Bartlett woman's foundation fights MS
Crop for a Cause, a Bartlett-based foundation dedicated to the fight against multiple sclerosis, is holding one of its major annual events Saturday, March 12. Laura Machonis, founder and executive director, answered questions about the charity, which in a decade has raised almost $300,000.
Q: What is your organization's mission?
A: Crop for a Cause is a volunteer foundation dedicated to helping in the fight against multiple sclerosis. We carry out this mission through a variety of yearly fundraising events; 100 percent of the proceeds go to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Illinois Chapter.
The MS Society uses the money for researching a cure, education and wellness care for those living with MS, in addition to many other wonderful things for people currently affected by this terrible disease.
We do this so that people already fighting this battle can be helped and so a cure can be found. Our goal is to live in a world where people can say, “I used to have MS!” We believe, working together, we can make MS a memory.
Q: How do you work toward accomplishing that goal?
A: We host a variety of fundraisers throughout the year and form long-term relationships with the people and businesses we work with.
Q: When and why did the organization start? How has it grown?
A: My family and I started doing Walk MS and wanted to do more. While sitting around a girlfriend's kitchen table talking, I thought why not combine my hobby of scrapbooking with my passion for finding a cure for MS. Our first Crop for a Cause brainstorming session started there. That was nine years ago and we hoped to be able to have 50 people attend. Our dream was to raise $5,000.
We ended up having over 150 people attend and raised over $11,000 that first year. We had to open up another room to fit everyone in. We were literally figuring it out as we were going. We quickly expanded to a point where we had to move locations. We now host many events throughout the year.
Q: What kind of successes have you had?
A: Since 2007 our team has:
• Raised $296,018.60
• Has been in the No. 1 spot for MS Fundraising Teams at the Northwest Site from 2007-2015
• Has ranked in the top five for the state for Walk MS Teams from 2007-2015
We started our team with five people and last year we had 162 people. Many of our team members have achieved Tremendous 200 award status, including: Annette Brown, Jen Carroll (2 years), Sally Franz (2 years), Lori Kronberg (3 years), Chris Machonis (2 years), Jim Machonis (2 years).
My individual fundraising has consistently ranked me in the top 10 fundraisers in the state for Walk MS (No. 1 in 2009 and 2015 out of about 12,000 participants). I have personally raised $141,527. My son, Chris, received the Bold Fundraising award in 2009 and he was the youngest Tremendous 200 Fundraiser ever.
Q: What challenges does the organization currently face?
A: Getting the word out about our events. Getting more people and businesses involved.
Q: What would surprise people about the organization?
A: 1. That we partner with others who have a passion for fundraising for MS. Many different people want to host events to raise money for MS but need help and support. They come up with an idea and organize it, and then we provide advertisement and support to help make their event a success. It is wonderful to see other people's dreams come to life.
2. That we do such a variety of different events that are not craft related — restaurant evenings, paint parties, weekend retreats, Walk MS (Hoffman Estates location). We are always open to new ideas.
3. We are all volunteers and most of us have full and part-time jobs and families.
Q: How can readers get involved?
A: Host an event of your own through us, donate to our raffle or silent auction, or attend one of our events.
Join us for Walk MS on May 1 in Hoffman Estates. To register to be on our team go to main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/cropforcausewalkms2016.
For general information, go to our website, cropforacause.com, or email info@cropforacause.com.
Vital statistics
<b>Budget:</b> $3,000 for expenses
<b>Beneficiary:</b> 100 percent of money raised goes to The National MS Society
<b>Employees:</b> 0
<b>Volunteers:</b> More than 100
<b>Donation wish list:</b>
• Food and drinks for events
• Raffle/silent auction items for events
• Goodie bag items for events
• Table rental for events
<b>Information:</b> <a href="mailto:info%40cropforacause.com?subject=Crop%20for%20a%20Cause">info@cropforacause.com</a>, <a href="http://">cropforacause.com</a>