Last night, an organization of twenty-five women, threw a party for Simon’s Fund. They’ve been having fundraisers for nonprofit organizations for 25 years. Over 200 people gathered to bid on great auction items, eat and drink and watch a fashion show presented by Neiman Marcus. We are so grateful. Here is the speech that Phyllis shared.
When your child dies, you feel alone. No one can comprehend the grief. Few know what to say. And then one day, you start to encounter random acts of kindness from strangers that would never have come your way.
The sixty-something man that came to our house to lead a shiva minyan – his first time, ever. The woman who created our ad book for the very first Simon’s Soiree. The student with a heart condition that reached out to volunteer after reading about Simon’s Fund in the paper. The company that donated medical equipment from a cold call.
Then, there’s the story about a bunch of women who just want to help. For 25 years, From the Heart has been raising money for local nonprofits. They’ve channeled their time, energy and money toward helping women in need, people living with disease or disability, and children. Their network has raised over $1,000,000.
We are so humbled and honored to be this year’s beneficiary. Thankfully, most of you in this room will never know what it feels like to lose a child. However, we hope that everyone in this room will one day feel what it is like to be honored by a group of woman with big hearts. It fills your heart. It soothes your soul.
Thank you so much for honoring our son, Simon, tonight. He would have been seven years old and finishing first grade. Thanks for recognizing the efforts and accomplishments of Simon’s Fund. Thanks for helping us raise awareness. Thanks for helping us raise money so that we can continue to check hearts and save lives.
We’ve prepared a brief video to share with you tonight, but want to take a moment to introduce you to three special groups of people.
First, will all of the people that have attended a Simon’s Fund event in the past please stand up. These are the people that have funded the heart screenings that have checked almost 4,000 children. Thanks from the bottom of our heart.
Second, will the Simon’s Fund board members and Jill Deeves please stand up. This dedicated group has helped position Simon’s Fund so that it can impact the lives of children through heart screenings, cookie drives, medical partnership and advocacy efforts.
Finally, our third group. This is a very special group. Alaysia Keeley, Drew Harrington and Melissa Fair. They are three of the 36 children that have discovered heart conditions at our heart screenings.
