NOW IT'S EASIER THAN EVER TO GIVE BACK TO COMMUNITIES!

July 6, 2011

An open letter to our friends and supporters:

We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in one short year of operation. We have been welcomed by charities, university athletic departments, church groups, hospitals, and many other industries, to help them raise money for their causes. All of us were brought together by the common goal of giving to our communities and helping good people and great causes. We gave away 90% of our profits, have raised thousands of dollars, and have donated watches for charity events.

We are still dedicated to these goals. In our pursuit we are changing the way in which we do business. For those of you who have worked with HopeWatch before you will notice and maybe appreciate the differences. For those of you who have not partnered with us before, I hope this will change that.

A complication that we ran into was that all of the money would pass through our hands and be sent on to the charity of your choice. We no longer work that way, instead we are discounting the watches a great deal. We will sell the watches directly to you at a huge discount; all we ask in return is that you donate something from the sales to a charity of your choice. If you do not plan to sell the watches, the requirement of donating does not apply.

As in most cases, the quantity that you order will determine the price but suffice it to say that any order over 100 will cost about $1.00 a watch. We still work with our three (3) main charities; Water.org, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and North Fulton Community Charities. We encourage you to visit www.hopewatch.org and click on the ‘We Support’ page for other charities that we work with, or just choose one of your own.

The watches come in 14 colors and 5 sizes. The sizes are: Youth, Extra Small, Small, Medium, and Large. We also have some with magnetic clasps in Red, White, Black and Purple. The magnetic watches come in 3 sizes: Small, Medium, and Large.

The watches also work great as grab bag goodies and corporate gifts/give-aways. The watches are currently listed on our site for $15, however, we recommend selling them between $4 and $5. We do not set the prices so you can determine that for yourself.

We are more than happy to provide any support, and will include a custom made display with orders of 100 watches or more. We can also swap out any colors that are not selling well so long as our supplies last.

Just like before, we will place you on our site and promote you through our social media. If you are interested in helping raise money for charities and giving back to communities please contact me, I would love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Skupin

Director of Operations

jonathan@hopewatch.org

Please join Emory Miracle Marathon in supporting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. They have a great upcoming week full of events and opportunities all for the kids!

MiracleFest 2010

Miraclefest is a week long event dedicated to kicking off the 2010-2011 Miracle Marathon year! Every day from October 16th-October 23rd there will be an event promoting our organization and showing you how to register online!!! Everybody get excited as Miracle Marathon kicks off yet another incredible year FOR THE KIDS!!! For more information about Miracle Marathon email us atemorymiraclemarathon@gmail.com. A description of each day is listed below!

-October 16th: Macy's Shop for a Cause @ Lenox Mall

Come by the emory experience shuttle station between 12-3pm and pick up a coupon booklet for $5. Then hop on the shuttle or drive over to Lenox Mall and go shop for the cause at Macy's! 100% of the proceeds will be given to Miracle Marathon.

-October 17th: % night at Maddio's Pizza Joint

Maddio's is having a percent night benefitting Miracle Marathon, all of the proceeds will be added into the final donation to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Everyone needs to go out to eat on Sunday's to avoid all that homework...so why not do it at Maddio's??

-October 18th: Registration kick-off in the DUC 12-3pm

Come by and register online and have an exec member walk you through the process and answer all your questions! You never know what kind of fun prizes might be there for early bird registration!

-October 19th: Feast for the kids on Eagle Row 6-8pm

Stop by our table on frat row and pick up some free food for the kids, donations will be accepted! So come grab a bite to eat and get to know Miracle Marathon!

-October 20th: WW @ Asbury Circle, 11-2pm

Check out our cool HopeWatches and purchase one quick and easy on your Emory Card! Also we will be there to help you register online, answer your questions, and give out free goodies!

-October 21st: Are you smarter than a Freshman? Harland Cinema 8:30-10pm

Calling all Freshman!! Do you want to get to know the most "talked about" professors on campus? Watch them be challenged by pop trivia, sports, and more?? Then come out to Are you smarter than a Freshman. This event is free for everyone, so come sit back and enjoy some free popcorn and laughs!

