Miss Elliott - let me tell you about this precious little girl. I was introduced to Miss Elliott in 2010. I had known about Miss Elliott for about four months before I got the chance to meet her. This little girl was diagnosed with Tay-Sachs, a terminal disease, at a very young age. By the time I got the blessing of meeting her, her tiny little body had already started to regress. It was heartbreaking, but I wouldn’t change knowing Miss Elliott for anything. She has touched more lives and more people in her 4 short years of being on this Earth than most do in their 75+ years. This fundraiser is an event I will never forget. Miss Elliott’s mother, Becky Benson, is such an advocate for this terrible disease, for spreading awareness, and now keeping Miss Elliott’s name alive. She made it her mission to throw a wonderful event, raise money for Miss Elliott’s final expenses (which we all knew would come way too soon) and to donate the remaining money raised to the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Disease Association. We had many people step up to volunteer in any way possible. Procuring items for the silent auction baskets, creating and printing forms, donating tablecloths, gathering money at the event, running the 50/50 raffle, cooking and serving food, you name it…someone wanted to volunteer for it! It is such a blessing to live in a place where I am reminded daily that there is good in the world and people do want to help.
It was a turn out of 100-150 people. A lot of the faces were people who knew the family or had met them previously, but we did get some attendees that had read about the event in the local paper. It was a full house! We kept the event simple. White table clothes, vases with faux flowers, and coloring pages and crayons to keep the kids entertained. We wanted to make sure the focus of this event was Miss Elliott and Tay-Sachs, not the wow factor or the decorations. It was impressive how many baskets there were to raffle off and everyone seemed to enjoy their plate full of spaghetti, salad and bread. It was a successful event and raised $6,000! I was honored to play a role in this event and I am even more honored to have been able to know Miss Elliott - even if it was just for a short time. Miss Elliott gained her angel wings in February of 2012 and she is missed dearly, everyday.
To learn more about Tay-Sachs please visit http://www.ntsad.org/
To learn more about Miss Elliott please visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/elliottbenson
VENUE// GREATER MAPLE VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTER. MAPLE VALLEY, WA
CENTERPIECES AND DECORATION// CASSIE RENAE EVENTS, LLC
CAKE// DONATED BY KINGSLEY DIMENSIONAL DESIGNS
EMCEE// JEREMY WEAVER, UNCLE TO MISS ELLIOTT
BASKETS// DONATED FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES + FAMILIES
MANY VOLUNTEERS HELPED MAKE THIS A SUCCESSFUL EVENT