Mickey Finn's fundraiser success!

Hans thanking everyone!

I want to thank everyone so much for coming out to support the Mailisita Foundation and myself Thursday night at Mickey Finn's.  Together we raised more than $11,000!  I had very high hopes for the fundraiser, and this money far exceeded what I imagined possible!   When I heard the total I was admittedly floored, it takes a lot to make me speechless (a feat some thought impossible) but I was truly speechless.  I was so overwhelmed, excited, in over my head and blown away by the turnout and support shown.  We had more than 300 people show up that night, which is a greater turnout than any previous fundraiser!  It was not only a great quantity of people, but many new faces to the Mailisita Foundation which is very encouraging to see.  My greatest hope for the fundraiser was to involve more people (especially St. Joseph families that have been contributing for years!) to understand how they can help further and understand greater what has been done in Tanzania.  The St. Joseph community has always been my biggest supporter, and St. Joseph School was definitely out and making their presence known Thursday night!  Many families came out to bid on auction items, share stories, listen to some great music from Peter Brush and Jeff Holland's band Sagebrush and celebrate the great work being done to help the wonderful people of Mailisita.  I want to take some time to thank the amazing families that generously donated items to my fundraiser.  If you were there than you know we had some amazing items as well as a great diversity of items!  Thank you to the:

Lutes Family
Scott Family
Elert Family
Kristopher Family
Jen Waldvogle
Joanne Avampato
Jennie Lussow
Peter Brush and Jeff Holland
Taylor Family
Chris Anest
The Landgraf family
Carrie Graham
Bossler Family
Tomassetti Family
Beth Kraft
Glenda Braun
Taylor Family
The Hardy Family
Simmons Family
Coughlin Family
Shannon Hertzler
Cristina Riggio
Jen Ottoson


Not enough can be said about these amazing families and how much I appreciate them.  Their love and support shown to me has been what has been made my involvement in the Mailisita Foundation possible.  Without the support of others I would not be able to afford to teach in Africa.  That goes for the planning and coordinating of the fundraiser too.  The Kristopher, Martin, Taylor and Bossler Families all spent hours talking through every step of the fundraiser.  In particular, I owe an especially big thanks to Jodi Kristopher.  She called, texted and talked to me everyday leading up to the fundraiser.  Her family has been such a big blessing to me and her personal contribution lead directly to the success of Thursday night.  She spread the word and helped me so much!  I wouldn't have been able to do it without Jodi.  Thank you everyone!  I could go on and on, but most of all I just want to say thank you and I love you all.  Thank you for your continued support and making my first ever fundraiser a huge success.