Dress Up Drive- February 8-22nd

Last June as Alexa laid in her hospital bed with her port hooked up to morphine, a chest tube in her right side and an oxygen mask over her mouth she smiled at me and said, "Mommy, I want to get a new pink dress. And I want to go to a park, a pink park." Alexa loved to dress up and she loved to play. I wonder if she knew that her last wishes would grow into something so amazing. Alexa's Foundation will touch hundreds of lives as we embark on our first big project, opening the dress up closets in Children's Medical Center of Dallas in just a few months.

Our goal is to collect 2,000 costumes for the closets and we are happy to be well on our way. To help us reach our goal, we are asking your company, organization, mom's group, club, etc. to hold a Dress Up Drive and collect NEW costumes for boys and girls ages 2-10. We also appreciate unused accessories for children up to 18 (silly hats, bandannas, sunglasses, etc.). *All items must be new as the children at the hospital have compromised immune systems.

The "Dress Up Drive" tab has all the tools you will need to hold your own Drive. We would like all sign up forms to be turned in by January 31st. Thank you for helping to celebrate the childhood spirit of seriously ill children through dress up and play.

Read the story below about our first Dress Up Drive participant:

Little Adventures
is a wholesale company created by mothers of daughters who loved to dress up, but didn't like itchy costumes. They set out to make comfortable, washable dress ups that look adorable too. What a perfect fit for us!

Tammy Burraston (board member and Natalie's mom) contacted Little Adventures about our foundation and they immediately went to work helping our cause. They offered to let us buy from their discontinued items at a great price. Thanks to a very generous donation from Melissa in California, we were able to take advantage of this offer and stock up on some fantastic outfits. Thanks, Melissa!

Little Adventures is also donating to the closets 100 Pink Pauper dresses and little white gloves. And it doesn't end there! They are holding a "Princess Alexa Sale" for their vendors in which they are donating one dress up costume to us for every four that are sold out of the discontinued items list. We are overjoyed at this wonderful generosity. Thank you Little Adventures!

Giving Friends

Meet Michelle Bittick's Bible Study group. An adorable gathering of girlfriends who met in kindergarten at Keller Harvel Elementary school several years ago. These girls became friends and a mother of one girl decided to start a Bible Study group for them. They have been together ever since.

Michelle gave them all $10 for Christmas and told them they could choose any charity to give it to. As the girls went around the room, they listed off several well-deserving organizations. As it came time for Jenna Salvesen's answer (the cutie pie in the middle with glasses), she said proudly that she was going to give to The Princess Alexa Foundation. Jenna is the daughter of our Pastor and his wife.

None of the other girls had heard about us before so Jenna told them a little about us and they all gathered around a computer to look at our website. They saw the fun things we are doing and all the girls decided they too wanted to give to our foundation. They chose to meet together this past Friday and go shopping with their money to help us toward our goal of 2,000 costumes for the Dress up Closets that are going in to Children's Medical Center in the spring.

I met them at a restaurant afterward and got to sit down and talk with the group. They excitedly showed me the great things they picked out. I was overwhelmed with the creativity and total joy they demonstrated. They asked me several questions and I got to share how much this means to me. It was a neat time.

As I left the restaurant carrying the bags of costumes, I was struck with how much impact this foundation is making. I was struck with how selfless children are and I was struck with the excitement of getting to do something for children who need it most. I can't wait to see the joy in the children's faces as they pick out a costume and escape into the world of makebelieve where no one is sick.

YOU TOO CAN HELP US REACH OUR GOAL!
We're almost at the halfway mark. Nearly 1,000 costumes have been donated, but in order to keep the closets stocked, we would like to open the closets with at least 2,000 costumes. In order to ramp up for the great unveiling in a few months, we will be holding a Dress Up Drive from February 8 to 22nd. (This will be in addition to our annual drive in November.)

We are asking for your participation, whether you are a business, study group, boy/girl scout troop, youth association, playdate group, a family, or any kind of get together. Please consider helping our cause. More information will be available next week such as sign up sheets, flyers for printing, tips on having a successful drive and frequently asked questions. Until then, mark your calendars and spread the word. We would LOVE to hit our goal of 2,000 costumes for this very important and meaningful program for the patients of Children's Medical Center of Dallas.

The First Year

We have finished out our first year and it has been a great success! Since August, we have launched this website, built a Board of Directors, and gained members for the Advisory Board and volunteer list. The foundation supplied dress up clothes to seven families with children on hospice care as well as four other children battling cancer.

In April of 2009, we will be opening two dress up closets for the new wing of Children’s Medical Center of Dallas honoring the memory of Alexa Aigner and Blake Townsend (pictured). So far we have collected over 900 costumes! We are only 100 away from the halfway mark toward our goal of 2,000. Thank you to all who have helped to spread the word about this incredible opportunity to help seriously ill children escape from the medical world through imaginative play.

We also continue to raise funds for Friendship Park- the pink park Alexa dreamed of. It will be a place where sick and disabled children can comfortably and safely play with their siblings and friends.

2009 holds limitless opportunities for The Princess Alexa Foundation. We hope to be able to touch hundreds of lives. Thank you for your support in realizing our vision- that all seriously ill children will be able to celebrate their childhood spirit through dress up and play.