Congratulations to HFC on a Great First Half of 2007!

As we reach the midpoint of 2007, it is truly amazing to reflect upon the great strides that HFC has made year to date. In addition to creating this informative and heartfelt blog, we have dramatically expanded our fundraising efforts and our Laptops for Love program.

The second-annual Heroes & Handbags event took place in Dallas on March 29. As the live auction chair, I was overwhelmed and thrilled by our success. We were amazed by our guests' extraordinary generosity on all fronts. The live auction items ran the gamut from luxury vacations to an alligator and diamond handbag by Sue Gragg Precious Jewels to Tiger Woods's golf bag. Additionally, we decided to take a risk and offer an "intangible" live auction item - the opportunity to purchase the next laptop through our Laptops for Love program. Although we did not know what kind of response to expect from the sale of an item that the winner would not actually take home, the response dramatically exceeded our expectations. We were overjoyed because we sold 17 laptops in about five minutes! Thanks to the dedication of our chair, Lucinda Buford, the entire Heroes & Handbags Dallas event was once again extremely successful and everyone who attended had a wonderful time.

Two weeks later, our friends in Houston held their inaugural Heroes & Handbags event. Based on the feedback that I have received, the day was quite memorable and their hard work paid off handsomely. We were all thrilled by the extraordinary response to the donor cards that were placed at each guest's seat.

As we look ahead to the upcoming 5K and golf tournament, I have no doubts that we will be able to continue to build upon our successes from the first half of the year. For now, though, it is extremely gratifying to be able to fulfill so many requests for funding and laptops in both Dallas and Houston.