DONATION INFO for DAMIEN'S B'DAY CHARITY PROJECT

[shimmery]

DAMIEN LEITH ONLINE BIRTHDAY PROJECT 2007 - to SUPPORT SPECIAL OLYMPICS AUSTRALIA

EDITS - Have made the writing white to be more readable. Any new info will be in Lime to spot it easily.

UPDATE 21 JAN 07

Here is the beautiful thank you letter and tally list Monica gave me to post onto the forum addressed to all of you!

The tally list is the same as we had in the secret forum - Monica also kindly wrote Damien a version with real names or however you informed her you wished them to be on it when you donated.

LETTER TO THE FORUM WITH THANKS FROM THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS AUSTRALIA



The lovely Monica & Damien together holding the letter at the presentation of the tally!

This letter shows you just how much your contributions meant to the SO. Well done all of the Forum, you are Beautiful!

On behalf of the forum, I also wrote a letter for Damien thanking Eileen, Monica & Jo from the SO for their support and highlighting some of the related stories which were posted publicly in this thread as well as some things I'd been asked to pass on to Damien via messages

LETTER FOR DAMIEN FROM FORUM PT 1

LETTER FOR DAMIEN FROM FORUM PT 2

The letters were kept straight in a giant birthday card. When it was time to make the presentation I said to him, "I think you may be aware that there's been a special birthday project at the forum to raise money for the Special Olympics." Damien nodded and smiled and said, "Yes, I am."

I gave him the card on behalf of the forum and he studied everything inside and seemed really quite touched.



Damien held the letters in his hands and took time to read the words and take it all in. We weren't taking pics at this point as he was quietly reading it all. As mentioned before, when he finished reading and saw the tally, he looked up and said, "Onbelievable!" It really meant a lot to him.



p.s. -

Monica & I checked back and forth to be sure the details were correct on the list - the amounts of Anon donors has changed from when you last saw it, we had a couple of spare Anon slots in case someone changed their mind back then. But this final list you see is the true and correct one



UPDATE 19 JAN 07

I am so thrilled to announce that the GRAND TOTAL FOR ALL YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WAS $ 1930[/b]

Monica has prepared a lovely letter for the forum which I will scan on the weekend and post for you all to see.

Damien was AMAZED at the total - in his own words, he said it was "Onbelievable!"

You have all done an amazing amazing thing - I hope every one of you knows the impact this contribution from the forum will make to the Special Olympics in such an important year as this with their World Games coming up.

Well done to all of you, I am so proud of this forum I can't even say




UPDATE 16 JAN 07
The 2007 Birthday Project is drawing to a close - anyone still thinking about making a donation there is still time left - Monica has let me know that the final tally will be taken at Close of Business Wednesday 17th Jan so there is time to post the checklist and check everyone who should be on it is on it.




UPDATE 08 JAN 07

IMPORTANT ALL CONTRIBUTORS - PLEASE NOTIFY MONICA [e-mail] IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY WITH HOW YOU WANT TO BE NAMED ON THE LETTER TO BE GIVEN TO DAMIEN WITH THE TALLY-


IF YOU WISH TO HAVE YOUR BOARD NAME INCLUDED AND DIDN'T DO SO AT THE TIME OF DONATING please contact Monica ASAP so she can link the donation to your BOARD NAME


OPTIONS!!! YOU CAN BE NOTED AS YOUR REAL NAME, YOUR INITIALS, YOUR FORUM NAME OR ANONYMOUS - WHATEVER YOU LIKE - JUST LET MONICA or me KNOW

If you email Monica - don't forget to tell her the name you donated under as well, so she knows how to link which name with which request!


HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE TO BE NOTED AS IS HOW YOU WILL BE NOTED AS ON THE COVER LETTER WITH THE TALLY RESULT


UPDATE 12 JAN 07

IMPORTANT ALL CONTRIBUTORS
Please note there have been questions asked re the list of names for the project and we need to decide if a checklist will be posted in the secret forum to check no contributor is left out before the letter goes to Damien.

I have put a poll up in the secret thread regarding this - please PM one of the mods if you need the password:

Checklist for the SO Project


Poll closes 11PM TUES 16 JAN 07

If this list goes ahead and you absolutely don't want to be listed on the forum but want to be listed on Damien's letter, best let me know via PM so I can note that

The following is noted in that thread:

I would be happy to have these names go just to Damien and not be posted on the forum, the only problem with that is that it give us no way to check that all the names have been included and no one mistakenly left out. Hence this poll.

