7.27.2010 -- Launching the new website in two days!! I can barely control myself... I am so excited for this. We are going to be fighting cancer in a whole new way that everyone can jump on board with. The address is below if you want to attend; we are encouraging all of our business connections to attend, because we are running this event with the state chamber of commerce and CAMO technologies. There are going to be plenty of businesses there to network with. So come on out!
7.21.2010 -- In case you didn't see it on the main page we the OFFICIAL UNVEILING OF THE NEW WEBSITE is Thursday, July 29th from 5:30pm - 7:30pm at CAMO Technologies.
Aspen Corporate Plaza
1480 Rt 9 North Suite # 301
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
Contact jared@chemoclothes.org for details!
Hope to see you there!
7.19.2010 -- Another month since my last post! I will promise that when this new website is up and running I will post more often. The site is just about completed and should be up in the next two weeks. I know i've said that before but this time I mean it! I promise. I've seen the site and it looks sharp! Some major changes include our image/color scheme, blog features, and a new section that you can request funding (for families and organizations). I've been attending some recent networking events and I'm really happy with all the people I've been meeting and the direction our organization is going. I hope it continues as the year goes by!
6.20.2010 -- Well its been the longest between posts for me that I've ever had, but for good reason. Lots of things happening as usual and my A/C in my home has been on the fritz twice now. The chaos of working and running this organization is starting to catch up to me, but I'm still confident with my control of it. Hope everyone had a great father's day and I hope that everyone is getting their soccer team together for the tournament! Email us for details!
5.03.2010 -- A Night for A Fight: Against Cancer is just around the corner and online ticket sales are now available! Please come out and help us support the Rooney family, and local charities. Also keep an eye out for the new website (for real this time) haha. We're also going to start implementing a volunteer program, to help get everyone involved. New things happening, and we're growing fast :)
4.22.2010 -- Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Jimi Yurkonis, a courageous young man from Mt. Laurel, N.J., who lost his long-fought battle with cancer on April 21, 2010, at the age of 23. In 1996, when he was just 9 years old, Jimi was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, an extremely rare form of cancer for which there is no cause or cure. Although the prognosis was grim, Jimi endured multiple surgeries and radiation therapy with a positive attitude, battling the odds as best he could. While his family cared for him and struggled with medical costs, the ChemoClothes community rallied together to offer some relief with their utility and living expenses and helped make Jimi’s last months a little more enjoyable by providing him with a laptop computer and printer. We are all saddened by the loss of this brave, special person and want to thank every individual who helped him by supporting ChemoClothes.
RIP Jimi.
4.16.2010 -- We're signed up for several craft fairs, have an event may 15th, and countless meetings/networking events the next month or so. Luckily I'm treating myself to a little vacation just before the event to slow things down a little bit! Also, we even might have an article written about us in the courier post. Fun!
4.09.2010 -- It's really hard to believe how fast time goes. I completely lost track of my blogging! We were able to provide Jimi Yurkonis with a laptop/printer and his mother with money for their utilities and groceries for the month. Unfortunately after we donated to Jimi and his mother, we received the terrible news that Jimi doesn't have much time left. We all hope that his laptop brings him comfort with the time he has. Nicole and I will be visiting him tomorrow.
Jimi's story is even more of a reason we need to spread cancer awareness through our organization and help the community in anyway we can. This organization has come a long way in just a year's time. I really feel good about the impact we're making on the local community and families. We also have a second family in line to receive help from ChemoClothes.
All together great things happening with ChemoClothes, but its bittersweet after getting the news about Jimi. I guess this is something we might run into from time to time. Just makes us want to fight the heck out cancer a little more....
3.19.2010 -- Thank you to everyone who came out on Sunday, the event was very successful. Over 200 people attended and we were able to raise over $4,000 ($3,000 came Sunday alone). We're really on our way to have a great 2010. Our Letter of Determination came in the mail, which states that we are a Federal 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. We've been in contact with countless businesses and individuals who are all really taking on to our vision. All in all its been a great, great year so far. I've said it before but this time I mean it... Website will be completed in about 2 months! The great people with CAMO technologies are helping us get exactly what we want. Should be something great.
Crafters! - Please don't let our internal success fool you, we still need items for our inventory BAD! It seems like baby stuff sells the most at our craft fairs, but don't limit yourselves, we accept everything! Jewelry supply is looking low too (hint hint*) Talk to you soon!
