Angels Among Us raises $113,000!
 On May 8, the second annual Angels Among Us auction, "Delivering Miracles", raised almost $113,000! Thank you so much to those who made this possible - the donors, the attendees and the volunteers. This year's event took place at the DoubleTree Guest Suites in Southcenter and over 300 people attended an evening of food, fun and festivities.
The evening began with the Silent Auction. Guests were greeted by the piano stylings of Marshal Totten as they arrived. Among the items featured in the Silent Auction ranged from a basketball signed by NBA legends Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to handmade jewelry featuring images of Gloria Strauss to baskets filled with fun and unique items such as the Wonder Woman Barbie basket.
 Prior to dinner, everyone was treated to a touching performance of an original song titled "Glorified by Gloria". The song was written by Keith Funai, friend of the Strauss family in honor of Gloria. Alejandra Guido's solo vocals brought the song to life and captivated the crowd. At that point, Keith Eldridge, KOMO News Reporter, kicked off the Live Auction as emcee for the night. The Live Auction contained many exciting items such as a Notre Dame VIP Football weekend in South Bend, IN, vacations in Mexico and even an adorable puppy. The Cardenas and Miller families offered personal testimonials on how Gloria's Angels and teams of volunteers served them during their battles with cancer the past year. The Fund An Item had a goal of $35,000 in order to serve 35 more families for the coming year, and thanks to the generous support of so many, we reached that goal!
Beyond the auction items, a variety of other fun activities were offered. Tickets are still available for almost all of these events - contact Gloria's Angels if you are interested in attending or simply click on an item to link to our website to reserve your spot:
Please mark your calendars - next's year's auction will be on Saturday, Feb. 20 at the DoubleTree Guest Suites in Southcenter. We are planning some additional fun for next year by having the event on a Saturday, starting a bit earlier, and opening up the floor for dancing and an after-auction party. So, let your friends know and get ready for another exciting night out!
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Angels In Action - Spotlight on Team Hemmer
Meet the Hemmer family - the focus of Team Hemmer. Mike is the head of the family and was the victim of a tragic plane crash. Team Hemmer kicked-off April 7, 2009. The amount of support the Hemmer Family has received is amazing. From the moment tragedy struck this family, their community has been right there to help them. From day one Kim Freyberg and Karen Schiedermayer, two of the Hemmer’s closest friends have been the ones coordinating all efforts. The team has over 70 people on it. The number of people supporting the Hemmers is a testament to how much their community loves them.
Team Hemmer has served in a great capacity. The community remembers them in their daily prayers first and foremost. The Teams that are established are the following:
- Yard Care;
- House Cleaning;
- Meals;
- Laundry.
The Hemmers have received Meals 5 days a week, had their laundry done twice a week, house cleaned once a week and their yard taken care of once a week. At the midpoint of the 5 month plan for Team Hemmer, the team has delivered the following:
- 42 total meals
- 7 house cleanings
- 18 days of laundry
- 10 weeks of yard care
Recently there was a Yard Work Party in which the Yard Care Team and Knights of Columbus (St. Vincent DePaul parish) combined to make it a special day. The Knights were given clearance to expand the deck. This is one of those special projects that can emerge when you form a Team. Many people have helped to make Team Hemmer another model Team. The Hemmers have been given quality time to care for each other. Thank you to all who have helped make Team Hemmer such a huge success, especially the Team Coordinators!
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News You Can Use 
Our own Doug Strauss was nominated for the Energizer Bunny "Keep Going" award. From the over 1,000 nominations, he was selected as one of 100 semi-finalists nationwide. Recently, the 10 finalists were selected to be eligible for a Grand Prize of $10,000 + $5,000 for the charity of their choice. The winner is selected via online voting at the Energizer website (http://www.energizerkeepgoinghalloffame.com/).  Even though Doug did not advance beyond the semi-finals, we are all proud of the recognition he earned from the Energizer corporation. We are truly blessed by his tireless efforts to help our community. Congratulations Doug!
 Gloria's Angels was featured in the news in recent months. KING 5 News, Seattle PI, Catholic Northwest Progress and Federal Way Mirror - click on any of the images to view the coverage.
We salute all patriotic Americans as we celebrate Independence Day on July 4. We wish you and your family a happy holiday as we commemorate the birth of our nation on that day in 1776.
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President's Message 
How do you know that your Mission has been anointed by God? Support in many ways will keep coming to you!