If we post the names, it will only be to check them off so that anyone reading who has donated can be sure their name is on the letter to Damien.

PLEASE REMEMBER - IF WE POST NAMES HERE WE WILL ONLY POST AS YOU HAVE REQUESTED TO MONICA THAT YOUR NAME BE NOTED FOR THE LETTER AS SPECIFIED IN THE DONATION THREAD, FIRST POST .

IF YOU HAVE TOLD HER YOUR FULL REAL NAME, IT WILL BE ON THE COVER LETTER TO DAMIEN BUT WILL NOT BE POSTED HERE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF CHECKING, INITIALS SHOULD BE FINE TO SEE IF YOU'RE ON IT (OR MISSING).

OF COURSE NO INDIVIDUAL AMOUNTS WOULD BE MENTIONED

Monica and I have been coordinating about names/board names throughout - I was willing to do that for her but then we unfortunately have the privacy issue at stake and I do not know who donated nor do I wish to, as it doesn't seem appropriate.

So... Monica appreciated the privacy issue, we discussed it at length a while back and she let me know she was happy to coordinate the emails from everyone as they came in to associate themselves with their donation in the name they chose - I am very grateful to her for that, it is time consuming but she also added to me on Wednesday that it did end up providing her with a useful checklist as well to keep track.

Monica told me on Wednesday that to her knowledge she has heard from everyone who donated regarding this but maybe we do need to check - anyway I'll leave that up to the poll.

We need to put it to the vote about this I think. If there is a positive result of at least 70% yes, I will post the names.

This checklist will not be posted unless there is a 70% positive vote for it. If it is posted, it will be in the secret forum.

(Don't worry, no individual donation amount will be associated with any name. Names will be a simple list only. Any concerns please contact me or Monica)

**********

All contact info has been confirmed by Monica Smith, Sponsorship & Fundraising Dept, Special Olympics and the initiative approved by Monica and Jo Price from SO.

ADDRESS TO SEND DONATIONS:

Attn: Monica Smith
SPECIAL OLYMPICS AUSTRALIA
Level 1, Sports House
6A Figtree Drive
Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127

Monica is our contact for the project and can be contacted direct in Australia on [phone]

If you make a donation, you will receive a receipt from the Special Olympics, please contact them if you do not.

TAX DEDUCTIONS:

All Donations are eligible for Tax Deductions, whether personal or in company name, and will apply in the name made out on the receipt.

So, if you wish a donation to be tax deductible for a company, please remember to donate in the name of the company. You may like to contact Monica to confirm just to be sure the receipt details will be correct for your tax purposes.

MAILING LIST

When you donate, Monica will automatically include you on the mail-out list for updates on the Special Olympics. If you don't wish to be added to the list, please contact her via email.

If you are in any doubts re donations or tax deductions, please contact Monica and she can help you.


For Birthday Project Donations:

Please use a cover note similar to that outlined below so that Special Olympics will know that these donations are part of the forum’s project.

At the end SPECIAL OLYMPICS AUSTRALIA will be able to tell the results of the tally to Damien as our birthday gift to the organisation in his name.

An Official Donation Form is downloadable from the Special Olympics Australia website www.specialolympics.com.au/

However Jo Price at Special Olympics has asked that we use their street address (given at the top of this post) DO NOT USE the PO Box on their website as they have just moved offices and will be removing this PO Box from the website as they have discontinued using it - remaining things will still be forwarded but they ask do not use it.

Example of cover letter you could send:


Attn: Monica Smith
SPECIAL OLYMPICS AUSTRALIA
Level 1, Sports House
6A Figtree Drive
Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127


Dear Monica

Please find enclosed my donation for Special Olympics Australia to be included as part of the total gift on behalf of the Damien Leith Online 2007 Birthday Project.

Yours faithfully,




If you wished, you could also let them know your forum username, but that is entirely optional.