-October 22nd: Night on the Town @ Maggie's

We will be concluding the week with a fun night out at Maggie's Bar! Don't forget to show your MiracleFest pride by telling them your for Miracle Marathon at the door!!

-October 23rd: Miracle Family Picnic on Emory Quad 11-1pm This is your opportunity to come outside and enjoy the beautiful weather and meet the miracle kids! These kids are the reason you all are needed. The event is approved as a *GLA CREDIT* so don't forget to sign in! We will have free food, games, and fun!!

Emory Miracle Marathon

We’ve partnered with a new organization, and HopeWatch is going to college. We’ve teamed up with Emory Miracle Marathon, and we couldn’t be more excited.

Emory Miracle Marathon was started in 2002. On March 22, 2008 participants and organizations came together for entertainment, games, and dancing. All of this was going on while Emory Miracle Marathon was raising money to make miracles happen at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Of course every Dance Marathon has to have a morale dance. This is where participants learn a choreographed dance to a mix of popular songs and then showcase it at the end of the fundraiser. Since they began in 2002 Emory Miracle Marathon has raised close to $150,000 for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

We were inspired by the idea of college kids taking time out of their lives to help a great organization like Children’s. I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren and Terilyn at Children’s Miracle Network. They had seen our watches from a few events that we’d done with Children’s and thought it would be a great idea to have us team up with the college non-profits. After Lauren and Terilyn pitched the idea of teaming up with us, Lydia, the Emory Miracle Marathon President, got in touch with me.

In talking to her I got to better understand their organization so I’ll pass that along. Emory Miracle Marathon is a student run, non-profit organization that benefits Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, a hospital of the Children’s Miracle Network. They unite the University campus with the Atlanta community through special events and member fundraising efforts to raise money for the kids. Each spring the grand total is revealed at the annual twelve-hour Dance Marathon event. Seriously, 12 hour dance marathon.

You can find them on Twitter (@EmoryMM) and Facebook (search "Emory's Dance Marathon") so be sure to visit their sites and support their cause, it’s all being done for the kids.

We've Partnered with CURE Childhood Cancer

We are so proud that CURE has chosen HopeWatch as a fundraising option. CURE is a great organization and we really believe in their vision. They are also incredibly nice, extremely committed, and truly inspiring.

Here's a brief bit about CURE:

Their mission is simple, CURE Childhood Cancer is dedicated to discovering cures for childhood cancer through cutting edge research and providing education and support to patients and their families.

Their vision is inspiring: CURE Childhood Cancer believes that childhood cancers can be cured in our lifetime.

We're dedicated to helping them do this one watch at a time.

Since its inception in 1975, CURE has focused its efforts on improving the care, quality of life, and survival rate of children with cancer. The founders, parents, and a dedicated pediatric oncologist, joined forces to support laboratory research that would translate into immediate care for children with cancer.

CURE was founded in 1975 by Dr. Abdel Ragab, head of the newly established Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Emory University. Dr. Ragab was the first pediatric oncologist at Emory. Because of the urgent need to fund a pediatric oncology research program at Emory and to provide support for families afflicted by childhood cancer, Dr. Ragab organized a group of parents who formed CURE Childhood Cancer.

CURE’s first mission was to help raise funds for a special microscope and other equipment to assist in diagnosing different types of childhood leukemia, using newly developed techniques. In 1978, CURE contributed $20,000 dollars to purchase the microscope and related research equipment. Additionally, CURE was soon able to provide partial support for the training of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellows during their research rotations.