3.09.2010 -- ChemoClothes just received the news that we are going to be Tax Exempt! I know its been a long time coming, but its finally here, so we're really excited about it. It's going to open up a load of new doors for the organization, which will inevitably give us more work to do! But it's ok, we're taking on 3 new volunteers to help take the load off some of our shoulders. We now have a Project Manager, Assistant Event Planner, and an additional Graphic Designer. All of which really seem ready to fight the heck out of cancer with ChemoClothes. In addition to bringing on more volunteers, we're attending tons of networking events and having our first fundraiser this weekend, which is shaping out to be a very big event. So be sure to come out this Sunday at 1! Talk to you soon.
2.25.2010 -- Busy as usual. Craft fairs around the corner, Bowling, sponsoring our first family! and much much more. I don't realy know where to begin... there's just so much going on right now. We received some great crafts in the mail today and I met with Jimi Yurkonis for the first time. A truely incredible person fighting the crap out of cancer. Jimi and his mother were very warming and it was a pleasure meeting them.
Some other things going on -- We're probably going to end up doing two stitch and pitches this year, so keep your eye out for them. Also we're working on teaming up with Eagles Fly for Leukemia on a project in late may / early june that the kids can get involved in. Unfortunately, I'm becoming completely overwhelemed with everything going on... but it's a lot of fun. I just have to try and keep on top of everything!
2.11.2010 -- Ok, well a lot has happened since my last post, mainly because I haven't blogged for a while! Let's see... The Bowling event was rescheduled because of the 2 feet of snow we got over the weekend, and then another 2 feet during the week (but that didn't effect the event) Anyway, since the last blog, we now have a 2 person PR team, and have gotten tons of exposure. We were even featured on 6ABC news! Too bad my dog scratched my face, but hey we can't complain. Other than that our first craft fairs of the year are less than a month away, which is very exciting... we are registered for 3, in March and 11 on the year already... hopefully we can get that number up close to 50! -- As always, thanks for our support!
1.25.2010 -- Less than two weeks until the bowling event, have you contacted Sheila yet? or purchased tickets online? Anyway, we met with the Chamber of Commerce, which is looking to be a great resource for networking. Hopefully it'll work out for us. I am more excited about tomorrow's meeting with PPRA. I'm sure they're going to be able to help a ton with plenty of things we need.
I have a bunch of new items I need to post in the store and could probably use a model for a few of them... so if you're interested please contact me... other than that a lot of work needs to be done still and I feel behind. Anyway, I'll be sure to let everyone know how tomorrow goes.
1.12.2010 -- It's not even two weeks into the new year and its already exceeding my expectations. Not only is Action News coming to my house tomorrow to do a story profiling our organization, but we have been picked as a local charity to receive free PR for a year through Philadelphia Public Relations Association. Great stuff already. Also, the bowling event is just about three weeks away, so I hope everyone is making the arrangements to attend!
12.23.2009 -- Arguably the longest day of work I've ever had. However, things are coming together with our first two events... the venues are reserved and ready to go! We just have to start promoting the heck out of them and we'll be good to go. I'm really happy how things are coming along, we're on top of just about everything, so nothing is being thrown together like last year. Other than that, I'm ready for christmas and taking a week off to catch up on things around the house.
12.10.2009 -- We're trying our best to push things along with our events for 2010. The good news is that we're really on top of our beef and beer this year, which is slated for May 15th now. We're pushing things kind of close in terms of marketing our bowling event though... but I have faith that we're going to pull it out and have a great showing and an awesome time. I can't say it enough, but I'm really excited for this coming year... its going to be HUGE for ChemoClothes.
12.3.2009 -- Has it really been two weeks since my last blog?? I guess it makes sense, I went on vacation for a few days and there was thanksgiving too. The good news is we locked up a day and time for our bowl over cancer event, and even put in the ground work for both our beef and beer and our soccer tournament. This coming year is looking better and better. Lots of exciting things going on! Hopefully we'll be able to get a list of craft fairs we'll be attending soon for everyone to see where we're going to be. Anyway, be sure to purchase your ticket for bowling online to guarantee your lane!
11.17.2009 -- Our Bowl Over Cancer event is tentatively saturday February 6th. I will let you know what time we decide on and if anything changes with the date. There have been a lot of new faces with ChemoClothes in the last few weeks... mainly PR people and Event planners. So I'm hoping that there will be some new people reading this blog because of it!
