Please. Pretty please. With sugar on top.

I know this is tacky, but I am going to do it anyway.  I hope you are not offended.

I  have been told that one of downsides of helping non-profits is that at some point you have to hit up your friends.*  That time has come...

Kara Grief and Bereavement Services, the non-profit I volunteer at, is holding its Spring Gala, themed "April In Paris," On April 14.  (You have heard me complain before of the work involved in hunting down movie rights. I learned how to do that!  I don't know when that information will next come in handy, but it has got to at some point.)

Kara is a wonderful group of people who do very important work. People come to us at times when their lives have been pulled out from under them; I've talked to parents who have lost children, adult children who have lost parents, people who have lost multiple loved ones within a short period of time. We help families and children.  As someone whose family lost a child years ago, I know firsthand the devastating effect such a loss has, and how, absent help, families can self-destruct under the burden of their grief.

We offer peer counseling and support group for adults, teens, children over the age of 6, and families. We have counselors who go out to organizations, schools, and companies to help them cope with the grief of the death of a student, teacher, or employee. We educate teachers and caregivers how to help those who are grieving. We hold a three-day camp every summer for children and teens who have suffered a loss: it allows children to connect with other kids their age who understand what they are going through.

People don't "get over" their grief, or "move on,"  but they move through their grief to find peace and healing. We help them in that process.

We do not charge for our services. We subsist on individual and foundation support.

I have been volunteering with Kara since fall 2009.  This is the second year I have been involved with the Gala.  It is our major fundraiser for the year (after the support of various foundations).  Part of the fundraiser is a silent auction.

If you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, please consider donating goods or services to us for our silent auction.  We can use gift certificates to restaurants, stores, and assorted services (spas, for example).** Tickets to sporting events are popular, as well. (Every year, we have people who have season tickets to baseball games donate tickets to games they know they will be unable to attend.) If you have a business, please consider donating goods or services from your business.

For more information, contact Susan Christensen, Kara's Events and Development Coordinator, at (650)321-5272.  Or send an email to gala@kara-grief.org. Donations can be sent directly to Kara, 457 Kinglsey Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301.

Please help us.  Kara will be grateful, and I personally will be quite appreciative of your donation.

Thank you.***

*One of the few advantages of not having girls is that you never have to get your friends to buy cookies.
**In addition to jewelry, which I gave last year, I gave a $50 gift certificate to The Loft (one of my trivia prizes) and am going to be donating movie passes at a local theatre to go with that, as sort of a "dinner and a movie" package.
***If you would rather, you could also donate money directly, or buy an ad in the program. Or buy a ticket to the event itself.