From 1975 to 1981, the childhood cancer research lab was located at Grady Hospital. Since most of Dr. Ragab’s patients were being treated at Emory Clinic, CURE provided a significant donation in 1981 to establish a research lab on the Emory campus. This was designed as a temporary facility while plans were made to build a permanent lab on the campus. Finally, in 1987, a new outpatient clinic for childhood cancer was opened on the campus. Over several years, CURE raised more than one-million dollars to build and equip a laboratory on the second floor of the pediatric oncology clinic. The Childhood Cancer Research lab was dedicated in 1989. The lab represented a huge step forward in providing an up-to-date facility with almost 3,500 sq. feet of space devoted to research in childhood cancer, the first of its kind at Emory.

Under Dr. Ragab’s leadership and with CURE’s backing, the childhood cancer research program at Emory continued to grow and soon became one of the largest pediatric oncology programs in the country in terms of patients diagnosed and treated each year. Besides supporting research, CURE soon made another great contribution to the treatment of childhood cancer by promoting passage of an act in the Georgia legislature titled Calloway’s Law. The act was named in memory of Calloway Thrash, an early patient of Dr Ragab and the son of one of the first presidents of CURE. While being treated for leukemia, Calloway had been unable to obtain insurance coverage for an experimental drug. After Calloway’s death from leukemia, his father and CURE successfully lobbied the Georgia legislature in support of a bill that would mandate Georgia insurers to support experimental therapies for childhood cancer. The passage of this act in the late 1990s was a great advance in support of pediatric cancer clinical trials.

As an outgrowth of basic and clinical research funded by CURE, a number of new therapies were tested at Emory beginning in the 1980s, including the first trial of retinoic acid in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia and the first trial of interleukin-2 for stimulating the immune system in childhood cancer patients. These trials were supported by research performed in the Childhood Cancer Research Laboratory at Emory. Later, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, this research included the first laboratory testing of a new drug (BL22) targeted at pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a major type of childhood cancer. Using data from this research, the NCI obtained approval for a clinical trial testing BL22 in ALL. Results from this trial have been promising and have led to a trial for a second-generation form of BL22 (called HA22), which is now ongoing with even more promising results. Funding from CURE was critical in supporting the Emory-NCI research collaboration which led to these trials.

Since that time, CURE has raised millions of dollars to fund cutting edge research at the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine. Through innovative programming, CURE also provides crisis-oriented support for stricken families aimed at addressing their most critical and urgent needs.

Now our president and founder, Dyan Smoltz, has had experience with childhood cancer. Her nephew was diagnosed with cancer at a very young age. Fortunately, he is now a cancer survivor and cancer free.

We came in contact with CURE due to Golsen Family Dentistry. They generously accepted to sell HopeWatch and selected CURE as their charity. Subsequently, Debbie Driskell saw HopeWatch at Golsen and decided to carry them at All Around Gymnastics. From their I contacted CURE and since then we have been working together to spread the word about CURE and raise money for this incredible organization. They have been dedicated to their mission for 35 years. So here's a secret for the CURE supporters, enter the promo code: BUY5GETONEFREE and you'll do just that. We'll send you 1 free watch when you buy 5.

Make sure you select CURE as your charity when you are checking out so they can receive the donation.

A very special thanks to Angela Murphy for getting us in touch with CURE, and to Kristin from CURE. Please visit their site for more information and help spread the word about their work. www.CUREChildhoodCancer.org.

We've Partnered with CURE Childhood Cancer

We are so proud that CURE has chosen HopeWatch as a fundraising option. CURE is a great organization and we really believe in their vision. They are also incredibly nice, extremely committed, and truly inspiring.

Here's a brief bit about CURE:

Their mission is simple, CURE Childhood Cancer is dedicated to discovering cures for childhood cancer through cutting edge research and providing education and support to patients and their families.

Their vision is inspiring: CURE Childhood Cancer believes that childhood cancers can be cured in our lifetime.

We're dedicated to helping them do this one watch at a time.

Since its inception in 1975, CURE has focused its efforts on improving the care, quality of life, and survival rate of children with cancer. The founders, parents, and a dedicated pediatric oncologist, joined forces to support laboratory research that would translate into immediate care for children with cancer.