Then you could add your details as per their official donations form:

Here is the basic structure of the donation form:

Name
Title
Initials/First Name
Last Name
Business Title (if company gift)
Business Name (if company gift)
Address Street
Town/Suburb
State
Postal Code
Country
Email Address


Payment Details - Cheque/Money order:

My cheque/money order for AUD$ is enclosed


OR Payment Details - Credit card:

Please debit my credit card for AUD$

Credit card type Amex Diners Visa MasterCard Bankcard

Name on credit card

Number on credit card - - -

Expiry Date



Signature, ( )


If you wish to DONATE ONLINE:

On the Special Olympics website there is an online donation capability which an overseas person would also be able to use. This option does not have a comments field yet so Monica is going to have their technical people add one soon so you can state that the donation is on behalf of the Damien Leith Birthday Project. If you wish to use the online facility before this is amended, please also send a follow up email to Monica direct [e-mail] to let SO know that you'd like to have your donation added to the tally for the project.


You can also Donate by Telephone: From their website:

“Donating to Special Olympics by telephone using your credit card is quick and easy". Monica has asked us that any telephone donations go to her direct line so she can track them, which in Australia is 02 8116 9839. The number on the website for phone donations is no longer correct as they have moved in the last 3 weeks and she said that old number didn't move with them.

If you donate by telephone, don’t forget to say it was on behalf of the Damien Leith Online Birthday Project 2007


If you wish to DONATE YOUR TIME

The SO dearly would love new volunteers, and this may be ideal for those who have free time to give. There are 46 regional clubs in the organisation, and all sports WOULD be offered to each except they do not in many cases have enough volunteers to help out.

If you wish to volunteer, Monica has asked that you refer to the SO website section "Locations"

and from that point click on the state or territory you are in to find the regional clubs. From there you will be able to see the club closest to you to contact them direct to volunteer - usually there are events each weekend in various sports and you could help by assisting with officials, or canteens, etc. Monica said that this would make a huge difference to the organisation and enable clubs unable to offer certain sports the opportunity to offer more to their members.

AUCTIONS

Monica loved the idea of writing to Damien's manager to request items for an eBay auction. If she can hear from David (manager) the exact items which he may be able to forward for the auction, she can start setting up an official auction site for them on eBay. She will put that the auction is for the Damien Leith Birthday Project 2007.

If David can send the items to Monica direct at the Special Olympics address above, it will be the most efficient method.

Therefore, Monica has requested ideally that David may be able to forward over to her direct some pictures of the items that will be donated so that she can start setting up the site, or if that is not possible yet, a simple description so she can start setting up the auction ready to go.

It is not necessary for David to send pictures if he is unable, when she receives the items she can have them photographed.

Monica suggests that bidding close on JANUARY 17 so she can add the total to the tally and be able to tell Damien, on his birthday, the total raised.

AUCTIONS UPDATE 21 DEC 06

After hearing from David Champion (see letter in the planning thread) and also due to time constraints, Monica has asked that we focus on the donations for the Birthday Project this time, and next year there will be more time to organise a very successful auction to supplement the project.

Coming up next year are the World Games in Shanghai and to send the 129 athletes from the Australian Special Olympics the organisation plans some wonderful initiatives and auctions! So Monica suggests that in February after the Birthday Project some great ideas could be contributed for auctions which could be actioned later in the year.

DATES FOR THIS PROJECT

To enable time to calculate the final tally to inform Damien on his birthday, Jan 18, Monica has requested the CUT-OFF DATE FOR ALL DONATIONS TO BE RECEIVED BE JANUARY 17.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS OFFICE TIMES OVER CHRISTMAS:

The Special Olympics office will be closed from 21 DEC 06 to 08 JAN 07. However, though they cannot receive phone calls during that time, you can still send your donations during that time and they will be waiting for them when they resume in January.

TALLY UPDATES

As a way for us all to build excitement and momentum for the project, we discussed if tallys could be updated during the project's time frame.

Monica will update me on the tally progress on 10 JAN 06, then a week after that we will have our FINAL TALLY at closing 17 JAN 06

FIRST TALLY UPDATE 21 DEC 06[/size]

Monica is very pleased to announce the FIRST TALLY UPDATE is $ 590 !!!!

This is a fabulous effort for the first week everyone!!


SECOND TALLY UPDATE 10 JAN 07[/size]

The Latest Tally Update is in! I have posted it in the Secret Birthday Forum at this link:

Tally Results Updated for the Special Olympics

If you do not yet have the password for this birthday forum, please PM one of the mods who will send it to you.

There is still a week to go, and there may be another updated to come in the interim before the grand final tally! It's going fabulously so let's keep the momentum going one more week!

