ideas to help wit medical cost

February 2, 2006 7:18 PM

would appreciate help on ideas for fund raisers to help my sister in-law with medical cost she was recently diagnosed with skin cancer and last week had new baby girl with heart deformity that will need at least three surgeries in next year an half and will eventually need transplant

so both mom and bay will be in hospital i would like to help And i know money will be a problem so i ma trying to figure out a way i can raise some for them any body done this what works best what doesent or just ideas i have a freind how owns a bar and he said we could do benift thing there but what thanx

posted by starvinron to society & culture (7 comments total)

I think your best bet would be to start with the bar. Situations like these are rough, but starting at a place where the people are known (one way or another) is good.

A lot of people also have trouble trusting anonymous requests for financial assistance (like on the internet). Getting people she knows in on the fundraising is another place to start. Get a brainstorm going among the people that know her. (some ideas - have friends post flyers, have your bar owning friend put something up, etc)
posted by Bucket o' Heads at 7:42 PM on February 2, 2006

If she's having trouble, there's state programs for underinsured and the hospital(s) are usually helpful as far as both payment plans, payment reductions, and assistance. What have you found in those areas? And if I may ask, what skin cancer and what was the Dx?
posted by kcm at 7:46 PM on February 2, 2006

I have a friend whose boyfriend has been missing for over a month. She's having a fund raiser to get money to support their flyers/outreach/etc.

Her local church is letting her hold the function there. Her friends have offered to perform in various ways (there's a singer and there's a jazz musician). They're not charging at the door, but they are going to sell raffle tickets for around $10 each.

Most of the local community will turn up, and they're likely to raise money...

If you had somone willing to donate a performance, there would be no real ethical issue with selling tickets at the door to a bar. It might make a nice charity concert.
posted by ebeeb at 9:28 PM on February 2, 2006

First get someone to put out some press releases to the local media with some heart-wrenching details and pictures.

Make sure somebody else writes the press release if your question is any indication of your writing style and/or education level.

Once a press release is in the hands of the media, start calling them. Contact a church to see if you can have a fund-raiser there. Update the press release and send it out again. Call the newspapers and local TV news to make sure they know about the fund raiser. Eventually you'll get to the right people and it's quite likely you'll get some airtime. I also recommend contacting the "morning drive" DJ's at some of your local radio stations.

Make sure you go into a bank and tell them what is happening. They will let you open a sort of fund-raising account and the news can tell people to mail their checks directly to the bank.

Another idea is to post an ad on craigslist or on a bulletin board at your local college looking for a marketing student who might be able to help out for practice.

That's all this is. Marketing.
posted by lockle at 9:37 PM on February 2, 2006

A former employee where I work did a fund raiser to help with his brother's medical expenses and it was quite successful if I recall. He held a charity auction at a local park. I assume the auctioned goods were donated, but I don't know for sure. There were things like autographed sports memorabilia, dinners at local restaurants, spa packages etc. The auction event itself was also a fund raiser with food/drink vendors and entertainers on hand to raise money and draw people in. He promoted it by putting fliers up on every floor of our building. A nice touch was that he replaced them with thank-you notes after the auction was over.
posted by Otis at 6:23 AM on February 3, 2006

Just to follow up. I found a copy of the flier that was posted and can give you some more info. The auction was a "silent auction" and had a football signed by a local football star, a gift certificate to a travel agency and photography studio package, a weekend resort getaway, among other items from local merchants. There was also a raffle with a prize of $500 cash. Raffle tickets were $10 each. The raffle and auction were held at the park on a Sunday afternoon. Hope that helps. Good luck.
posted by Otis at 6:33 AM on February 3, 2006

I've seen this done a couple of times, and from what I understand they have worked pretty well in the small towns I have lived in. The key is to get organized and make a campaign out of it. Put spare change cans at local businesses, have an auction, get local bands to do a benefit concert at your friends bar, etc. I've also seen good results from the sale of pins that read "I'm a friend of Charlie" (a little boy in town with rare cancer). But focus the activity in like a one or two month period, so that you can maximize attention and effort of volunteers and the public.

Also, make sure someone is focussed on indentifying/applying for any and all state/federal assistance that may apply.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:17 PM on February 3, 2006