CURE was founded in 1975 by Dr. Abdel Ragab, head of the newly established Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Emory University. Dr. Ragab was the first pediatric oncologist at Emory. Because of the urgent need to fund a pediatric oncology research program at Emory and to provide support for families afflicted by childhood cancer, Dr. Ragab organized a group of parents who formed CURE Childhood Cancer.

CURE’s first mission was to help raise funds for a special microscope and other equipment to assist in diagnosing different types of childhood leukemia, using newly developed techniques. In 1978, CURE contributed $20,000 dollars to purchase the microscope and related research equipment. Additionally, CURE was soon able to provide partial support for the training of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellows during their research rotations.

From 1975 to 1981, the childhood cancer research lab was located at Grady Hospital. Since most of Dr. Ragab’s patients were being treated at Emory Clinic, CURE provided a significant donation in 1981 to establish a research lab on the Emory campus. This was designed as a temporary facility while plans were made to build a permanent lab on the campus. Finally, in 1987, a new outpatient clinic for childhood cancer was opened on the campus. Over several years, CURE raised more than one-million dollars to build and equip a laboratory on the second floor of the pediatric oncology clinic. The Childhood Cancer Research lab was dedicated in 1989. The lab represented a huge step forward in providing an up-to-date facility with almost 3,500 sq. feet of space devoted to research in childhood cancer, the first of its kind at Emory.

Under Dr. Ragab’s leadership and with CURE’s backing, the childhood cancer research program at Emory continued to grow and soon became one of the largest pediatric oncology programs in the country in terms of patients diagnosed and treated each year. Besides supporting research, CURE soon made another great contribution to the treatment of childhood cancer by promoting passage of an act in the Georgia legislature titled Calloway’s Law. The act was named in memory of Calloway Thrash, an early patient of Dr Ragab and the son of one of the first presidents of CURE. While being treated for leukemia, Calloway had been unable to obtain insurance coverage for an experimental drug. After Calloway’s death from leukemia, his father and CURE successfully lobbied the Georgia legislature in support of a bill that would mandate Georgia insurers to support experimental therapies for childhood cancer. The passage of this act in the late 1990s was a great advance in support of pediatric cancer clinical trials.

As an outgrowth of basic and clinical research funded by CURE, a number of new therapies were tested at Emory beginning in the 1980s, including the first trial of retinoic acid in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia and the first trial of interleukin-2 for stimulating the immune system in childhood cancer patients. These trials were supported by research performed in the Childhood Cancer Research Laboratory at Emory. Later, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, this research included the first laboratory testing of a new drug (BL22) targeted at pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a major type of childhood cancer. Using data from this research, the NCI obtained approval for a clinical trial testing BL22 in ALL. Results from this trial have been promising and have led to a trial for a second-generation form of BL22 (called HA22), which is now ongoing with even more promising results. Funding from CURE was critical in supporting the Emory-NCI research collaboration which led to these trials.

Since that time, CURE has raised millions of dollars to fund cutting edge research at the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine. Through innovative programming, CURE also provides crisis-oriented support for stricken families aimed at addressing their most critical and urgent needs.

Now our president and founder, Dyan Smoltz, has had experience with childhood cancer. Her nephew was diagnosed with cancer at a very young age. Fortunately, he is now a cancer survivor and cancer free.

We came in contact with CURE due to Golsen Family Dentistry. They generously accepted to sell HopeWatch and selected CURE as their charity. Subsequently, Debbie Driskell saw HopeWatch at Golsen and decided to carry them at All Around Gymnastics. From their I contacted CURE and since then we have been working together to spread the word about CURE and raise money for this incredible organization. They have been dedicated to their mission for 35 years. So here's a secret for the CURE supporters, enter the promo code: BUY5GETONEFREE and you'll do just that. We'll send you 1 free watch when you buy 5.

Make sure you select CURE as your charity when you are checking out so they can receive the donation.