INTERIM TALLY UPDATE 12 JAN 07[/size]

An Interim Tally Update has been given to us by Monica! I have posted it in the Secret Birthday Forum at this link:

Tally Results Updated for the Special Olympics [/color]


Whoever so wishes, please start sending your cheques to the street address above or donate online or phone Monica, any amount you can afford, no one at the board will know your donation amount (see notes above, update Jan 8) as donations goes DIRECT to the SPECIAL OLYMPICS AUSTRALIA

Let's hope we can start this beautifully this year and build it to become a GREAT ANNUAL EVENT in honour of Damien's birthday each year




UPDATE 07 JAN 07

Now we're in the final stages of preparations - I'm going to put all further tally updates in the BIRTHDAY FORUM where the other birthday plans are being discussed so that a certain person will have some surprises on his birthday

IF YOU HAVE DONATED, PLEASE PM ANY OF THE MODS AND WE WILL SEND YOU THE PASSWORD AS WE ARE DISCUSSING HOW TO PRESENT THE TALLY & LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS (don't worry, no individual amounts will be mentioned, nor will your board name unless you indicated when you donated, any concerns please contact me or Monica) ;D



IF YOU WISH TO HAVE YOUR BOARD NAME INCLUDED AND DIDN'T DO SO AT THE TIME OF DONATING please contact Monica ASAP so she can link the donation to your BOARD NAME




BTW -

When speaking to both Jo Price & Monica Smith from Special Olympics, I notifed them that this is not the official Damien Leith website but the Original Fan Forum for Damien which existed before the official website. I also let them know that we had received Eileen's permission to go ahead with this project.

Anyone reading this who is not a member of our Forum may still send donations on behalf of the project. Please do support the Birthday Project if you wish!

[shimmery]

How this cause was chosen for donations:

Without quoting personal parts of the letters, I am just highlighting the parts of letters to & from Eileen (with her permission) for the forum regarding the project.

(For any newcomers, Eileen is Damien’s wife)


From: shimmery
Date: Dec 1 2006

Dear Eils

I know how busy you are, but something came up at the board ...

I mentioned that maybe we could direct donations to a favourite charity of Damien's for his birthday instead... (of purchasing a gift).

I don't think anyone should in any way actually collect money, that is fraught with dangers, but if you or Damien nominated a charity we could individually send them donations DIRECT with no middleman in Damien's name, with a note attached to let them know. It would be anonymous so there would be no embarrassment on the board if some could afford more than others.

Anyway, I hope I did the right thing suggesting the idea. Another board I know has raised thousands for a children's charity over the years so I thought it would be a very positive way to direct all the support for Damien to a cause which also needs support and may otherwise not have the help it needs.

If you approve of the idea, when you have a spare moment I'd really appreciate it if you let me or Neski know which charity you nominate. I've started a thread at the old forum here with the idea explained more.

www.dleithonline.proboards101.com/index.cgi?board=hq&action=display&thread=1164970725

Sorry to bother you on such a busy week, it seemed important to do something when the other idea for donations was mentioned today.

It was great seeing your message on the board btw, lovely to see your posts there again via Neski

xo

[shims]



Eileen’s Letter:

Dec 3 2006 8:18 PM
Subject: RE: Forum Birthday Project for Damien for charity - advice please
Body:

Hi [ shims ]

... What a nice thought about donating to a charity. Damien is really big into Special Olympics - we both helped out alot in Ireland and just loved it so I think that is the charity he has nominated to fully support. Special Olympics is a great training program for people with learning disabilities which builds self-confidence and social skills etc. I am sure you know of them. SO Ireland actually has a very advanced program with solid volunteers who run the program and funding to keep it going, whereas Australia struggles to get volunteers and funding for these programs. Anyway, let me know what you think.

... Anyway, I must go but take care and chat to you soon,


eils X



After receiving Eileen’s letter I double checked with her that it was ok to quote her letter and that we were excited to go ahead at the board:


From: shimmery
Date: Dec 3 2006 5:50 AM

Dear Eils

...

Thanks so very much for letting me know about the Special Olympics.

May I have your permission to quote the part of your letter about the Special Olympics on the forum? I'm sure all the members there would love to read what you have said.

It sounds like a wonderful idea and yet again it's so sad to see an Australian charity struggling for funding.

The forum very keen on the idea and that other forum I know about which raised money started small and by the 4th year was making a contribution in the thousands of dollars. Hopefully we can make a real impact for someone who needs the help.

