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Monday, September 21, 2009

Jenny's Light Newsletter - Volume 2, Number 7

Jenny's Quote of the Month:

Laughter is an instant vacation.

~Milton Berle

In this issue...

1. $10,000 Jenny's Light  Grant Update

2. Postpartum Support International Conference Recap

3. Charity Golf Event Recap

4. Charity Swim Meet raises over $3,000!

5. Use Causeworth for your insurance needs

6. Shop for Jenny's Light Merchandise

7. Follow Jenny's Light on Facebook and Twitter!

8. Website Update- Many new features!

9.  Mailbag

10.  Forward to a Friend- Amanda Martin is our latest winner!


1. Jenny's Light To Award $10,000 in Grants this Year!


We are currently in the process of reviewing almost 20 great applications that are in the running for our first grant award.  Our Program Director Jesse Kuendig has created a review and scoring process that will help us decide where our money will go.  Thank you to everyone who applied.  We will contact the winner(s) on or around October 15th.  We will feature each of the winner(s) in our next newsletter and website in late October.

Jenny's Light is committed to our mission and will also be announcing another grant and the deadline in the next newsletter as well.


2. Jenny's Light Attends PSI Conference in Los Angeles


Jenny's Light board members Becky Lavelle, Bob Gibbs and Karen Jennings along with our Executive Director Randy Gibbs attended the two-day conference in August. 

The event was very well organized and it was great to meet and see people with whom we usually only contact through email or a phone call.  We came back with a greater knowledge of what people are doing all over the world regarding treatment, detection and spreading awareness of all perinatal mood disorders.  They presented a special sneek-peek of their new educational DVD that will be available this Fall.  Jenny's Light is planning to play a major role in funding the production and distribution of this great tool.  More details to follow in our next newsletter.  Check out their website to learn more about PSI.


3.  Charity Golf Tournament Recap


Inaugural Jenny's Light Minnesota Charity Golf Tournament

Presented by

This event was held on Monday, August 10th at Indian Hills Golf Club in Stillwater, MN.  We had perfect weather and a great turnout! 72 golfers and 20 volunteers made this an amazing first year event.   A special thanks goes out to our two presenting sponsors, The Minnesota Timberwolves and Go Home Gorgeous for their tremendous support.  We would also like to thank our two volunteer event co-directors Kari Strauman and Mary Bohmbach who spent many hours helping put this event together.  Helping make this an incredibly special day for all of us was KFAN's "The Common Man" Dan Cole, KSTP's Patrick Hammer and Rebekah Wood, as well as Ananda and Bob from Acoustic Roots who helped make this a special day.


Next year's event promises to be bigger and better.  We are currently working hard to secure everything and are hoping to announce the date and venue in our next newsletter.


4.  Wayzata High School Alumni Meet Raises over $3,000!


Held August 29th in Plymouth MN. With the gracious help of alumni swimmer Karen McKinley, the event raised over $3,000 for Jenny’s Light through raffle tickets and silent auction items. A huge thank you to Karen and to all who participated and supported the event! We hope to continue this tradition for many years to come.

We would also like to give special thanks to the following people for so kindly donating proceeds from their summer events to Jenny’s Light…

· Splash-and-Dash Race Series (on behalf of Andy Ferguson), Cupertino CA, www.adfsportsmarketing.com

· She Rocks! Triathlon (on behalf of Olympian Sheila Taormina), Waterloo MI, http://www.estevents.com/race- sherocks-1.htm

· Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon (on behalf of Penni Bengston) , Santa Cruz CA, www.finishlineproduction.com

· Treva & Jason Vogt’s baby shower


5. Jenny's Light Teams Up with Causeworth


Jenny’s Light has partnered with www.causeworth.com, insurance services that give up to 30% of gross revenue to support the non-profit organization of your choice. Check out their website for rates and help support Jenny’s Light today!


6. Shop For Jenny's Light Merchandise


We have teamed up with Gear West Bike & Triathlon to bring you the official Jenny's Light clothing line. Gear West Bike and Triathlon has been serving the "tri-geek" and "roadie" community for over 13 years. Our friendly and knowledgeable  staff is here to serve you and your needs! Feel free to stop in, or shop online.  All proceeds go directly to Jenny's Light!!!

We now offer the following items:

  1. Jenny's Light T-Shirt
  2. Jenny's Light Winter Thermal
  3. Jenny's Light Kid's T-Shirt and onesies
  4. Jenny's Light Candle
  5. Jenny's Light Water Bottle

Short-sleeve tee as seen on Jenny's twin-sister Becky Gibbs Lavelle in the October 2008 issue of Glamour Magazine.

Also, visit the Jenny's Light Shop to see all of our items, including our candle, jewelry, stamps, mugs, etc...


7.  Facebook & Twitter

Facebook Update

We currently have over 6,000 members of our Jenny's Light "Cause Page" and have raised almost $18,000.  We are currently working on raising money to produce and distribute our informational cards directly to new mothers and families at the hospital.

Special thanks to everyone who has donated on Facebook as well as those who've raised money through the Facebook birthday fundraising application. If you have a Facebook profile, please join our cause, set-up your own birthday fundraiser and help us grow by recruiting your friends!

Thank you for your support!!!!

You Now Also Follow Us On Twitter



Jenny's Light is now on Twitter.  Sign-up today to follow our weekly (and sometimes more) "tweets".  It's easy and free to join.  This is just another way we are trying to reach out to as many people as possible with our message.  Click here to get started.


8.  Website Update


Please visit our site and take a look around.  You will notice several new features and additions.  We are working on many more for October so be sure to check back often!

Website Stats:

Overall (Since website launched on April 1, 2008)

Visits: 55,410 from 111 countries

Absolute Unique visitors: 43,690

Pageviews: 229,711

Pages/visit: 4.15

Avg. time on site: 3:42


9.  Mail Bag

We greatly appreciate your letters and emails of support, feedback and personal PPD stories. This month, we'd like to pass along these kind words:

"My name is Clarice Grens, I am from CT.  I had my son 2 months after Graham. I suffered from PPD pretty significantly and I still have some residual from it. After I started getting better ,I did a lot of research on the topic, and I came across Jennys light, despite not knowing your sister, I feel I have a connection with her. Not a day goes by where I do not think about her and the pain and suffering she most of been going through, because I know how I felt.
Because of her and my own battle with PPD, I am running in a Marathon on 10/10, and all the donations will go to Jennys light. We have special shirts made,  I cannot wait to wear the shirts, I will send you the pictures. My heart goes out to you and your family."

Sincerely,
Clarice and all the woman running with me for this cause


10.  Forward to a Friend- Amanda Martin Is Our Latest Winner!


Amanda will receive a Jenny's Light short-sleeve vintage t-shirt for forwarding last month's newsletter to the most people using the Forward To A Friend feature at the bottom of each newsletter.  Thanks Amanda!

Pass It On!  Please use the Forward To A Friend feature at the bottom of this newsletter to forward to your friends and loved ones.  Every month we will send a special gift to the person who forwards that month's newsletter to the most people.  Thank you!

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