The Howell family of Alberta, Canada have done it again! Their 2nd Annual Life For Lexx Casino Night has raised $10,000 for GSF's “$200K for SMA” gene therapy research campaign!!! Yes, $10,000! And they had tons of fun in the process.
The Howell's were one of the very first people to sign up for the “$200K for SMA” challenge and they immediately pledged to raise $10,000 for this groundbreaking research! And they did it! Last year the Howell's were also involved with GSF's “Unite For The Cure” campaign and we were so excited to work with them again! Mike and Melissa are parents to both Ayva, 5 years old, and Lexx, who just celebrated his very big milestone 3rd birthday! They are go-getter parents and shortly after Lexx's spinal muscular atrophy diagnosis they drove from Alberta, Canada all the way to Salt Lake City, Utah to see one of the leading SMA doctors. Since that time, they have been through many challenges and hospital stays with sweet Lexx, but he continues to be a fighter every day, smiles easily and loves spending time with his big sister.
We are so honored to work with such a wonderful family and we are so glad they had so much fun planning this fantastic event. From Melissa:
The poker tournament went great!!! Thanks to Joe and all the dealers from Cash Casino, it ran smoothly and we had amazing prizes. The first place prize was a ticket to the final table at the Wild West Poker Tournament in Calgary. Second place prize was an Apple iPad. And the third prize was a Blue Ray Player. A surprise 4th place prize was provided by Joe, and it was a second entry ticket to the Wild West poker tournament. The Silent Auction had an awesome variety of items. We had massages, hockey jerseys, many electronics including an iPod Touch, iPod Nano Touch, and iPod Shuffle. There were also some hand-made crafts that were generously donated, tons of gift certificates from various businesses and there was also a motorized cooler…and that is just a few of the wonderful items that were donated. The raffle items were great as well: gift card bouquets, chocolate platters, skin care items for men and women, and many more. We also had many door prizes that were awarded throughout the night. You could probably say there was at least one winner from each table if not more.
A huge thank you goes out to all of you that came out to support our little man Lexx. All of our friends, family, new friends, volunteers, and sponsors. There are no words to express our gratitude of your generosity and support.
Thank you Howells for making a difference! And thank you for believing in and supporting what we are doing with GSF. Together we can END SMA!!!