11.09.2009 -- The meetings have been going well. Looks like we're going to be having our bowling event at Laurel Lanes with the help of a new friend. Details for that will be coming in the next week. Our 2010 Beef and Beer has been slated for late May and it looks like we're going to have to start moving on that soon too. We met a great connection who I'm hoping will pay dividends with the beef and beer. Very exciting stuff.
There are some new items in the store and a few more on the way. Keep an eye out for them!
10.28.2009 -- We're supposed to be laying low, and I guess technically we are, but I haven't stopped this week and have next week jammed with meetings. Mainly getting our resources together for some events, but we also had a follow up meeting with ChemoClothes to discuss the coming year in more detail. I think 'having all our ducks in a row' is the expression... I will be getting our new t-shirts and a few new items up in the store as soon as I can. A lot of positive things happening... Hopefully this will be our break out year :)
10.19.2009 -- The three day walk has come and gone. It was a great time, but truely a shame that the first two days were cancelled due to "extreme weather." Rob, my dad and I had a great time and it was definitely worth every step. We are preparing for the upcoming year, so look for our first fundraiser to be in late January this year.
-- The new site is still in the works, and I'm itching with anticipation. Very exciting.
If anyone wants to learn to knit/crochet, we have resources and extra yarn that we'd love to supply you with as you learn! Even if you're a veteran knitters/crocheters, we'd love to give you some materials to make something for us!
10.07.2009 -- All items are on the website, and there is word that friend's school is donating more... Stay tune to see what school! This might actually open up a new wave of donations, if we can find more teachers willing to get their schools involved. We are also a week and a half away from our big Susan G. Komen walk... which is pretty exciting. I don't know if my legs are going to be able to handle it! Which also means we are a week and half away until the new site is up and running. All very exciting things. Also, my bother Zach recently moved back up to Jersey, hoping to help us out in a big way. Terrific stuff really.
9.25.2009 -- This has been a pretty big week for ChemoClothes. We had a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the coming year and what we need to do in order to improve as an organization, our new website has made HUGE strides and we could potentially see it up in the next couple weeks, and we made a relationship with a clothing distributor for our fund raising T-shirts. Also I will be working on getting all of our pottery donations up in the store, so keep an eye out for them. Some are some really nice pieces.
The new site is going to be ChemoClothes.ORG -- so not a huge change, but wait until you see how nice it looks! I've seen a picture of it, and I honestly love it. A big thanks goes out to Karen Oleri and Scott Latyn for making things happen!
8.27.2009 -- Yesterday was our big Camden Riversharks event and I felt as though it was a success. We were able to get a good amount of exposure while raising a decent amount of cash! Since my last blog we raised over $2,000 more and we're over $12,000 on the year... which I think is pretty incredible. I want to thank everyone who came out last night, it really couldn't have been much better.
-- As of now we ChemoClothes is going to go on a little bit of a hiatus as we prepare for next year. We will still be working behind the scenes, attending craft fairs for the fall season, and maintaining our online store... but stay tuned for upcoming events for next year.
8.03.2009 -- Crunch time with the Riversharks event. We need to sell 100 tickets minimum by the 26th, so if you're planning on coming, please buy your tickets now!! you can find out how on the front page or our events page :)
-- With the money donated in memory of "Sis" (my grandmother, Mary Malin) ChemoClothes has raised over $10,000 this year!! A huge thank you to everyone who's helped, especially my grandmother who I'm sure is proud of us.
7.23.2009 -- It's been a rough week since my last blog. My grandmother, Mary Malin, took a turn for the worst and passed away yesterday (Wednesday July 22nd) She lost her short battle with cancer which was faster than we all were expecting... including the doctors. It was with my grandmother's help that ChemoClothes was founded. Without her we would have nothing. There is not much else to say, except that she is at peace now and she will be missed.
-- It was her request to not have any services and in lieu of flowers to make donations out to ChemoClothes.
7.16.2009 -- For those who didn't attend, the soccer tournament proved to be our most successful event so far this year! We were able to raised a lot of money, as well as have a tremendous time. When all was said and done we had 11 teams and everything went as smoothly as it could have gone. We have noticed some things we'd like to improve upon, but we cannot expect to be the best at this... it is only our first year!
