Today I was pleasantly surprised to receive a letter from the very organization that we supported, the National Down Syndrome Society! They wrote us a very pleasant letter, and if anyone from NDSS is reading this, I will speak on all of our behalves and say “Thank you very much!” Our original goal for these events was to simply have fun and to help others, but getting any sort of recognition for our efforts sure does feel good.
Here is the letter in its near entirety. I’ve changed just a couple of things to keep it from being too personal.
Dear Garret,
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the families who benefit from the work of the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), thank you for hosting a 72 hour online gaming event to raise funds and awareness for our organization. Your event that took place from May 20 – May 23, 2010 raised $870, half of which was donated by NDSS supporter Todd H. We are grateful to you and Todd for this contribution and we appreciate all opportunities to be included in modern fundraising campaigns like this. Your donation will help support important programs that benefit people with Down syndrome and their families.
The mission of the National Down Syndrome Society is to be the national advocate for the value, acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. NDSS envisions a world in which all people with Down syndrome have the opportunity to enhance their quality of life, realize their life aspirations, and become valued members of welcoming communities.
Our activities include: shaping and advocating for improved public policy, increased public resources and service for people with Down syndrome; working in partnership with our affiliates and other support organizations; improving educational opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome; advancing basic, clinical and applied research; implementing a national public awareness strategy to ignite a new way of thinking about people with Down syndrome; and overseeing the national Buddy Walk® program, the world’s most widely recognized advocacy program for the down syndrome community. The expansion and accomplishments of these programs are possible because of friends like you.
You have my sincere thanks for your support of NDSS and I look forward to your continued involvement and assistance in our efforts.
Sincerely,
Pamela Sandonato
Vice President of Development(Written in blue ink): Thank you so much for choosing us!
So again, as always, we at Hardmode.org would like to thank everyone out there who helped us with this and our past events. And a big thanks to the National Down Syndrome Society! We had a great time and look forward to helping out their cause in the future!