Kindness Plug Update

Apparently Brooke's work is paying off. A note I received. I don't think I have ever been called sir before except by the attorneys of my ex-wives and bill collectors.


Dear Sir,

If you have a way to contact her, would you be so kind as to relay a message to Brooke (the kind woman organizing the on-line auction benefiting the displaced pets due to the flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa).

Brooke,

I ran across an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette today about your efforts. I want to thank you for what you are doing. I will be spreading the word about your project through an effort I am associated with here in Cedar Rapids.

I am assisting in the organization of a fund-raising event to benefit Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and the surrounding areas. Countless homes were lost and so many people (and pets) have been displaced by this flood.

This event is evolving quickly, and I would appreciate anything you can do to help us as we try to help ourselves. We have a number of ideas, and we will be trying to solidify the details over the next few days.

Yesterday we had a very successful meeting with the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, the Marion and Cedar Rapids Chambers of Commerce, media outlets, the Jaycees, and a couple of other local groups. I left the meeting excited and encouraged and we are ready to go ahead full speed with our new partners in this venture. Expect to see a press release sometime this weekend.

We also have a name agreed upon for our event: Floodstock.

Our initial thoughts are for a portion of the proceeds to go to the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation (GCRCF), who will distribute to non-profit relief funds through the Flood Fund 2008, and we will hopefully find a fund to support local downtown businesses for the remainder of the money. After reading about your efforts, I want to give donors and/or sponsors the option of earmarking a bit of money for the Cedar Valley Animal Shelter as well. I am unsure of how this would work yet, but maybe I will just find a sponsor to do something specific for them.

We have commitments from several local bands and are in contact with representatives for larger nationally/internationally recognized talent. We have no commitments yet from the “bigger names”, but we are working hard on it.

Things are a bit haphazard for now, but we’ve only spent a few days working on what takes some organizations months to put together. This will come together quickly if not entirely efficiently. The logistics will start to come together over the next few days. What we need is more ideas, resources, sponsors ….and most importantly people who can put us in touch with people.

Thanks again Brooke.....I...and the rest of Cedar Rapids appreciate everything you are doing.

Jeffrey Kiley