Erik's Obsession: May 2006

From John Bierly

I know that things have been a bit quiet lately, and now we canfinally tell you why. If you'll head on over to the PEACE Fund's website at ...http://www.adrianpaulpeace.org... you'll notice that our fearless webmaster, Monica Duff, has donea spectacular job rebuilding the website 100% from the ground up.You'll also notice that the PEACE Fund has now attained its 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit organization, meaning that all donationsmade are now tax-exempt.And the biggest news of the day is something that we're all veryproud of: The PEACE Fund has donated $15,000 to the Children's OrganTransplant Organization in Bloomington, Indiana! Here's the pressrelease:PEACE Fund Contributes $15,000 to Children's Organ TransplantAssociationBloomington, Indiana -- PEACE Fund founder Adrian Paul and theChildren's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) have jointlyannounced a $15,000 contribution to benefit three young COTApatients who are actively raising funds to cover un-met medicalcosts for their life-saving organ and bone marrow transplantoperations."The PEACE Fund's original mission guided us to reach out to COTA,"said Paul, the star of the "Highlander" television and film serieswho founded the PEACE Fund to Protect, Educate and Aid ChildrenEverywhere. "I created this organization to help children living ina variety of difficult circumstances. Raising money to help fund amedical situation for a child whose family is unable to finance itcertainly falls into our mission statement.""We are truly grateful for this generous donation from Adrian Pauland the PEACE Fund's staff and donors," said COTA Board ChairmanTony Paganelli. "This wonderful gift will be used to benefit threeof our patients who have urgent transplant and post-transplant careneeds, and who now have a second chance at life."This generous gift will help fund life-saving procedures for thefollowing children: Ellise from Blacklick, Ohio, who is awaiting aliver transplant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio; Elijahfrom Claremont, North Carolina, who received a bone marrowtransplant at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NorthCarolina; and Victoria from Rainier, Oregon, who is awaiting a bonemarrow transplant at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle,Washington."COTA's priority is to help ensure there is a donor for every childwho needs a life-saving organ or bone marrow transplant," Paganelliexplained. "This $15,000 donation will make an incredible differencefor these three children. It is also a fitting birthday gift forCOTA, which celebrated 20 years of life-saving work on April 16."The PEACE Fund has been operating since December 1998 and recentlygained its 501c3 status as a non-profit organization. Paul'soriginal focus was on educating and aiding schoolchildren in theUnited States with hopes to eventually help children worldwide. Thatdream became a reality when the PEACE Fund sprang into action tohelp children affected by the Tsunamis that ravaged Thailand inDecember 2004. Paul's two charity auctions in 2005 raised more than$100,000."Thanks in large part to this generous donation, Ellise, Elijah andVictoria will have the health care services they require, and willhopefully live to celebrate many birthdays of their own in thefuture," said Rick Lofgren, COTA President. "COTA's faithfulsupporters, including the PEACE Fund, have helped our organizationdistribute more than two million organ donor registration cards inthe past five years and assist transplant patients to raise morethan $40 million since 1986.""COTA represents the ideals for which the PEACE Fund stands," addedPaul. "Our hearts and thoughts go out to the children and theirfamilies, and our thanks go to COTA for doing what they do forchildren who so desperately need it."The Children's Organ Transplant Association is a national charitythat provides fundraising assistance for children needing life-saving transplants and promotes organ, marrow and tissue donation.COTA's priority is to assure that no child or young adult is denieda transplant or excluded from a transplant waiting list due to lackof funds. One hundred percent of all funds raised are used fortransplant-related expenses. For more information about theorganization and the patients it serves, please visithttp://www.cota.org or call 800.366.2682. For more information aboutthe PEACE Fund, please visit http://www.adrianpaulpeace.org.------------As all of you know, the PEACE Fund can only do what it does becauseof the generous donations we receive. And quite frankly, we couldnot do any of this without the support and the loyalty of all ofyou. We appreciate your donations more than we've got words for, andwe simply cannot thank you enough.The next PEACE Fund auction will begin in just seven days, onMonday, May 29, which is Adrian's birthday! People write me all thetime asking me if they can do something for Adrian's birthday. Andpeople write me all the time asking me what they can do to help thePEACE Fund. Well, the auction is the perfect way to do both. Everytime we have a strong auction, we raise the funds necessary to dowhat we do for children who need it. And if you really want to dosomething for Adrian's birthday that he'll appreciate infinitely,make a donation or bid on an item when the auction begins on Monday.We'll have more information for you soon.Thank you all for everything, for your patience, for your generosityand for your never-ending loyalty.More to come. All the best as always,John Bierlywww.adrianpaul.net www.adrianpaulpeace.org