Monday, December 26, 2011

New Orleans youth takes fundraiser for the hearing impaired to new heights

Marigny and Kathy, Red Thread President,
preparing for the fundraiser

Remember Marigny, the high school senior from Louisiana who took on a large philanthropic project for The Red Thread Promise as part of her requirement for graduation? Well, we wanted to share her success and offer the opportunity to continue supporting her efforts of bringing new digital hearing aids to the children of St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children.

On December 2nd, 2011, Marigny teamed with Modern Market, a lifestyle boutique in New Orleans, to host a fundraiser benefitting hearing impaired children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Raffle tickets were sold for five dynamic prizes and, on the day of the event, Modern Market donated 10% of all sales to the project.


On the street, directing people inside

Marigny (left) and friends who helped throughout the evening

Her original goal was $2,500, quite an undertaking for a single high school student. Following the fundraiser and sales at Modern Market, donations reached $3,700. Rather than simply basking in the satisfaction of a successful fundraiser, this ambitious teen increased her goal and kept right on going!

As of this post, Marigny has doubled her original goal, bringing in over $5,000! And still she keeps going with a passion, our little red Energizer bunny, extending the timeframe for fundraising to January 10, 2012 and increasing her goal yet again.

Marigny has done an incredible job and we couldn’t be more proud of her. The Red Thread team LOVES getting youth involved in philanthropy! We are equally excited to be able to purchase 16 brand new digital hearing aids for the children at St. Vincent’s due to the efforts of a single high school student. Imagine what we could do if we were each so passionate!

Marigny has jump-started this fundraising campaign and we invite you to be a part of it. Many more hearing aids are needed to provide for all of St. Vincent’s children. The goal of the campaign is to purchase 75 hearing aids by February 2012 and a whopping 500 aids by the end of December 2012. Each hearing aid costs $300, a small price to pay to make a huge improvement in the life of a hearing-impaired child.

A note from Marigny: As an American teenager, this project has made me realize that life is not about the materialistic possessions we may have or wish to have, but about the people who are a part of our lives. In the midst of everything, we need to consider those who are less fortunate. This project has certainly made me look at my own life in a completely different way. In the future, I plan to travel to Haiti with The Red Thread Promise to see the children who will benefit from your generosity. This is a perfect way for me to become a global citizen and help those who do not have the means to help themselves. By coming together as a community of caring individuals, we are able to make a tremendous impact on the lives of the deaf orphans of St. Vincent's. We did this together!

If you are interested in joining The Red Thread Promise to give the gift of hearing to these precious children, please contact Kathy@redthreadpromise.org. Donations can be made by PayPal (link at top right) or by sending a check to the address at top right.

Marigny (far right) and the Modern Market team

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