Run List - Choose North or South Start - Saturday Jan. 17th, 2009 'Ride for Life' Poker Run

NORTH START/REGISTRATION (11 AM - 1 PM)

Treasure Coast Harley-Davidson - 4967 SE Federal Hwy, Stuart 772-287-3871

POKER STOPS:

Horsefeather's Sports & Spokes - 10314 SE Federal Hwy, Hobe Sound 772-546-4445

Ralph's Stand UP Bar - 113 Center St, Jupiter 561-746-6812


Oasis (formerly Blondie's Bar & Grill) - 10160 W. Indiantown Rd, Jupiter 561-743-3300

Island Jack's Patio Bar & Grill - 4449 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach 561-687-2122

Tiki Waterfront Sea Grill - 200 East 13th St, Riviera Beach 561-845-5532

Last Bike in @ 4 PM - Live Auction / Prizes / Music / Food / Fun


SOUTH START/REGISTRATION (11 AM - 1 PM)

Harley-Davidson of Palm Beach - 2955 45th St, West Palm Beach *561) 659-4131

POKER STOPS:

Island Jack's Patio Bar & Grill - 4449 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach (561) 687-2122

Oasis (formerly Blondie's Bar & Grill) - 10160 W. Indiantown Rd, Jupiter (561) 743-3300

Horsefeather's Sports & Spokes - 10314 SE Federal Hwy, Hobe Sound (772) 546-4445

Ralph's Stand UP Bar - 113 Center St, Jupiter (561) 746-6812

TIKI Waterfront Sea Grill - 200 East 13th St, Riviera Beach (561) 845-5532

Last Bike in at 4 PM - Live Auction / Prizes / Music / Food / Fun

Race Day Contact - Ed Peters 561-512-1087

"Ride for Life" Poker Run - January 17th, 2009

Announcing the First Annual "Ride for Life" Poker Run!

Please join us on Saturday, January 17th to help raise money for
Families of Organ Donors.

Organ Donors give the greatest gift of all, The Gift of Life. Your participation in this "Ride for Life " will help us show gratitude to the altruistic families who, in their own time of tragedy and grief, think of others and give the most priceless gift of all, the Gift of Life.

Our ride will have a north and south start/registration point. The north start begins at Treasure Coast Harley-Davidson and our south start will begin at Harley-Davidson of Palm Beach. The ride begins with registration at your choice of Harley-Davidson location, then you will pick your cards at Island Jack's, Blondie's, Ralph's Stand Up Bar, Horsefeather's Sports and Spokes and finishes at the Tiki Waterfront Sea Grill, Riviera Beach. All Bikes and Cars Welcome

We will have Cash Prizes for Best and Worst Hands, a 50/50 Raffle, Live Music and an exciting Live Auction! Suzanne Boyd, Anchor for CBS and FOX News (Donor Family-her brother died at age 9) will be our Celebrity MC and Glenn Steurerman (Double Lung Recipient) of Strathmore Bagels will be our Celebrity Auctioneer.

We have invited each stop on our Poker Run to participate in a Battle of the Bars! Look for Free Food, Awesome Specials, Live Music and Lots of Surprises! Voting for The Best Bar Award will be held at the end of the ride.

For more information; fliers or post cards for your club or location, or to donate raffle or auction gifts, please email me @ wendy@thegiftofcandi.com or call 561-747-7542

Looking forward to seeing you as we Celebrate the Gift of Life on January 17th!

In Grateful Appreciation for your support,

Wendy Vaniglia, Donor Mom & Founder
The Gift of Candi Foundation

A Precious Gift

Jungle George from Texas notices I am stopping at every airbrush stand. “Are you going to get your body painted he asks?” Oh No, I exclaim! I've looked at hundreds of samples during Daytona Beach Bike Week, but I’m unable find the perfect butterfly for the back of my leather vest. I can't quite describe what I would like, but my heart is searching for a very special one. Jungle George knows the perfect man for the job and introduces me to Todd. I want this butterfly to cover the back of my vest, my favorite color is purple; the rest I'll leave up to Todd. I don't mention why I want this butterfly.

As I turn away, I noticed the helmets and bikes Todd has at his stand; skulls and crossbones, demons and scary images and I wonder “What have I done?” Oh well, I can always purchase another vest. We head off to listen to a band and await my butterfly. Half an hour later, we return to see what Todd has created. As soon as I see my vest I burst into tears. All the tough bikers around me disappear, and Todd stammers, "I'm sorry…. I didn't bring the right paints for something like this."

“Oh no, these are happy tears!” I felt as though Todd had looked into my soul and painted an artist's rendering of my heart. The reason for my tears was that Todd had added tiny pink hearts and shining stars on the soft purple butterfly he had created. The instant I saw the hearts I thought of the sweet Irish man I met who had received the gift of my daughter Candi's heart when she died at age 13. Todd did not know that pink was Candi's favorite color. The sparkling stars reminded me of a saying I carry in my heart, "Perhaps they are not stars in the sky but rather openings where our loved ones shine down on us."

