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Dear Friends,
Last year’s Derek’s Dreams Fundraiser was a huge success. Nearly 600 people attended to help in our fight against A-T and to help Derek DiGregorio. Over the past year we have learned so much more about A-T, and have met other families that are affected by this terrible disease. For this reason, we have decided to hold another event and broaden our mission to be more active in trying to cure A-T, and to help other families that are affected. This year's event will be held on April 6th and will again be held at Nanina’s in the Park in Belleville, NJ.
Ataxia Telangiectasia, or A-T is a rare, progressive disease that affects only 500 Americans. In fact, more people attended last year’s fundraiser than have the disease. In May, 2008, Derek DiGregorio, son of Steve and Nadia DiGregorio, was diagnosed with A-T. Derek is now 13 and his symptoms are progressing. Derek’s Dreams was formed by a group of friends of the DiGregorios that is committed to helping Derek and others who share this diagnosis. Money raised will help fund research grants and help children such as Derek who are afflicted with this disease.
Some of you may know the DiGregorio family already from the Princeton community or have met them through me, as they have been a big part of the Princeton youth sports community for many many years. Steve DiGregorio and I coached Little League together. Steve has volunteered his time coaching hundreds of Princeton kids in youth sports and has been a Nutley high school and Princeton University football coach for several hundred young men for over 20 years. His oldest son, Zack, was a football teammate of Jeffrey's this fall at Princeton High School. Zack and Jeffrey played Little League together for multiple seasons.
As you probably remember, we had planned on making this a one time event. However, when you see Derek now in his wheelchair, it just didn't seem appropriate to rest on the success of last year. Derek doesn't have the luxury of waiting for us to be proud of ourselves for what we did last year. So I want to do my best to help this family and other families facing the same affliction. Please don't take this as an indication that we were not grateful for all you did for us last year. We know you are faced with very difficult choices when it comes to how you allocate your charity and spirit of generousity.
This year we are, again, asking our friends for their help in making our dinner on April 6th a success. How can you help? Please try to attend if you can. We will be holding another silent and live auction. Any sports memorabilia such as signed balls, jerseys , bats, or helmets , etc would be a great help. Dinners, vacation homes, airline mileage, tickets to TV or Broadway shows as well as for Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, or NCAA basketball are always great items. If you can't make the dinner or provide a donation, any small donations are gratefully accepted and can be processed quickly on the website.
Most importantly, please forward this email on to anyone that you think might be interested, and feel free to personalize or tailor it as you see fit. If you can't be part of the direct fundraising, simply forwarding this email to your closest friends will indeed end up helping Derek and others like him. I am counting on people who welcome the opportunity to help them. I know it's hard to move out of your comfort zone when it comes to these things ....but if you've ever met Derek and see his fighting spirit, you just do what you can...no questions asked.
If you have any other unique ideas that you think can make April 6th special, please let us know. You can contact us at [email protected]. You can also see us on Facebook under Dereks Dreams Dinner II.
Tickets for the dinner will be on sale through our website: www.dereksdreams.com or by mail: P.O. Box 145 Kingston , NJ 08528.
Tickets will cost $100 each or $1,000 for a table of ten.
We also need volunteers to help with the prep-work for the fundraiser. Anyone interested in volunteering please send an email to Michele DeMatteo at [email protected].
Thanks so much for all the good energy we know is out there! Thank you for your help in supporting Derek’s Dreams, and we hope to see you on April 6.
Ernie Barsamian on behalf of The Derek’s Dreams Committee
Last year’s Derek’s Dreams Fundraiser was a huge success. Nearly 600 people attended to help in our fight against A-T and to help Derek DiGregorio. Over the past year we have learned so much more about A-T, and have met other families that are affected by this terrible disease. For this reason, we have decided to hold another event and broaden our mission to be more active in trying to cure A-T, and to help other families that are affected. This year's event will be held on April 6th and will again be held at Nanina’s in the Park in Belleville, NJ.
Ataxia Telangiectasia, or A-T is a rare, progressive disease that affects only 500 Americans. In fact, more people attended last year’s fundraiser than have the disease. In May, 2008, Derek DiGregorio, son of Steve and Nadia DiGregorio, was diagnosed with A-T. Derek is now 13 and his symptoms are progressing. Derek’s Dreams was formed by a group of friends of the DiGregorios that is committed to helping Derek and others who share this diagnosis. Money raised will help fund research grants and help children such as Derek who are afflicted with this disease.
Some of you may know the DiGregorio family already from the Princeton community or have met them through me, as they have been a big part of the Princeton youth sports community for many many years. Steve DiGregorio and I coached Little League together. Steve has volunteered his time coaching hundreds of Princeton kids in youth sports and has been a Nutley high school and Princeton University football coach for several hundred young men for over 20 years. His oldest son, Zack, was a football teammate of Jeffrey's this fall at Princeton High School. Zack and Jeffrey played Little League together for multiple seasons.
As you probably remember, we had planned on making this a one time event. However, when you see Derek now in his wheelchair, it just didn't seem appropriate to rest on the success of last year. Derek doesn't have the luxury of waiting for us to be proud of ourselves for what we did last year. So I want to do my best to help this family and other families facing the same affliction. Please don't take this as an indication that we were not grateful for all you did for us last year. We know you are faced with very difficult choices when it comes to how you allocate your charity and spirit of generousity.
This year we are, again, asking our friends for their help in making our dinner on April 6th a success. How can you help? Please try to attend if you can. We will be holding another silent and live auction. Any sports memorabilia such as signed balls, jerseys , bats, or helmets , etc would be a great help. Dinners, vacation homes, airline mileage, tickets to TV or Broadway shows as well as for Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, or NCAA basketball are always great items. If you can't make the dinner or provide a donation, any small donations are gratefully accepted and can be processed quickly on the website.
Most importantly, please forward this email on to anyone that you think might be interested, and feel free to personalize or tailor it as you see fit. If you can't be part of the direct fundraising, simply forwarding this email to your closest friends will indeed end up helping Derek and others like him. I am counting on people who welcome the opportunity to help them. I know it's hard to move out of your comfort zone when it comes to these things ....but if you've ever met Derek and see his fighting spirit, you just do what you can...no questions asked.
If you have any other unique ideas that you think can make April 6th special, please let us know. You can contact us at [email protected]. You can also see us on Facebook under Dereks Dreams Dinner II.
Tickets for the dinner will be on sale through our website: www.dereksdreams.com or by mail: P.O. Box 145 Kingston , NJ 08528.
Tickets will cost $100 each or $1,000 for a table of ten.
We also need volunteers to help with the prep-work for the fundraiser. Anyone interested in volunteering please send an email to Michele DeMatteo at [email protected].
Thanks so much for all the good energy we know is out there! Thank you for your help in supporting Derek’s Dreams, and we hope to see you on April 6.
Ernie Barsamian on behalf of The Derek’s Dreams Committee
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