CelebrateHappiness1Each year for almost ten years my family has hosted a fundraiser for FARA, something we like to call, “An evening to find a cure.” This year’s theme was happiness. The event took place on September 22nd at the Owenego Inn and Beach Club in Branford, CT. The evening was filled with psychic readings, reiki sessions, tons of fun raffles, and dinner catered by Outback Steakhouse. The happiness theme was sprinkled all throughout the evening. The center pieces on the tables included books about happiness which were party favors for people to take home. In addition, speeches were given throughout the night by special guests on what happiness means to them. It was a magical night with 230-240 attendees.

The event took months to plan. We are luckily enough to have the best neighbors in the world who make up the fundraising committee. Preparing for the event took many long hours, but it was worth it. It is always worth it knowing we are one step closer to finding a cure. We forgot about all the hard work as soon as we saw the room filled with happiness, support, and hope. A room full of friends. 


CelebrateHappiness2I cannot put into words how much this evening means to me and my family. As we all know, FA is life changing disease that impacts every aspect of your life. It is a disease that you can’t fight alone. The event is not just about the money we raise, but about the support we receive. Just knowing I have a lot of friends who support me makes it even easier to keep fighting. I encourage all of you to host a fundraising event in your town. It not only helps in raising funds for a cure, but it spreads awareness. You may be totally surprised by the response from your community and your friends.

We are still in the process of doing a final count of what we raised collectively in the night, however, we’re estimating that we raised a little over $20,000 towards research! We are already underway planning for next year’s event and we have announced the theme as gratitude. I hope some of you can attend and spend the evening with us all while supporting a good cause. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

AlexBode sig 17