Family, friends, giving and love; this is what represents my benefit. Giving comes in many forms starting from Threadgill’s who let us have their entire outdoor space to hold our event to the musicians who volunteer to play every year. Our amazing volunteers travel from near and far and dedicate much time to help make my benefit a success.
The silent auction is a beast of its own; we can not thank enough Tressa for the time and energy that is put into itemizing and organizing each donation. Holly, there are no words to describe how much we love and appreciate you and all your friends that continue to make Malia’s benefit a huge success each year. Without you would there would not be a benefit and we are forever grateful for your support. Our core team who has been with us for the last nine years, you all know who you are and we love you.
A big thanks to Cline who stepped up as guest MC this year to help take place of Janet who was unable to attend. Thanks to all the wonderful people who donate their homes each year and for every single item donated. Most of all a huge thanks to all of YOU that come each year to participate in celebrating ME! Thank you for taking time out of your day, for supporting me and my cause, and for giving like you always do.
My Uncle Jesse kicked off the start of my benefit and within a half hour later he was talking with my mom about a major crisis that was going on! Aunt Debbie had informed Jesse that Molly their dog had been bitten by a rattle snake! Yes a rattle snake! He was not doing well at all and Uncle Jess and Debbie had to leave the party to go save their dog! It was if we were in a Clint Eastwood movie! Did this really happen??? Yes it did and only in Texas!
The night went on and there were cameo performances from my mom and Holly! Cline continued to do a great job through out the night! It was easy to introduce the bands they were some of the very best. We sure did miss you Uncle Jesse but understand why you had to leave and so happy Molly is doing well now! whew!
One of the nicest surprises ever was that my Uncle Blaine from Canada came to my benefit this year! It has been years since I have seen him! I was not only able to get to hang out with him but his sweet lady friend Lorna. They were so sweet to me and I had an amazing time being able to spend time with them both! I hope they come back next year and fingers crossed maybe a trip to Costa Rica! 🙂
Last year my cousin Sheldon approached me with the idea of him and his friends playing the opening spot! They did an amazing job playing some sweet jazz renditions. It made me proud to see him up on the stage! He is a percussionist and a very fine one at that!
The evening was spent with lots of love, laughter, dancing and friendship. At one point in time I went up to the dance floor and took a few spins with Naty and my parents…. We had a great group of dancers including a bunch of my lil cousins and Connor! Thanks to all of the special needs mom who came to support me and my cause. Kathy, Daphni, Joey, and Paula it meant the world to me to have you there. I was so happy to see my buddy Grace! She is Paula’s daughter and has Liss/MDS like me! She is 16 years old!!! We sat together throughout the benefit. We missed you Megan, but know you were busy raising money for The Parker Lee Project as we as well were trying hard that night to help raise money for TPLP!
The biggest thanks of all is to all of YOU!!! Thanks for the support, the belief in me and my cause. Why do we do this each year? Many reasons one being LOVE. It is a night of togetherness, time to forget the worries of the day, time to appreciate the little things in life. Since I first started writing this blog my mission was to bring awareness about lissencephaly and hope to all children who struggle with disabilities and diseases. I have hope that making people aware of my story will help others to open their eyes–and their hearts–to children and adults with disabilities. My only wish is that after 9 years I have somehow accomplished this feat. I am proud to say that MaliaMoore.Org has donated over $25K to Lissencephaly research over the years! There are continued donations to research of Medicinal Cannabis, and a brand new couch set to the ICU unit of Children’s Hospital. The gift of giving is good especially when continuing to pass it along.
This year with the total devastation and destruction of Hurricane Harvey, we wanted to help the special needs communities that were affected by Harvey. So many children lost all of their medical equipment and supplies. I myself know how hard my parents work to try and get support from insurance companies to cover the every day costs of maintaining me and keeping me healthy. It is not easy and an ongoing battle. I can’t even imagine what these children are going through without their supplies. It can be life threatening without them. We proudly gave The Parker Lee Project $4000 in hopes that our donation will help other kids out there like me and that they can get new supplies rapidly. TPLP is a top notch organization! We are forever grateful to TPLP for their continued support and for all the help they have given to me over the years.
Again thank you all! Thank you for the gift of giving in every form possible and a big thanks to my mom and dad. Thanks for believing in me, for never giving up on me and for always fighting for me. I found this quote that it so true!
Every child is a different kind of flower……
and all together make this world a beautiful garden…..
Love to all,
Malia xoxoxo