Dear ______,
This month marked the three-year anniversary of the death of my friend Ellie. Ellie had cystic fibrosis, a terminal genetic disease that primarily affects the lungs. Due to the end stages of her disease, Ellie fought through two back-to-back double-lung transplants during the last months of her life. I never knew anyone as strong as Ellie. She was a warrior. Ellie was 23 when she died.
One of Ellie’s passions was to help other children and young adults suffering with terminal illnesses. Ellie believed that the quality of medical care that someone receives should not depend upon finances. She wanted to level the playing field for all children and young adults with critical illnesses. And with your help, we can achieve this goal.
In 2001, Ellie’s family started the Reach for the Stars Foundation to help individuals with cystic fibrosis. In 2017, the name of the foundation was changed to “Ellie’s Army Foundation” in an effort to honor Ellie’s memory. The Foundation expanded its mission to assist children and young adults with all critical illnesses.
I believe in the mission of the foundation. It breaks my heart to think of the devastation a family feels at the prospect of losing their child. It is horrendous to know that in addition to the difficult emotions, they have the financial stress of struggling to pay for medical necessities, their mortgage, or their electricity bills.
You can help make a difference in their lives by supporting my fundraiser for Ellie’s Army Foundation. Please help me carry on Ellie’s wishes and help me meet my fundraising goal of ______.
You can join us in saving the lives of children and young adults. Your financial support can relieve the stress of these parents during this holiday season. Thank you in advance for helping us reach our goals.
With gratitude,
Dear ______,
Three years ago, my friends Brian and Stacey Levy lost their daughter, Ellie, to a lifelong battle of cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease that primarily affects the lungs. She was an amazing individual and I feel blessed to have known her.
Before Ellie passed away, one of her goals was to help others with critical illnesses. Today, the Levy family is honoring her memory by spreading the word about their nonprofit organization called Ellie’s Army Foundation.
Although it was originally founded under the name Reach for the Stars more than a dozen years ago to help individuals with CF, we are now expanding the focus to offer resources to all children and young adults battling life-threatening illnesses. The programs aim to save lives by covering a variety of costly, yet vital, expenses they need for survival and wellbeing. This includes medical bills, treatments, nutritional supplements, electricity bills, mortgage/rent payments, and transplants (just to name a few).
It would mean the world to these children and young adults to have your support behind programs that help them continue to fight for survival. Join me by “enlisting” in Ellie’s Army today with a generous donation.
Thank you,
Dear ______,
This holiday season, I’m reflecting on things that I am thankful for. Among a list that includes family and friends, I am also thankful for health and a home.
Can you imagine having a critically-ill child and not being able to afford all the necessities to keep them alive and safe? Or struggling to choose between paying for medical bills versus paying for a roof over your child’s head?
With your support, we can help families in these tough situations through programs managed by Ellie’s Army Foundation. You can join me in making a difference for children and young adults with life-threatening illnesses. Here’s what your gift can help us provide:
●Medical assistance for young women like Courtney, who struggled to pay for medical treatments while waiting for a transplant
●Emergency expenses for families of children like Navaeh, whose parents were facing foreclosure until Ellie’s Army offered financial relief
●Transplants, which often require that patients show proof of thousands of dollars in liquid assets before they can even be accepted into a program
●Ellie’s Fund at Duke, which helps provide financial assistance to lung transplant recipients at Duke University Medical Center
Your financial support this season can help us bring peace of mind to these families, children and young adults. Today, you can directly impact the chances of someone’s survival and well-being.
Please join me in “enlisting” in Ellie’s Army Foundation. Together, we can create blessings for those who need it most.
With Gratitude,
Dear ______,
I want to share a story with you.
In spring last year, a baby girl named Navaeh was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic terminal disease. She is a beautiful, happy baby who is full of spirit and, despite her young age, is a warrior. For her parents, Navaeh is the light in sometimes a dark world.
But when her family was facing foreclosure after drowning in hospital bills, they feared the worst.
Thankfully, a team of soldiers known as Ellie’s Army Foundation stepped in to help, covering their mortgage and electricity bills, and provided funds to pay for food, diapers and other vital nutritional supplements Navaeh needs to survive on a daily basis. Now, in the words of her father, they “have a home and hope.”
It’s a story that is far more common than we’d like to admit, with hundreds of families going through the same struggles every year to keep their children alive.
This is why I’m writing to you today. As these families all across the US continue to fight for the ability to both provide a means of survival for their child and a home to keep over their heads, our ability at Ellie’s Army Foundation to help them depends on the generous support of others like you.
Your financial support this season can help us bring peace of mind to these families, children and young adults. Today, you can directly impact the chances of someone’s survival and well-being.
Please join me in “enlisting” in Ellie’s Army Foundation. Together, we can create blessings for those who need it most.
With Gratitude,