like Y.C.J.C.Y.1.D. People ask what does that mean? We tell them for $1.00 they can find out. After they pay the dollar we give them a card, and tell them they cannot tell anyone else. On the card is says, "Your Curiosity Just Cost You One Dollar".

Car wash

Guessing game: Fill a jar with something like candy or ???, and have people "buy" guesses.

[Mama Stu]

I don't know that I have any new ideas for you, just wanted to say Kudos to you for going to this much trouble for a coworker. I wish there were more people like you in the world.

I would suggest if you have a large enough stockpile, you could fix your coworker a big basket of household stuff and that is one less expense for her, and one less worry off her mind.

Also, if you do have a stockpile , fix a couple of baskets to raffle off.

Dance benefits seem to go over really well in this area. I don't know if that is something you would be interested in putting together or not.

Prayers for the family and for you

[kval07]

Thanks, Mama Stu. I don't have much of a stockpile right now. I haven't couponed in about three months. It did cross my mind though to see what I could send her way.

I would love to do some kind of big benefit thing - like a dinner of some sort or something. I have no idea how to go about that though.

[angeleyeza]

here are a few ideas..hth

bake sale pies, cakes, cookies, ect


a walk have it dedicated to the family

a bike run alot of bikes love this especially if it includes there motorcycles also they love riding for any cause to help others out. checkout your local biker bar or ask around if ya know anyone on a motorcycle.

gift basket sales. various items that you can place in a basket (beauty baskets) health care, ect and sell them in a raffle


~Good luck~

[savingsabby]

do you have people that can sew? they can make different things and you can raffle them off? or sell them at your bake sale. Its a great thing you are doing!

[BlessedTwice]

I have bought from FLOWER POWER FUNDRAISING before and the flowers and bulbs were wonderful.
Fundraiser World » Blog Archive » Flower Power Fundraising

[gctattoo]

I'm very sorry to hear this news. :(

As for a fundraising idea, you could try a benefit dinner where people pay x amount of money per plate. Contact local restaurants/grocery stores to see if they would donate (or give at a big discounted rate) the food and supplies required. It's BBQ season now and that seems to go over pretty well around here. They had one last year for the family of DH's coworker when the man drowned in a lake near our home. It's the kind of thing that people will attend just to help out. There were even some people last year who came to the event and gave cash to the family instead.

[Spanelli8706]

When I worked at a vet clinic, I headed up our office Relay for Life commitment. A few coworkers made homemade dog treats/cookies. They made little baggies of them and sold them for a couple of bucks. They were super cheap to make, all proceeds went to the charity and animal owners LOVED it. We sold out as soon as they'd make them. People love their pets. Maybe try making several batches and ask your local vets if you can sell them there, with a sign explaining where the proceeds go to.

Another thing we did was have the vets donate one yearly exam (with vaccines, exam, etc) and we raffled that off for $2 a ticket. All proceeds went to the charity and we had a great response from clients. The GOOD clients were going to get their pets shots anyway, so what was $2 extra dollars to get a chance to get it for free?

I know you are a pet lover... so I figured these ideas would be up your alley. Maybe try selling the treats at your local dog park too.

Another thing I notice here is I see donation jars with a picture and message at the reception desk in many doctors offices. These are just there, not requiring much attention or upkeep. Though usually there is only a few dollars inside. Maybe local businesses and doctors offices would let you just leave a donation jar at their reception desk/area and you could go in and check it every few days or once a week or something.

[cintinative]

I'm not sure how practical this is to run yourself, but if you work with this person/their wife then maybe you can get their buy-in and space to assist. Our church did a fundraiser through Little Caesars where you could buy pizzas and a portion of the pizza payment would go toward a missions fund. You can do it for any charity/cause though. Krispy Kreme does something similar. The only downside is people had to pick up the pizzas at church (they were take and bake variety) so you might need a fair amount of space. If this family has children maybe the child's school could help coordinate the space element. Or their church if they have one. If the office is big enough, that's an option too.

here are the sites:

Little Caesars Pizza Kit (Little Caesar's)

4 Ways To Raise Funds - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Coffee

[cintinative]

Another thing--it sounds like they would qualify for Medicaid. She should definitely check it out. All of the medical expenses should not be coming out of her personal income at this point after losing the house, etc. If she has not pursued it, she should definitely do so ASAP before it's too late.