Todd won't accept any money for painting this beautiful, perfect butterfly. Later in the week he tells me that he and his family of 6 were homeless when they arrived in Daytona, but yesterday someone had come along and given him a place to live. Todd tells me, “It’s because of the butterfly.”

The butterfly symbolizes to me new life for the four people who received Candi’s heart, liver and kidneys and the comfort and healing I feel knowing her short life is still helping others.

Ride for Life Poker Run - January 17, 2009

We are so excited to announce our first annual "Ride for Life" Poker Run to be held in West Palm Beach on Saturday, January 17th, 2009. Hope you will join us! Details to follow soon!

My life and love will ripples make...

Candi's Birthday ~ October 28th, 1981

The first page of Candi's baby album has the verse:

Like a single drop of rain

That on still waters fall

My life and love will ripples make

And touch the lives of all.

So read this precious story

As step by step I grow

I am a blessing and a gift

As each page here will show.

Full of love for this new little daughter and dreaming of pink dresses, proms and weddings, I loved this poem. I had no idea that our time with Candice would be so short and that her life, her story, would impact millions around the county. In fact, with the difficult pregnancy and dangerous birth we had already endured, I thought the worst was over. It had to be, it was a miracle she was even here! I feel so very thankful for the gift of this tiny daughter.

But that wasn't all, there was more. Something was wrong. Her pediatrician, Dr. Constance Glasgow and I knew it, but we could not find it. Six months and many, many trips to various specialists, we finally have a diagnosis, Candi has HYDROCEPHALUS. This terrifying news is followed immediately by brain surgery, then another, and another. My tiny baby endured it all with a sweetness that stole the hearts of everyone who cared for her. I am reminded of the poem in the beginning of her baby book, “My life and love will ripples make and touch the lives of all.” Wow, little one, look at the lives you have touched!

Surely, now the worst was over now! We have a diagnosis and a cure - another miracle! Now I can just enjoy my little daughter. Joy and laughter fill our home. We are a happy family with two precious daughters and I feel incredibly blessed and grateful.

Oh how the ripples are spreading… I am invited to become part of a network of mothers called Parent/Friend. As a volunteer member of this organization, I took phone calls from families struggling with the news that their child has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus. I help them process this terrifying news. I listen to their stories, fears and questions, and share with them what it was like for our family, helping to comfort others with our story. I am amazed!
Little Candice – look what a difference you are making in your Mommy’s life and in the lives of so many others. You are “A blessing and a gift to all who know you.”

But the ripple would spread farther that I could ever imagine. Candice was destined for more, much more…

Mother's Day Gift to Donor Families

It is my honor and privilege to announce to you this Mother's Day 2008, the official birth of The Gift of Candi Foundation, giving gifts to those who gave the Gift of Life.

For most of these 13 years since my sweet daughter Candi died, I have had a burden for how we show our compassion and respect to those brave families, who in their time a great tragedy and loss, looked outside themselves and thinking of others who may be dying that day, gave the greatest gift of all, the gift of life.

As I volunteered with a group called MOD Squad , sitting with families in the hospital trying to cope with the terrible news that a loved one died, I wanted to do more for them. Although I knew that their decision would ultimately help soothe the terrible ache and loss. I also knew they would have other needs; the need to hold on to the memory of a life ended too soon, the need to receive a letter of gratitude, and often times, a deep desire to meet the recipients. Many of our donor families are in desparate need of financial assistance, but to date, no one is there to care for them.

It seems to us that offering acts of kindness toward families who give so unselfishly must be made available. After all, without them thousands more will die. Right now, today @ 2:23, there are 99,258 people on the wait list waiting for organs. 18 die every day, never receiving the gift of life. In 2007 8,091 donors saved the lives of 28,355. We don't need money for research, we don't have to wait years for a cure, it's here, however half of the cure is being thrown away because families are saying no to donation. At Candi's Gift we believe that when we begin offering better aftercare to our donor families, more families will respond positively to the option to Give the Gift of Life.



If you would like to help, please contact us at:



The Gift of Candi Foundation

Email: wendy@thegiftofcandi.com

You Can Help

Letter to Donor Families from: Yilian Fraga, MSW
Community & Donor Family Services Supervisor
University of Miami Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency
Feel free to forward this note to others who can help us ensure these bills are signed.

Dear Donor Families:

Senator Oelrich's and Representative Hays' bills to improve Florida's donor registry have passed in both chambers of the legislature. They now are making their way to Governor Crist's office for his signature.

SB 2630 is the registry improvement bill. It will allow the overburdened AHCA to contract with an outside entity (through an open and impartial process) to not only create a new and improved registry, but also to run it.

