With all the negative press the marine aquarium industry gets as a whole, it is nice once in a while to report on how we give back. If you haven’t already heard, a huge number of leaders in the industry are banding together to make the dreams of one individual come true, while at the same time helping many hundreds of children lead a better life.
I refer to the “100g Give Away” initiated by Felix Borden of Reef Savvy to raise money for the St Jude Hospital. While the tank, and all of the accessories that are being raffled off easily exceed $10,000 in value (and this number keeps rising), it is the money generated by the sale of raffle tickets that is really working miracles.
St Jude is a research hospital solely dedicated to saving the lives of children. Their efforts are directed at understanding the molecular, genetic and chemical bases of catastrophic diseases in children; identifying cures for such diseases; and promoting their prevention. Research is focused specifically on cancers, some acquired and inherited immunodeficiencies, sickle cell disease, infectious diseases and genetic disorders. Advances in any of these areas are rapidly spread among the medical community and their impact on the health of the children of the world is outstanding.
Thanks to fundraising efforts such as this one, no family receives a bill for medical treatment. Simply put, St Jude is a truly great cause. With that in mind, last year Reef Savvy raffled a tank to raise money for St Jude, and along the way several of us joined in by adding to the prize. This year, the donations have been phenomenal. Not only does the lucky winner get a tank, but they also get lights, controllers, corals, skimmer, foods and so much more. This outstanding generosity of some of the industry leaders is truly heartwarming.
Tickets are $10 each and the drawing will be made on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 27, 2014. Please take a moment to look at the flyer and try to support this very valuable cause. You may not win a tank, but you will certainly help save a life.
