January 19, 2022
Big news!! You've funded my power wheelchair! Because of all of you, we are able to fully pay off my new wheelchair before the end of January. I anticipate it being here before Valentine's Day. What an incredible gift.
Thank you to everyone who supported this month via my Help Hope Live page and through the "New Year New Roll" Facebook fundraiser.
With a power wheelchair soon to be on its way here, I am looking forward to being able to maintain the rigors of service dog training, doctor appointments, activities of daily living, and much needed errands. The power wheelchair will enable me to pursue these activities even when highly symptomatic.
Going forward, I still have many uninsured medical expenses that will need support. The most critical was the wheelchair in order to maintain my immediate independence and to become an active member of my local community. Long-term I am still facing the need to train my next service dog, hire an aide to support my most basic needs while my new service dog is still in training, pay for prescriptions and medical supplies that are not fully covered by insurance, and pursue therapies to increase my quality of life. Keep an eye out via my link for some exciting new ways to support- especially if you're an animal lover!
https://drum.io/surfingblondie
January 2, 2022
Happy New Year, everybody!!
Looking back on 2021, all I can think about is the gratitude I have towards each and every supporter. We were able to fundraise more than half of the cost of my power wheelchair before the year's end. That is incredible! I anticipate being able to pay the remainder of my wheelchair by February if we can raise another $1,200 by January 17th, 2022*.
Shout outs to everyone who supported via the pasta fundraiser, the Bonfire shirts ("Be Kind" was a hit!), and the Giving Tuesday contributions both here and via Facebook. A "New Year New Roll" Facebook fundraiser is now up and off to a great start with just over a month's worth of wheelchair payments raised so far. You can visit and share it with this link: https://www.facebook.com/donate/470496867808257/
With the New Year also comes new opportunities. The service dog prospect I mentioned in my last update is currently placed with me in my home and I am actively working on his foundation training every single day. This has been a massive adjustment and I am learning to balance what little energy reserves I have with training and caring for him as a prospect-in-training while also maintaining my retiring service dog and her needs. It was a calculated risk to go ahead with this life transition prior to receiving my power wheelchair- I consulted several trustworthy individuals in my life before committing.
The consensus was this:
A good service dog prospect is one-in-a-million and very hard to find. The wheelchair is on layaway with my name on it and will be here, come summer, no-matter-what.
If I didn't take the opportunity to train this dog now, I might not have found another good prospect for a year or longer. My retiring service dog is not getting any younger and it takes approximately 18-24 months to train a mobility service dog from the ground up. The time is now.
With that said, I need the power wheelchair now more than ever if I am to maintain the rigors of dog training, doctor appointments, activities of daily living, and much needed errands that I haven't been able to complete independently for several months. The power wheelchair will enable me to continue these activities even when highly symptomatic (where I would typically be bed-bound) and will enable me to go above and beyond my usual when only mildly symptomatic.
Even just the hope of this possibility is all because of you, my supporters. I cannot thank you enough. Your impact turns impossible into "I'm possible". Thank you so very much. I wish you all the best start of 2022 possible and continued glories throughout.
To note:
Funds raised beyond the cost of my power wheelchair will go towards my service dog in training, medical expenses, and costs related to maintaining independence with my disabilities.
Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for my supporters and contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse my uninsured medical expenses.
For more information, please call 800-642-8399 to ask how your donations from this fundraiser will be used.
*This remaining figure is based on both my Help Hope Live meter and my Facebook fundraiser meter- with the time estimate including the processing of funds.
December 12, 2021
Some quick updates:
The pasta fundraiser closes on Dec 30th but, if you want your order to ship before Christmas, you must place your order before noon (EST) on Dec 15th! https://funpastafundraising.com/shop/help-hope-live-in-honor-of-shayna-pulley
We are only 3 shirts away from our original 25 shirt goal! 25 shirts = 1 month's payment towards my power wheelchair. Let's reach this goal before the New Year! https://www.bonfire.com/store/help-hope-live-in-honor-of-shayna-pulley/
Thank you to everyone who participated in Giving Tuesday and the Facebook Fundraiser. We were able to meet 60% of our Giving Tuesday goal- which means you raised the equivalent of TWO MONTHS of wheelchair payments. Thank you so much for the likes, shares, and donations. You've really made a difference.
And a final note: You may have noticed an additional goal on my Help Hope Live page under "fundraisers" and an increased meter goal... This is because a service dog prospect may be coming into my life very soon. Your continued efforts will make it possible for me to regain my independence in both my mobility via a new wheelchair and my activities of daily living via a service dog that can accompany me in public. The best is yet to come!
November 26, 2021
Happy Thanksgiving and Chag Chanukah Sameach! Want to help make my independence a possibility again? I'm raising money for a new wheelchair and soon your contribution may make an even bigger impact than ever before. On November 30th Help Hope Live will be waiving transaction fees here for 24 hours for all donations and, at 8am Eastern, your donation could even be DOUBLED by Facebook for Giving Tuesday via my fundraiser on there!
If you could spread the word about how Help Hope Live is helping me with uninsured medical costs, I might be able to have my new wheelchair home by Christmas 2021. Please share on Facebook using this link: https://www.facebook.com/donate/429328998695436/10223067143000308/
Help Hope Live is a nonprofit that supports community-based fundraising for people with unmet medical and related expenses due to organ and cell transplants or catastrophic injuries and illnesses.
I've chosen to fundraise through Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for my supporters and contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse my uninsured medical expenses.
For more information, please call 800-642-8399 to ask how your donations from this fundraiser will be used.
September 18, 2021
Just a month ago, I launched my medical fundraising campaign through Help Hope Live. In only 4 weeks we’ve already met a third of our first goal because of your support through charity streaming, t-shirts, pasta, and direct financial contributions. Thank you SO much! Every little bit that you’ve done helps me to pay off the medical equipment that I had to put on layaway.
I would like to specifically thank Farronox with For Cairne Sake for donating their time and energy on Twitch last week. I am humbled that you chose to highlight my campaign for the entire month of September. Within just one day, they surpassed their charity stream goal of $100 for my medical needs by playing Elite Dangerous Odyssey for 7 hours straight. Stay tuned for more on this because there may be more streams devoted to this cause through the end of this month!
Overall, we still have a ways to go, and my current fundraising meter only reflects the costs of one current medical need. There are other approaching out-of-pocket medical expenses I’ll need to pay for that my insurance will not cover. I will update my campaign page and adjust the meter as the details of these costs come fully into light- and you’ll be able to find everything here and via the link below. Please continue sharing, commenting, and offering that ever-so-coveted encouragement as this journey continues to unfold.
https://drum.io/surfingblondie
August 30, 2021
New shirt available! All proceeds help to offset my medical expenses. One batch of 25 shirts means my power chair can arrive one month sooner!
https://www.bonfire.com/store/help-hope-live-in-honor-of-shayna-pulley/
Radiate kindness wherever you go!
Featured on the front of each shirt is a white pawprint overlaid with the words "Be Kind". The text style has been specifically chosen to represent movement and energy as you move throughout the world, interacting with the people you love.
August 16, 2021
We now have an online pasta fundraiser! 40% of your purchase will go towards Help Hope Live in Honor of Shayna Pulley to help offset medical expenses. There are dozens of fun pasta shapes for every hobby and season- including college sports. Please enjoy and spread the word!
https://www.funpastafundraising.com/shop/help-hope-live-in-honor-of-shayna-pulley