6.25.2009 -- Wow over a month since my last post. I apologize for the 3 people that check for regular updates to this. haha. We've been fairly busy with all the upcoming events and I've taken a step back from the administrative jobs for the time being to help out with everything coming up. I forsee me getting back into the swing of things after the soccer tournament which is July 11 and 12 for those who want to play in it. Until then we have a block party coming up that is completely free to all who come. It will be filled with entertainment, food, and live music! Come out and support us!
5.20.2009 -- We recently started attending craft fairs, and let me tell you how much potential they have for ChemoClothes. I am really excited for the opportunities that we're going to have moving on with them. We have been able to network with some great individuals and we're really looking forward to working with them in the future. Tomorrow I will be attending a ceramics class at BCC (Burlington County College) and explaining our story and promoting ChemoClothes. It seems like we made a great friend over with the college who is interested in helping a bunch. Colleges are definitely an untapped resource that we'd love to take advantage of in the future. hmmm... other than that we have a meeting tonight to discuss our beef and beer along with a quarterly meeting to be held in June. Don't be afraid to call or email!
5.8.2009 -- Has it really been over a month since my last post?! I am so sorry for the 3 people that follow this thing haha... Just because I haven't been posting, doesn't mean I haven't been working on ChemoClothes! We actually have a meeting with the Camden Riversharks on Monday, so hopefully we'll be able to put together a nice presentation for them so they can get on board. We also had an Event this passed Sunday which was a huge success. Thank you to everyone that came and supported us :) We're also making huge strides in rebranding the organization as well as revamping the website... So keep your eye out for it, and be sure to get your tickets to the Beef and Beer for the unveiling of the new image! Hopefully I won't take so long till my next post... Take care!
4.5.2009 -- It's been a while since my last post, but I assure you things have been happening. We are going to be Celebrating opening our store May 3rd at Caffe Lamberti's in Cherry Hill, see the events section for the details. Also we're still fine tuning the store, along with getting all the items up! We've taken on some more help and everyone seems to be taking care of business. I will admit though, with as busy as we've been, we've really been slacking on knitting the world's longest scarf. So hurry up and get your donations in! Lots going on with all the other events, and we hope to see you there! Keep an eye out for everything.
3.21.2009 -- There have been a few things happening in the last week. For one, our Store is just about ready! We also have tried to add a couple advertisements on the main part of the site, to help with fundraising, so feel free to click on them if you see them. Still a few kinks to work out with that though. We have a meeting with Gilda's Club this week to discuss some possibilities of working together. We still need to set a venue for our Poker Tournament, which is coming up faster than I want it too... but we'll get it together. We'll probably start trying to advertise a bit more soon now that everything is just about set up, so keep an eye out for us and help spread the word!
3.12.2009 -- We had our first required meeting on Sunday, which was exciting and productive. There are a LOT of things going on in the next few months. 4 Events! which is kind of insane if you think about it. Not one of them draws from the same audience though, so I think it'll work out. I've gotten a hold of Gilda's Club, and for those who don't know they are HUGE in the cancer community, so I'm hoping to be able to get in involved with them directly with some things. Keep your eye out for the fliers to the events, and if you're not on our mailing list, please send us an email!
3.2.2009 -- As usual we have been working furiously on ChemoClothes the last couple weeks :) Bob and I made a terrific contact with Linda Ostroff of Customyarns.com... she has great input and really knows her stuff about the knitting community. We also had a mini event that went alright; everyone who was there had a great time and we were able to spread the word to some new faces.
A new project has shot up our priority list. We will be doing something on "world wide knitting in public day" It is June 14th, so keep your eye out for something. We're working with www.customyarns.com on developing a couple knitting kits to be used at the event. It will most likely be outside at a park! We're hoping to get everyone as excited about it as we are! haha Keep an eye out for more information and a new look to the website!
2.18.2009 -- Well I can't tell you how busy we've been! Everything is coming along nicely, we are meeting a ton of great people and learning a bunch. We recently met with Gisele DiNatale with Alicia Rose "Victorious" Foundation, who gave us tons of great advice and input on our new Non-Profit! We are hoping to set up a table at one of her events and spread the word a little more! Also our flier maker, Nancy Frazier, is currently making two fliers for our two biggest events of the year and a quarter page informational to hand out and leave with our drop boxes. Nancy does fantastic work and we really appreciate everything she does for us.