SB 2610 is the exemption bill, which will make the registry information exempt from the Sunshine Laws.

It is imperative that the governor sign these bills, so we can get on our way to improving the donor registry in Florida and give more hope to the thousands of patients in need of a life-saving organ transplant and life-enhancing tissue and corneal transplants.

Your help is needed! Please send Governor Crist POSITIVE letters ofencouragement. No need to remind him of last year's veto. That road has been well-traveled. I've listed several points below that you may wish to include in your letters. You don't have to use them all.

A few key points:

● Both bills have passed in the House and Senate. A similar registry bill passed unanimously in 2007, and all of the governor’s concerns with that bill have been addressed in the 2008 bills.

● AHCA is overwhelmed with other healthcare issues and doesn’t have the resources to adequately run the registry. Outsourcing it to an able entity will improve the system.

● The registry desperately needs to be updated. Improving the registry will make it easier for millions of Floridians to join the registry and ultimate save lives.

● Hundreds of patients in Florida are dying each year because there are not enough donor organs for them. Fixing the registry and allowing Floridians easy access to designate their donation decisions will help save lives.

● Signing these bills will help improve Florida’s donor registry and ultimately save lives. When Florida improves its donor registry, it can once again become a national leader among states with effective registries.

It's best to e-mail or fax him, as U.S. mail takes much longer to reach his desk. Hearing from the individuals who have been personally touched by donation and transplantation and who want (and need) these bills to be signed will matter to him. Feel free to forward this note to others who can help us ensure these bills are signed.

Office of the Governor
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Phone: (850) 488-7146 or (850) 488-4441
Fax: (850) 487-0801
E-mail: charlie.crist@myflorida.com

I thank you in advance for your time and attention.

Sincerely,Yilian Fraga, MSW
Community & Donor Family Services Supervisor
University of Miami Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency
1801 NW 9th Avenue Suite 150A
Miami, FL 33136
305-243-7344

On the Radio!

We have had the awesome opportunity of talking live on the air with Beverly Kennedy of The Beverly Kennedy Show and sharing our passion for Organ Donors and their Families. Together we are separating Fact from Fiction in the silent world of organ donors, their families and the greatest gift of all, The Gift of Life. Join us Tuesday - Friday from 5 - 6 PM @ WBZT 1230 AM South Florida or on the web @ http://www.wbzt.com/

Helping You to Celebrate the Gift of Life!

Wendy Vaniglia, Donor Mom,

Blessed mother of Candice Faye.

10/28/81 - 10/24/94

For more information on Organ Donation go to:

http://surgery.med.miami.edu/x274.xml

http://www.donatelife.net/

THE BEVERLY KENENDY SHOW

Live Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays!Drive time!!! 5-6 PM, (Eastern Standard Time).
The Beverly Kennedy ShowA 5 Star rated program on "FACTS FROM FICTION"© of the political, financial, and health world. On STARTLING CURRENT EVENTS that affect your quality of life. Hear the most valuable information to inform you with important facts that will help you solve problems and give you hope. Co-hosts include South Florida political and civic leaders the Honorable Ed Kennedy, with Broadcast Journalist, Award-winning Financial Adviser, Bev Kennedy, and Inger García
On the World Wide Web WBZT 1230AMSouth Florida. Heard live drive time(Eastern Standard Time). 5-6 PM, Tues. Weds.Thurs. Fri. and Mon. at 1-2pm, recorded. On radio station WBZT AM 1230, South Florida drivers, Palm Beach, Broward residents & Businesses can listen live or world wide on http://www.wbzt.com/ Schedule for repeat shows listed on BeverlyKennedy.com and WBZT.com. Call 800-696-6566 for more information.
Diversity Planning Institute, Inc.

Meet my favorite Leading Ladies...

I would like to introduce you to my favorite Leading Ladies, they are Leading Ladies, Inc. an auxiliary organization of Transplant Foundation of Miami. Since they incorporated in 1995, this amazing group has raised almost $1 million dollars through various projects and events such as shows, luncheons and raffles for Transplant Foundation's Patient Services Fund. Leading Ladies, Inc. is an exciting organization comprised of show business people and those with affection for show business. http://www.transplantfoundation.org/

For seven months of the year, these lovely ladies host fantastic fundraising events held at top notch venues in Dade and Broward counties with amazing entertainers and musicians, which dazzle and please the crowd.

The Transplant Foundation asked me to create a photo story book honoring these wonderful Ladies as a gift for each of the board members. You can see this book by clicking the link below,
http://www.cmphotocenter.com/sbpreview/StorybookPreview.aspx?StorybookID=118291&CustomerID=2195

Not only do these Ladies work tirelessly to raise money, the work they do to spread the message of organ donation can not be measured. Thank you Leading Ladies!

If you are ever in the Miami area, please join us at one of their incredible luncheons. For information on events or for membership information, you may call Nancy at 305.937.2433.