A riddle:
What do you get when you cross ..
~ A precious little girl named Riley with many, many gifts who struggles with the anxieties and challenges of Asperger’s Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder
~ A wonderful organization that trains service dogs for fabulous kids like Riley
~ Her loving Mom, Dad and little brother who would do anything to make sure that she feels safe, secure and included
~ And me?
C’mon, now. You know me pretty well by now …. Take a guess!
No? Nothing? Give up?
A RAFFLE!
Yes, friends, in the spirit of this season of giving, I am trying to help these caring, delightful people to realize their dream of an autism service dog for their sweet girl. And I’m asking for your help.
And yes, as always, there’s something in it for YOU! Not just good karma .. a chance at a fabulous prize.
***
I am raffling off a copy of my favorite book of all time
.
.
personally autographed to the winner
.
by the author,
.
***
Here’s how it works. Between now and Jan 15th, you click on the link below and donate whatever you can to
4 PAWS FOR ABILITY
Please make sure to type in the special instructions “FOR RILEY O’NEIL – JESS RAFFLE” (that part is vital to get into the contest!) and for each 100% tax deductible $10 you donate, you will get one chance to win the autographed book. The more you donate, the more chances you’ll have.
.
On Jan 15th, I will collect the raffle tickets and Brooke will draw the winner out of a hat.
I know it’s a tough time of year for all of us, but I’d be grateful if you’d consider helping Riley and her family. You don’t need to donate a lot. Just donate!
Please don’t hesitate to ask for any further information (using the comment field) and PLEASE don’t hesitate to pass this on to anyone else you think might be interested in helping (or just winning the fabulous, personalized book!)
THANK YOU
ed note .. a special thanks to John Robison, who I am proud to call a friend and without whom this would obviously not be possible. Woof!
Thanks Jess! This is so sweet of you!!!
You have such a big heart, Jess! This sounds like a wonderful idea.
girls, girls .. family show
btw, has ‘woof’ ever been more apropos?
Only if you raffle off a date with that hot-@ssed Apergian John Robison.
Now THAT would be something.
Woof! A date with John Robison! Do you think his “female” would mind?
We’re not saying that anything has to HAPPEN, pixie..
How much more would you pay for the date?
Wanne buy the dog?
drama throws the hanging curve ball
robison seizes the moment and hits that sucker out of the park
cracker jacks anyone? this is gettin good
p.s. my new year’s post will just have to wait til tonight .. this is just too much fun
Says the woman who has already HAD her date with JER…
Down Drama! Down girl!
You all are too much!
Thanks again Jess! Thanks John!
: )
John,
Depends on what comes with the package…then we’ll talk price.
No dog. No deal.
Wait! That was a date? You’ve got some explainin’ to do Lucy!
Oooh, great idea!!!! First John is an Aspergian with a heart of gold. Second, his “word” is WOOF! (uttered as only a 6’5″ man can) and Third it’s for RILEY!!!
Drama, I have been out to lunch many times with John – EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!! And I’ve been in his hotel room where he showed me his photographs!
(Note to Unit 2: We were accompanied by Patricia Wood and Holly Kennedy and the curtains were open and I had two feet on the floor at all times I swear to God.)
Kim
OK, ladies – Hang on to your hats – This is getting interesting.
John, bless his heart (and according to Drama, his um, well, er, other fine attributes) has agreed to raffle himself off .. OK, well, sort of .. In a matter of speaking. Oh dear.
In addition to a book raffle, this has now officially become a fundraiser extraordinaire -
Stay tuned for details of how to win a DINNER date (um, no Luau, not THAT kind of date, dear) with the man himself (not Luau John.) Then again, wonder what Luau might fetch on the open market? It’s a great cause after all. Kidding dear, kidding.
In the next couple of days I will post details on the how, the where and the when (lots of options in cities near you thanks to John’s incredibly busy speaking schedule)
I have to say, though, I LOVE Kim’s (Stagmom’s) idea .. maybe we can all pitch in and share an evening out ..
Hmmmm, the wheels they are a-turning
Matt or John?
“Wanna buy the dog?” This may go down as the single BEST pick up/hook up line in the history of the universe.
I think we need a NYC mega-date. All of us.
Can I pick out what he’ll wear?
I’ll bet we could get Drama and her gay to come to NYC!!! What say you, DM? Up for another trip, are you? (Riley, honey, go buy a dog collar.) I’ll get Stalingo (my husband) to pony up some Marriott points so I can stay in the city overnight. Maybe John will bring his brother too – that’s GOT to be good for some interesting conversation right there. We can talk about his career as a sailmaker in Massachusetts. We’ll leave the scissors at home, thank you very much. Can we get David Sedaris to come too? And Amy? I want to show her my spot on Jeri Blank impersonation.
We could create a giant NYC fundraiser with John and other famous writers and make page 6! (That’s the gossip column in NYC.) All of you, practice getting out of a limo and exposing your crotch!
Oh the possibilities!! And RILEY GETS HER DOG!!!
Um, you know I’m kidding about the limo thing, right? We’ll take cabs. And wear panties….
If Drama and her gay and Kim and Jess and John are coming to NYC, count me in!!!
Why did we not think of raffling off dates with JER sooner? What were we thinking!
Oh Riley, what you inspire!
Woof!
re-read, luv april 18th .. not 11th .. and we’d get the money in by jan 15th – i wasn’t about to make riley wait til april – hullo
back to smily face?
kick in $200 bucks and you can call yourself whatever you like
for $250 i’ll even print it unedited .. go for it
Aw. Jess. That’s too much! At this point we are only about 2K from our goal. We may already have reached it by April,(especially if we raffle of a date with John before then!)but lets not let that prevent us from seeing John in NYC!
: )
DAMN! Just checked the schedule and Todd works the weekend of April 11th. His schedule is pretty much iron clad and when he works the weekend, he is GONE. I’m on single parent duty. No back up. Plus, it’s Easter.
I’m changing my happy face above to a sad.
: (
We can do NYC on April 18th / 19th when John will be there as the keynote speaker for Mt Sinai School of Medicine’s Annual Seaver Center Symposium on Autism. Plenty of time for travel arranging.
Time to think seriously about this – are we able to pitch in enough / have enough of us to pitch in to come up with the money that we need for Riley?
I’ll start the ball rolling .. I’m in and I’ll ante in $200 ..
Do you need a chaperone? Do your husbands think you need a chaperone? Does JER think you need a chaperone?
Could I call you whatever I’d like for $201.00. Just kidding but I couldn’t resist.
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