Over a year and a half has gone by since Bob Turner and I discerned the mission of Gloria’s Angels. A mission that we prayed for daily. A mission that at first thought almost seemed too big to accomplish. A mission that made sense but one that we knew would not be easy to accomplish. A mission that would only succeed with hard work and Divine intervention!
Well we are convinced that our mission is anointed by God, Revolutionary, supported in ways unsolicited, recognized in the media, active in other states and above all supported by the families we serve.
In our current economy many businesses and families are struggling to make ends meet. It is tough on most of our country. However when people believe in something they will support it. Whether it is a school activity, church car wash or feeding the homeless, people will help others in any economy. People believe in the Mission of Gloria’s Angels therefore we receive support. I am in awe of the support we have we have been given. Here are some examples of support given to us without any solicitation:
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A Night of Inspiration at St. John the Baptist in Covington - thank you Dan Lee.
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The Puget Sound Paint and Coatings Association: President’s Dinner & Auction - thank you to the Sheehan Family.
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The Kennedy Hunger Retreat - thank you Kennedy HS staff and students.
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Sea-Tac Fire Department - thank you Shawn Dailey.
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High School graduation donations - thank you Jordan Baldock.
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Wine Tasting in Chicago - thank John and Mike Miller.
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Golf Tournament in Oregon - thank you Kevin O’Leary.
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Gloria-thon in Indiana - thank you Dan Trimberger.
There have also been many private donations and none of these have been solicited. We have also been covered in the media. King 5 News did a feature story on us. The Federal Way Mirror, Seattle Post Intelligencer and Catholic Northwest Progress have all recently done stories on us. These have been more signs that our mission is anointed. Whenever we feel the need for more exposure we seem to get it! When we do ask for help we get it in a big way! Our second annual Angels Among Us 2009 Auction: Delivering Miracles on May 8th was a great success! We raised almost $113,000 dollars and all of the 325 people in attendance enjoyed the night. We are so thankful for the support we received that night. We have already scheduled Angels Among Us 2010: Celebrating Life for February 20th, 2010...mark your calendar for this special night! Oh yeah that is our Dear Gloria’s birthday!
To fully understand our commitment it is important note that we will do what it takes to help a family. We have helped families in the greater Seattle area and as far south as Yelm, Oregon and Arizona. Above all we know that our Mission is anointed by God because of the satisfaction we see in our clients. Our strongest supporters have been those that we have served or are serving. When we heard the testimonies of the Cardenas Family: Team Cora and the Miller Family: Team Miller at our auction in May - I was moved to tears. Their satisfaction is our ultimate reward. The referrals we receive come mostly from people associated with Teams. I hope and pray that you will continue to support our mission! God Bless!
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Executive Director's Corner
Gloria's Angels continues to grow. Consider these things:
- Our 2nd annual Angels Among Us auction drew 100 more people this year vs last year;
- Our monthly referral rate has more than doubled this year to date;
- We are now serving clients in Oregon;
- Other organizations are contacting us to explore the potential of partnering;
- We are on the threshold of earning our first financial grant in support our mission.
These are all great signs of progress. We realize that there are many more families that could benefit from our service than we are capable of handling - at this moment in time. However, we have a model for serving that can flex to serve greater numbers because we succeed in harnessing the energy of volunteers. We believe we can serve 40 more families per year simply by adding one more Guardian Angel to our staff.
We see the need and the path to meeting that need. The challenge we face is spreading our message (advertising), getting more client referrals and staffing up to serve the increased demand. We have a strategic plan for growth that eventually will lead to nationwide expansion. We are the little engine that could. And I ask that you remember these early days so that someday, when you are watching a commercial for Gloria's Angels on TV, you can tell people, "I remember when they first started...".
Thank you for being part of the journey.
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Call To Action 
We continue to depend upon the generosity of our Angels to help us serve families in need. On our website, we post a Wish List of items that can help us in our mission. We will also use this newsletter to highlight those requests for support. All donations are tax deductible.
Items/Services Requested:
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Data entry into QuickBooks (up to 20 hours of total work effort)
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Volunteer workers for Angel Makeover on Saturday, July 25 (4 hours of house cleaning and yard work for team of 8 people)
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Laptop computer with CD/DVD drive
- Printing (for brochures, flyers and posters)
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Gift cards (retail stores, groceries, movie rentals, restaurants)
Click here to volunteer.
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