FUNDRAISER : Together we can help Jamie continue to work hard every day for children with disabilities!
What: Jamie’s new wheelchair accessible van
Goal: $25,000. Amount raised to date $2,355. Fundraiser ends Feb 1, 2016.
Why: Jamie works hard each day for children with disabilities. As a public relations specialist for Shriners Hospital for Children – Tampa, she helps put the spotlight on the help available to these special children & the families that love them. She herself was a patient of Shriners Hospital, first in Erie, then in Tampa. Now she’s giving back to the wonderful hospital system that helped her gain independence and become a productive adult. With congenital muscular dystrophy, she’s been confined to a wheelchair her entire life. This bright, positive young woman of 37 years had goals, just like everyone else, and a determination to achieve. She earned a BA in communications from the University of South FL and a masters in business management from Bellevue University. She’s been with Shriners for 11 years. She lives with a friend/caregiver in her home and travels 35 minutes to work(one-way) each day.
She has a 2006 van with approximately 200,000 miles. It is wheelchair accessible for her to be the passenger. Her friend/caregiver does all the driving, of course. Although well maintained over the years, the van has maintenance issues. It is a constant source of worry…no transportation, no job! These vans are so expensive (Anywhere from $50k – $100k depending on the modifications needed). With the expense of home ownership and daily living, money for a new van is such a huge concern for her, especially since her power wheelchair is also old & in need of being replaced. These things aren’t luxuries to Jamie, but true necessities to living life & being a productive member of society & the community in which she lives. They mean independence to her!
Always one to carry her own weight & accept responsibility, Jamie doesn’t ask for “hand-outs”, but we all need some help at times. She’s reached out to various agencies for help & suggestions. There’s always a long waiting list, no matter what. So she waits for a response that never comes. Please help this amazing young woman maintain her independence with the new van that she so desperately needs. Sitting at home, being a burden on society is not an option for her. Allow her to exemplify the fact that disability doesn’t have to be limiting. Let her work to help others, while helping herself with grace & dignity. She is so very deserving and a true inspiration to all. Thank-you, kindly.
How to give: Visit Jamie’s Give Forward fundraising page at https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/1glb/jamie-s-new-wheelchair-accessible-van?utm_source=giveforward&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=donation_notify_oganizer&email=jamie@ilookgoodtoday.com
Sincerely,
Jamie L. Santillo, M.A.M.
Public Relations Specialist
Phone: 813-972-2250 x 7642
Fax: 813-975-7127
http://www.shrinershq.org/hospitals/tampa/
www.facebook.com/SHCTampa
https://twitter.com/SHCTPA