...Thanks so much for your letter Eils I'll wait for your OK before I post the actual name of the charity on the forum.

Have a great week - please pass on all our best to your family.

xox

~[shims]



Eileen's reply:

Dec 7 2006 9:51 PM

Subject: RE: RE: RE: Forum Birthday Project for Damien for charity - advice please
Body:

Hi [shims]

Oh sorry, of course you can put my message up. Sorry so late in replying!

... Well, Damien has just been asked to become an Ambassador for Special Olympics and he has proudly accepted so that will be announced soon I am sure. I think that is such a nice idea and S.O will be thrilled, absolutely thrilled!

... Take care and chat soon,

eils X





Following this I wrote to Special Olympics Australia contact for Sponsorship and Fundraising, Monica Smith:



Hello Ms Smith,

I am contacting you from the details given for Sponsorship and Fundraising on the Special Olympics website.

I'm a member of the original supporters' forum for the new Australian Idol, Damien Leith www.dleithonline.proboards101.com/index.cgi and have recently been in touch with Damien's wife Eileen to ask her to nominate a cause which he would like to support.

At the forum, we wished to send donations to a good cause to mark Damien's birthday on January 18 rather than send gifts. Eileen has let me know that Damien has recently become an ambassador for the Special Olympics Australia and that this is the cause they would like to support for this donation project.

I am going to place Eileen's letter on the forum to let everyone know, but would like to first discuss with you the appropriate manner to send donations.

At the forum we thought it best to have no middlemen at all, so no one at the forum will be collecting money - we wished to send it all directly to the Special Olympics, to one address with a note from each donator stating that it was from a member of our forum for this project.

In that way we were hoping the Special Olympics would be able to track all the donations and could inform us at the end of the grand total so that we could relay to Damien and Eileen the final tally which was raised for the birthday project.

If this is acceptable to you, I'd like to please request the correct contact details and address at your organisation for everyone to send their donations and I will post that information on the forum.

This year we haven't had much time to organise, being only one month until Damien's birthday.

However, we hope to make this an annual project and also hope that over the years we can build this to become a truly significant donation to the Special Olympics Australia.


Please contact me with any queries or so that we might discuss further.


Kind regards,


[shims].

********


I hadn’t heard back as of today so called and left a message on Monica’s voicemail. I also called the main office for the Special Olympics Australia and spoke with Jo Price.

She let me know that they’d had trouble with their emails and that Monica was not in today but she’d relay my message.

Jo was very excited to hear about the project and the success of the previous projects that I’d seen on another board. I explained that we would like to start this off this year for Damien but hope that over the years we can make it a regular event, the Annual Damien Leith Birthday Project.

I asked Jo if I could put up all the details to forward donations on the forum and she said yes, by all means, and that the correct address was via Monica Smith, at the address at the top of this page.


REGARDING AUCTIONS:

Jo said that it may be difficult to organise an auction now with little time. However I will speak further with Monica about that tomorrow. Meanwhile Jo has said that they are planning an auction event so we may be able to work in with that. So Jo has basically said that if we are unable to get the auction side of things organised in time this year not to worry, as there will be official opportunities also through them to do something.

UPDATE 15 DEC 06

After speaking with Monica and finalising lots of details and asking her your questions, I have updated the first post in this thread.

Many thanks to everyone here at the forum for supporting this idea and to Eileen for all her support & nominating such a great cause with Damien. xox

UPDATE 21 DEC 06

Monica has updated the Auction strategy today, please see the first post at top of thread for the latest information, marked as an update

[-- Janny --]

A little quick question, Shim. Does the donation need to be recieved before a particular date? I assume it is by 18th of January - or is it earlier?

[hyperrune]

I was going to ask that too.
And what's the best way for kids without cheque books and credit cards to donate? Roughly what size donation is typical?

[-- Janny --]

hyperrune said:

I was going to ask that too.
And what's the best way for kids without cheque books and credit cards to donate? Roughly what size donation is typical?

I think it's up to you how much you are willing to donate - no pressure as it is anonymous. It's more the thought that counts

Ummm... money order, maybe? You can go to post office for Wester Union money order - though not sure if they accept that. Also bank transfer if you have internet banking?

