The Goal/Purpose: Hello Family, Hello Friends and if all goes well Hello Friends of Friends, I would like to ask you all for help. I am hoping this page can raise $1,000,000. A lofty goal, I know. However, that is the price tag required to deliver an environmentally green building and forever home to service the children that come for help at Wigs 4 Kids. Many of these children have compromised immune systems from their chemo and radiation treatments and need a specialized environment that will not endanger them. I hope this mission will set off some sparks and catch on internet fire, delivering this organization and the children it helps a building they most definitely deserve. This building will help properly aid Wigs 4 Kids to continue its great mission of helping all the wonderful and amazing families and children it services every day.
The Ask/Call to Action: The world is awash with people in need, with charities in need, and part of my goal here is to convince you of why Maggie Varney Founder & CEO of Wigs 4 Kids and all the wonderful children and families she helps deserves your dollars, because they need them.
I am on a fundraising mission, this is a way for us -- We, the people -- to make change and to get our dollars to those that need and deserve them. Let’s put our money in the hands of those that are going to do good with it. I hope that you will find a way to donate, big or small, $10 or $10,000. Every bit will help Maggie and Wigs 4 Kids to continue to do their amazing work for these children and their families. My plea to you and why your dollars need to help fund this campaign is very simple. I can see all the good Maggie does every day of her life as she seeks to continue serving these unfortunate children. So Please make a donation to this great cause. If you need more convincing than just my begging, please continue to read on to learn why these Children, their families, Wigs 4 Kids, and their amazing Founder and CEO Maggie Varney deserve your money and help! Two last requests, 1.Please challenge 3 friends to donate and share by tagging them on Facebook or Twitter! 2. Please consider signing the petition for Bills 4718 & 4808 described below.
http://www.kidsshouldbecovered.com/
Thank you
The Who: Upon meeting Maggie Varney, Founder & CEO of Wigs 4 kids, I was immediately impacted by this amazing individual and her goal for our local community. Hearing her story has inspired me to write this note to help her cause. So, who is Maggie Varney? You can read her bio Here . It will tell you of her many accolades and successes, but what she portrayed to me in much simpler term s are this - she exemplifies all that should be right in this world. She displays passion, kindness, love, determination, strength, compassion, selflessness, relentless work ethic, and a heart of gold; she is also a talented problem solver. She devotes 80 plus hours a week working to help others while getting barely anything in return (monetarily speaking). She took a problem (Nobody made children’s wigs) and solved it.
The History: Maggie spent many years volunteering and helping adult cancer patients with their wigs. It wasn’t until one day she came across a 16-year-old girl in the cancer unit at a local hospital that she discovered the needs of children. This girl was very dissatisfied with her options. In her words, “there was nothing but old lady wigs and they did not fit very well.” As Maggie began her search to find a wig for this young lady, she discovered there really were no options available. She decided to call and inquire why wigs were not available for children. The answer she received was “that they either recover or EXPIRE”! This was somewhat true. When Maggie first started helping these children, over 90% died when diagnosed with cancer. (However, today, due to significant improvement in treatment, over 70% survive!) Maggie did not like this answer. She turned to her husband and said, “Something is not right with this picture.” He said to her, “Well, what are you going to do about it?” That is all it took. Maggie was off on a new journey, determined to help this girl get a wig and the many other children she would encounter thereafter. Since 2003, Wigs 4 Kids have had the honor and privilege of changing the lives of over 2,500 Michigan children & teens in need.
The Stories: I, along with 3 other individuals who form my company’s charity committee recently took a trip to meet with Maggie to learn more about Wigs 4 kids. I got to experience the joy she brings to her kids and the support she delivers to their families. As we were leaving, Maggie introduced us to a young lady she is just beginning to help. She is 15 years old and was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Maggie was fitting her for her wig to begin the process of ordering her one. She was wearing a wig on her head (I couldn't tell until she took it off, it was covering her own hair for now, soon to be gone as she was scheduled to start chemo soon.) She expressed her gratitude for what Maggie was doing all well wearing a big beautiful smile, her mom standing next to her began to weep as she expressed how nervous she is for her daughter along with the disappointment of having to shave her daughter’s hair. The emotional toll something like that takes on you and your family is something I am sure you don’t understand unless it hits you. Having it right there in my face, the emotion I witnessed hit me too. As I reflected on that moment it amazed me how this young girl could be so positive in that moment, not thinking about her cancer, but instead smiling about how the wig looks so much like her real hair. I instantly saw the benefit that being able to retain some normalcy can bring to an individual during their fight to live. It also made me realize the importance of what I learned 10 minutes earlier in my meeting. Wigs 4 kids is more than just the wigs, it is a sanctuary for these kids and their families. A place where they can be counseled on food and nutrition, have one-on-one counseling to help with the emotional challenges these diseases bring to the family, to have a great extended support system, and much more.
All at no cost to the families. The Dream: Wigs 4 Kids has a dream to open a permanent brick-and-mortar Wellness Center to DOUBLE the amount of kids they serve They have outgrown their current facility. On top of that, their strip mall manager has raised their rent by 30% and 20% in consecutive years, which is greatly straining their budget. Maggie has been an excellent steward of the capital she is entrusted with. She is constantly looking for ways to stretch the budget to ensure more of every dollar she receives reaches her children. Wigs 4 kids is a top-rate charity, per Guidestar, and your dollars will not be wasted! Not like many charities that only give a % of their donations to their goals.
THE BILL: Maggie, being as diligent and caring as she is, began to research whether insurances companies covered wigs for cancer patients. She found 13 states that cover the cost of wigs, but Michigan is not one of them. She reached out to her State Representatives Sarah Roberts & Jon Hoadley, and they responded by submitting bills that would mandate insurance companies to help cover the cost of a wig for Michigan children or teens just like any other prosthetic. However, for the past several years’ insurance companies and corporate lobbyists have held the bill in the insurance committee as the politicians there ignore the bill hoping Maggie would just go away as the bills expired. In true Maggie fashion, this woman does not give up and has filed the same process this year. This year, Bills 4718 & 4808 have been presented to the House of Representatives and received bipartisan support. Make a difference by signing the petition at the following website - http://www.kidsshouldbecovered.com/ .
One Final Plea: Without government or insurance assistance, Maggie is selfless in her drive to help those who need it the most….children. Children who are going through something that no one could even imagine. So, in Maggie’s own words: “What are
You going to do about it?”
Family, Friends, and Friends of Friends, lets make a difference take charge and to get our dollars to those that need and deserve them. Let’s put our money in the hands of those that are going to do good with it, please help this charity, Wigs 4 Kids, with your own good will. I hope that you will find a way to donate, big or small. Every bit will help Maggie continue to do her amazing work for these children and their families. Thank You!!
guidestar.org/profile/20-0374667
charitynavigator.org/ein/200374667