This doesn't have anything to do with France, but read it anyway.

Friends, family, possibly strangers.  Please forgive me for what follows, as it is a shameless plea for money.
No, not for myself, but for my cause.

As some of you (probably many of you) know, I am very involved in Relay For Life at my school, Doane College.  For those of you who don't know, Relay is a world-wide event affiliated with the American Cancer Society, which aims to not only provide funds to researchers around the country looking for cures to cancer, but also provides valuable services to cancer patients and their families.  Some examples include Hope Lodges, which are housing for patients receiving care far from home, and Look Better, Feel Better, which helps cancer patients receiving chemotherapy feel confident about their changed appearance.  Just to name two.

Last year, I was a member of the Executive Planning Committee for Doane's event, and we managed to raise nearly $75,000.  Our little school of 1,000 or so students once again became not only the top fundraising school per capita in our division, but in the entire nation!  Unbelievable, and wonderful.

This year I am the Executive Co-Chair, which means that when I get back to the States, I will be diving in to the planning process headfirst, and in the highest leadership position no less!  I worked hard over the summer to make sure things went smoothly without me, of course. ;) And so far it seems like they have!  I'm so excited to get back into it.  Relay is one of my favorite things about Doane.

I am also on a fundraising team, which I founded as a freshman and lead as captain for the last two years.  We've successfully raised over $1,000 each year!  I've stepped out of the captain position this year, but I'm still planning on being highly involved.  And part of that involvement includes asking for money.  So I'm taking advantage of my wide audience here to ask for your support.

I Relay for my dad, who is a survivor of non-hodgkin's lymphoma; my good friend's dad, who lost his battle to the same form of cancer; my grandma, who succumbed to breast cancer; and for everyone else who has been, is, or will be affected by cancer.  Please consider donating to me and my team, the Minions, or even buying a luminary in a loved one's name, by clicking on the link below.
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=48673&pg=personal&px=9078219

Relay For Life of Doane College takes place on April 12, 2013 in Haddix Recreation Center.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail!
cali.neuberger@doane.edu

And thanks for following my French journey. All of your support means so much.  =) I'm down to the last week!  This time next Saturday I'll be on a plane back to the States.  Definitely bound to a bittersweet moment. Stay tuned.