Other than that we're meeting with customyarns.com next Thursday, and we really are looking forward to get some input as well as discuss possibilities with the company. As always email us with your feedback, we look forward to hearing from you!
2.12.2009 -- Attention, readers of this blog: I have hijacked Jared's blog for the night. I just wanted to take a moment and say welcome to everyone who we met at the networking event tonight, and to thank everyone for being so awesome. Everyone there was receptive, gave positive feedback, and looked for helpful connections. It was tremendously appreciated. For those of you wondering about our events and such, we're a little slow getting the fliers up; check back often as we should be putting up March's, April's, May's and July's events within the next couple of weeks. This month's mixer should be a really great time, though, so make sure you come out. I mean, $10 to have some drinks and meet some people? That's not bad at all...
And for those of you who don't know (or who I did a terrible job of explaining it to), Jared and I also walk on a 3 Day team [found at www.CleavageCrusaders.com]. Please, if you have ANY questions at all, don't hesitate to email us. We're completely hellbent on making this organization huge so we can help as many people as possible - we'd love to get you all involved.
thanks again,
- Rob
ps: Don't be thrown by the flier. The event is NOT a Valentine's Day affair anymore, but it originally was and the flier was way too sweet to just toss out. This event is far more laid back/casual than the flier makes it seem.
2.6.2009 -- Rob and I started contacting some knitting groups and a couple organizations to get involved with, and so far we've been getting a VERY positive response. A big question is concerning our 501c3 status, which I assure you is in process. Unfortunately it's a very tedious process, but we've been patient and look forward to it. Keep a look out for our 1st annual soccer tournament, we'll be posting a link for that very shortly. What else? We're starting the world's longest scarf in a few hours and I'm all sorts of excited about it... it should be a ton of fun. If you haven't already, now is the time to get on the ChemoClothes bandwagon, we're gonna be taking off big time!
2.3.2009 -- The ongoing task of updating our website and explaining some of the things we do took a great turn last night as we now have a more in depth explanation of what we're planning on doing! Check out our Services and Programs as well as our first HUGE project 'Record Breaker.' Now is the time to put your hands to work and get down to business for the fight against cancer! You can make a difference!
2.1.2009 -- Our first official event as an organization kicked off last night at Medford Lanes and it was a huge success! We had well over 100 people at the facility and we were able to raise over $1,500.00 for the Susan G. Komen Walk for the cure. Since we were able to promote our organization a little to a bunch of people who were not familiar with us, I feel as though it's important to explain the relationship between our Non-Profit and Cleavage Crusaders, the 60 mile walk team. The truth is, there isn't much of a difference between the two! Cleavage Crusaders is just the name that our Organization is walking under this year. Since Cleavage Crusaders was around first and ChemoClothes was initially thought of as a fundraiser tool for the walk, it was difficult to just get rid of the Cleavage Crusader name. So next year we'll probably just be walking under ChemoClothes, but until then, at least we have an entertaining name!
1.26.2009 -- Well we've been concentrating a lot on our upcoming 60 mile walk fundraisers while we wait on some things to develop with our web designer. I also made some more additions to the website today, including a couple pictures of my mother and a more detailed explanation of what our vision is as a Non-Profit Organization. We're set up to be able to put some drop boxes up at some local places, but I'm hesitant to do so because I'd prefer a more professional website before we really push hard with marketing.
1.18.2009 -- The web designer hunt has taken a turn for the better. We recently posted our need on Craig's List and have already got an overwhelming response. If you're potentially someone who'd want to help us out in that area, I'd get your email in ASAP. We're making a decision by the end of the week. We have been constantly making changes and upgrading some of our verbiage on the current site, so as always please give us your feedback. We are at the point where we are going to be avidly going out to local businesses and setting up drop boxes. So if you're in the South Jersey area, keep your eyes open for them!
1.15.2009 -- 'Phase I' of the website is basically up after having tons of trouble with it, but we are hoping that it serves its purpose until we can find a web designer to help us out. For the most part everything is in place for us to start our journey to the top of the best Non-Profits in America and we're looking forward to working with our family, friends, and community. For now the Vice President and myself are taking care of some serious business with the organization's operations and raising money for our 60 mile walk team at the same time. www.cleavagecrusaders.com
If you see anything wrong with the site, or would like to see some improvements, please bring it to our attention.