A very special thanks to Angela Murphy for getting us in touch with CURE, and to Kristin and Ashley from CURE. Please visit their site for more information and help spread the word about their work. www.CUREChildhoodCancer.org.

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

You have probably already heard someone say children are just little adults, or like little people. Maybe you've even made the comment yourself. I know that I have, sometimes it's easy to get caught up and how smart a child seems or how they can copy one's mannerisms. The truths is that kids are not like adults, they are not just little people. In fact, their bodies work in very different ways. From the ways they process medicine, respond to injury, or the kind of care they need, they are different.

That is why Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is so important. HopeWatch has selected Children's Healthcare of Atlanta as one of our special charities. This means that even when we donate to other causes, our 3 charities still get help. At Children's their main focus is specialized care for children. But how do they do that?

First off, the doctors that work there receive additional training. And like most medical training this amounts to extra years of training. This training is honed by the fact that the doctors only treat children; this way they can focus on the kid's needs and develop their skills in pediatric medicine. Treating only children certainly constitutes specialized care, but they don't just stop with the doctors.

Children's also trains their staff to work specifically with children. The staff learns how to listen to children as well as look for nonverbal clues. It's easy to forget why this is so important, but remember, some of the patients at Children's are newborns and babies. They also train the staff in how to calm children down. When kids are scared from all the equipment and strangers on top of being sick, this is invaluable. The staff also has to be gentle and able to help the patient understand what is happening and remove as much fear as possible.

Even the buildings are designed with kids in mind. They have playrooms and fun colors. The fun colors even show up on the staffs scrubs along with some characters. Some nurses even end up with nicknames based on these characters, like 'mama duck'. It's inspiring to visit Children's website every once in a while to see their videos and read articles. Seeing kids upbeat and cheerful during their treatment or shortly after is amazing. Most recall the hospital experience as a good one. Now truth be told, I've seen my fair share of hospitals. I for one am a huge fan of the staff wearing bright colors and characters. No one wants to be in a hospital, the staff dressing like this helps distract you from what has brought you to the hospital in the first place. I think that's a great thing to give a child.

They also don't treat children like many hospitals will treat their patients, scooting them out the door as soon as possible. No at Children's they know how important it is to receive good care while being surrounded by family. This is why they focus on Family Care. Family has to be involved in the recovery process so they have 24 hour visitation! Yes, the whole hospital is open to visitation from family for 24 hours, and this includes the ICU. I can't imagine how reassuring t is for a child to know that their parents can visit anytime and even spend the night.

The quality of care at Children's is second to none. They have been working with kids for years and they definitely have their eye on the future. But it is a future that is by no means guaranteed. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is a not-for-profit organization. Yes, while healthcare bills are skyrocketing and insurance premiums become too much for many families, Children's does not operate for a profit. They rely on financial or volunteer support. The donations that we make directly impact Children's patients. Look into a child's eyes when he or she is sick and you'll soon know why we are dedicated to helping children. Walk the halls of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta or watch their videos and you'll know why we chose Children's. Every HopeWatch sold benefits Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. But if you don't want a watch please donate time or money to help a great organization. Their slogan is truth in advertising, "children need Children's, and Children's needs you."

Live and changing

Our website is live and running. But http://www.hopewatch.org/ will probably have some significant changes to its appearance and navigation soon.

We've teamed up with Run Level Media, a small local firm that does impressive work. They are great guys, quick to call you back and eager to help you get exactly what you want. They are also great to work with if you're less than tech-savvy. Quick to explain what can be done and show you some options or offer suggestions,Run Level Media is a great firm for web design. It's been great to get them on board and we are really excited about our new website.

Unfortunately that means that the current site is still limited. In reality it has a lot of good information about us and the charities we support. The three we have chosen; water.org, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and North Fulton Community Charities, are great causes and great organizations. We want to get them as much help as we can and as quickly as possible and we are taking orders. So know that when you email us it is being read by a live person and you'll get a response from one of us as well. Sure it's a little old-fashioned but we believe in what we are doing and we're dedicated to giving to our charities.