[dede]

It's great they have been able to maintain their links with the SO - they are both obviously long term supporters see
kildare.ie/soroptimists/nnd/keadeen-dinner.asp

[hyperrune]

dede said:

It's great they have been able to maintain their links with the SO - they are both obviously long term supporters see
kildare.ie/soroptimists/nnd/keadeen-dinner.asp

Whoa! I didn't even recognise him! Three years ago, huh? He's aged well! ;D
Edit: Wow, go Eileen, General Manager! Looking sharp! It's obviously something they support very strongly! It's so sweet that they're from different countries and they've been supporting their cause from both ends of the world

[shimmery]

janny said:

A little quick question, Shim. Does the donation need to be recieved before a particular date? I assume it is by 18th of January - or is it earlier?

Great question janny - I hope to be able to find out that info when I speak with Monica from SO tomorrow and will post that info asap.

Please do not feel any pressure to donate more than you can afford, it's all anonymous, we will never know.

If you don't have a cheque book or Credit Card, you can send a Money Order (available at the Post Office)

I will be able to answer more questions later, but have to go until later this evening - any questions please put them here and I will try to get answers for you asap

[winterlong]

wow, this is so exciting! Thanks so much for organising this Simmery, and thanks dede for that link...its so wonderful that this is a charity that means something to both of them


I have a random question...in Eileens letter she talks of the struggle to get volunteers in Australia....


for those who cant make a monetary contribution, or who wish to supplement it....can we donate time?

[cloudwalker]

WOW!!I am so excited about this & was so pleased with Damien & Eileen choosing this charity & to hear how much they support it.
It is very true that the SO r always struggling for funding & recognition which sadly is the case across the board where disability is concerned .Any areas i have come across have always been crying out 4 help in many areas.
It always makes me sad how there is such a huge fuss over the "normal" olympics but hardly anyone pays attention to the special olympics.
This is a subject close to my heart too as i have 2 daughters with disabilities.
I know i've said it b4 but i think it's worth saying again,what beautiful,kind hearted,genuine ppl Eileen & Damien are.
I am really excited about this ,thanku Shimmery 4 all the trouble u have gone to in organising this,u r a STAR!!

[morgaine]

Thanks for all your work setting this up Shimmery...it's a fantastic idea

Just a question...the Special Olympics is then different to the Para-Olympics?

Great to see D & E with such committment to this cause...great role models

[nichska]

Thanks for setting this up Shimmery, your time is very much appreciated.
I'll definately be donating to this worthy cause.

[Trilly]

Dear Shims..Fantastic work!! This is so exciting! To be able to help Damien and Eils support their favourite cause is a real honour and privelege, and wonderfully practical way for us all to celebrate Damien's birthday. You are a STAR, sweetie!

[christyl]

ohhhh...I am SOOOOO excited about this. Damien, I KNEW there was another reason I loved you..

Morgaine, Special Olympics is the Olympics for people with an intellectual disability. And yes, people with an intellectual disability can participate in the disabled olympics, but, to be honest, they are often marginalised even more there than they are in the community.

This is the site which explains what Special Olympics are about, history, etc:

www.specialolympics.org/Special+Olympics+Public+Website/English/About_Us/default.htm

And here is the Australian Site:

www.specialolympics.com.au/

As my work is with people with an intellectual disability, I am THRILLED about this one!!

I have supported people to attend, etc, and I can totally concur with Eileens comments about how they struggle here in Australia. So yes, donations of time are extremely welcome. I can tell you, if you did, you would almost certainly find it one of the most rewarding things you have ever done. I never planned to work in this field - I fell into it during a "default" practicum placement at college nearly 20 years ago...and fell in love with it because of the people. That is, both the people with a disability - who show such resilience against often overwhelming odds - and the many wonderful souls who support them.

Back off my soapbox now...Can you guess that I do training in Service Values for new staff? lol

[Megan]

dede said:

It's great they have been able to maintain their links with the SO - they are both obviously long term supporters see
kildare.ie/soroptimists/nnd/keadeen-dinner.asp

Oh my word, in that picture he looks IDENTICAL to my friend Nick. I've grown up with him and never even thought of him as cute so now that I realise he looks like Damo... this is going to be awkwarrrrrrrd.

Question: do they have any problems with receiving a donation from overseas? My mind has suddenly decided to realise how materialistic Christmas is so I was thinking of donating all the cash I get in place of gifts to a charity, and now that this is in place I may as well put it all towards SO in Damien's name.