Whether you know it or not, we are at war... war with a disease that is affecting more and more people every day. We lost Kage Baker last week, one of my favorite Authors, to cancer. I can list easily a dozen more people I know personally that have this horrible disease, or know someone who has lost someone to cancer, or are taking care of someone with a form of cancer. In fact, if you do not know someone with cancer, then you are a minority... one of the lucky few.
I hate this disease for what it does to people, and to our society. It takes from us the people we love, it robs us of great minds that could have done wonders if given more time, and it drains us... mentally, physically... I hate it. I'm not a Scientist or a Researcher or Doctor, so what can an Illustrator and Cartoonist do, who is tired of sitting by dong nothing? My answer is this fund raiser. I am hoping to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and I pray that they are going to take this money and do some good.
So far we have raised $260! Yay, us! That's not enough, of course, but it's a start. I have set a modest goal of $1000, with the hope of collecting more, and the fear of collecting less. Let me state right away that this fundraiser is not putting anything in my pocket. This is why I chose to go through FirstGiving.com and to donate through them to the American Cancer Society. It's all legit, and in the open. You can see how much is collected, and you can read how much goes to the American Cancer Society, and at their website you can see what they do with their money. Everything seems to be above board, as they say. :0)
Because I feel so strongly about this, and because of who I am, I have chosen to create special incentives for those of you who do donate through my site. HappyGlyphs Comics and I have created special artwork that you can see above for a Thank You card, and a very nice collectible pin featuring our mascot, the HappyGlyphs Sheep. The pin is exaclty like the pins you can get at Disney, except it features my sheep, instead of Goofy or Pluto. The same quality and collectibility, but different.
Hopefully these gifts will be enough to encourage you to donate to a worthy cause. No, you shouldn't be donating just to get gifts, but it is a great cause, and there are so many places you can donate, sowhy not here? And why shouldn't you be rewarded for taking your time and your money, and for helping those families who are ravaged by this disease. Yes, ravaged. If you haven't experienced cancer, you have no idea how bad it can be for the person suffering, and for their loved ones.
Please donate, if you can. Thanks, JOHN :0)
PS How can I forget? When we reach $1000 in donations, I will put your names in my hat, and choose one lucky winner to win the original art for the Knight Family in Disneyland illustration you see above. Heck, here's a scan of the original art here. Ain't it pretty?