My Uncle Glenn (part 2)

A little over two weeks ago a benefit was for my Uncle Glenn.  The benefit was put on a business in Easton, Maryland.  The owner of the business went to high school with my cousin Allan and has remained close with Allan and Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Glenn.

When Daniel and I arrived there was a line outside of the door wrapping outside of the building.  It brought tears to my eyes to see that many people in my uncle's community came out to support him.  The tickets were $30 a piece and there were families of 5 there, who paid $150 to come to a local 4H park for a buffet dinner.  It meant a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Glenn. In the advanced stages of ALS the average cost of care for an ALS patient can be $200,000 a year.  Uncle Glenn now needs a nurse to be with him while my Aunt Bonnie is at work (that nurse costs $40 an hour).  Unfortunately Aunt Bonnie can't quite her job, because she has excellent insurance. Even the insurance though only covers a portion of the costs.  They didn't cover the new wheelchair Uncle Glenn needs, that wheelchair costs $30,000. Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Glenn had a decent nest egg in their savings, but their savings is quickly being depleted.

These programs were on the table as we walked in

There also was a silent auction with various items to bet on

When Daniel saw these Flyers pucks in the Silent Auction and a photo signed by the entire team, he told me he didn't care how much we bet he wanted them.  So I was going back and forth with "John Smith" who I thought a middle aged man.  John would write $20, I'd write $23 we went back and forth.  Finally when the DJ told us that there were only a fe minutes left in the silent auction I wrote down a bid. THen this girl pushed me out of the way and out bid me writting down "John Smith." She looked at me and asked "Who is Daniel ****?" Totally butchering our last name. I told her he was my husband. She said "Well, John Smith is my ten year old brother and I think he needs these pucks more then your husband." I wasn't going to fight with a 15 year old.  Although I did have a few choice words about how it was a charity event and the object was to raise money for the items and for the charity.  I kept my mouth shut and went back to tell Daniel we were outbid by a 10 year old.

 Even a basket of produce was for sale (my cousin, Connie's friend Tara who came down from Philly won it.)

This was our table, my great uncle, my grandfather (my dad's father), my dad's cousin, my dad and family friends sat there.

This is my girl, Darby. She's Uncle Glenn's youngest granddaughter (my cousin, Allan's daughter). Darby had a soccer game in NJ (where they live) earlier in the day, left the soccer game and came to the benefit.

Here's Darby's oldest sister, Emma (who also had a soccer game that day) and Darby's cousin, Uncle Glenn's second to oldest granddaughter, and my cousin, Connie's daughter, Morgan (Morgan and her family came from the Philly area)

See this girl? She's the one I almost told off.  I felt bad when my Aunt Bonnie (holding the microphone) said she was one of the top sellers for raffle tickets that went toward Uncle Glenn's fund. Because she was one of the top sellers my Aunt Bonnie presented her with a certificate paying for her driving school donated by Bayside Driving School (valued at $400!)

Uncle Glenn hates being the center of attention.  You can see him at the end of the table.

 I am not sure of the exact amount raised from the auction, the benefit and raffle tickets that were sold in August, but I know it will be a big, big help to my Uncle Glenn and Aunt Bonnie!