"ANGELS AMONG US" Christmas Charity Event ~ December 5, 2013

This event was a SMASHING success!! So many people are responsible for this and we will be forever grateful! We had amazing decor (thanks to all those that donated stuff), delicious food thanks to amazing chef Steve Calbert, and the best Santa EVER (Santa Ed)! The kids had a blast sitting on Santa's lap, and doing some fun Christmas crafts thanks to Shandie Andrews. The auction went well with every item getting bid on and bought, and the raffle was an exciting thing for all as they always have been. We had SO many great things donated and for both the auction and the raffle which had a huge impact on the amount of money we were able to raise that night.

It is amazing to see this many people come together and give of their time to be a part of such an amazing cause. Brings tears to my eyes. I know my sisters and friends and all those involved felt the same way. It was truly an incredible night that touched EVERYONE'S hearts. There are no words to describe the feeling you get when you are able to help a family in need, especially when the life expectancy of their child is unknown.

Amazing night with an amazing outcome because of so many AMAZING people. Love to work with and be associated with such generous loving people. THANK YOU all again!

Till we meet again...
Natalie Miles
Founder of the Ramsi Reed Foundation

Hello Everyone!! It's been a long year or so for those of us in the Ramsi Reed Foundation family!

We know, it's been a while, a long while. Posts have been few and far between and it's about time we pick it up a bit! Life happens, things get in the way, priorities make themselves known, and like anyone else we just do the best we can, pick up where we left off, and push forward.... just a little harder this time!

A few days ago, Wendy, Diana, and myself (all directors for the RRF) were privileged to attend an awesome event at which a long time friend of mine was the speaker... Tiffany Walke Peterson to be specific. She was AMAZING and we all loved every minute of it.

Tiffany is the epitome of everything a person SHOULD be. She is smart, sincere, well spoken, kind, loving, supportive, motivating... and as if that isn't enough, she is also incredibly beautiful!! She was exactly what we needed and it helped us immensely.

We hope to have her at one of our events so that others can feel of her amazing presence and be touched in the way that we were. If you would like to know more about this wonderful woman and the impact she's had on so many, click this link and you will be enlightened:  The Lighthouse Principles  You will be glad you looked into it. We will definitely be making you all aware of any more of her events that we'll be attending, and if you'd like, you can join us. :-)

As for the Ramsi Reed Foundation, we are in the process of planning our annual benefit dinner and are getting very excited about it. We have much to share, and plenty that our community and everyone in the world needs to be made aware of. Mitochondrial Disease is a very real thing. More common in children than cancer and being connected to many other diseases such as Fibromyalgia, Autism, Diabetes, Alzheimer's, and more. It's time we got others to listen and contribute in any way they can. Without help, whether monetary or not, our hope of finding a cure, or even helping those with the disease manage their every day life, will be impossible.

Please stay tuned and help us out by mentioning to your friends what we stand for and what we are striving to do. We are determined to make a difference in the "mito" world.

Until next time... hug your loved ones. Cherish life and all it has to offer. Lend a helping hand to those less fortunate than you and see what a difference it can make; not just in their life, but in yours as well.

Thanks for taking a minute to read. Much love to you all!!

Natalie Renee Hillesheim
Founder and Director at The Ramsi Reed Foundation

Halloween Costume Party Charity Event

That fateful night is almost here, when witches fly, and black cats appear...... 

This is definitely a party you won't want to miss! Click the link below to see the details of our upcoming fundraiser! Please remember what a great cause you are supporting!

TIckets are $20 each and get cheaper when bought in multiples of 2 or more. There will be a raffle drawing, a silent auction, games, food, costume contest, pictures, and dancing, and more. Be prepared to have your tongues tickled, your minds challenged, and to get your bodies moving!

Space is limited so purchase your tickets soon! First come, first serve!


Halloween Costume Party Charity Event

Energy For Life Walk Sept. 15, 2012

Join us in supporting those in Utah affected by a Mitochondrial Disease. There are so many kids in need of support and this is a great way to do just that. Come out and join in with great company and learn more about those you will be supporting. Help us spread the word and make the community more aware of Mitochondrial Disease. Not enough people understand and therefore there is not enough support to do the research needed to truly make a difference in these kids' lives. Take a couple hours out of your day to make a difference in a child's life.

Energy For Life Walk 9-10-11

This was such a great event to be a part of and I am so glad we found out about it in time!
It was at Murray Park in Murray on Sept 10, 2011!  It was so good to be there and meet some new
people and read the stories of the other children in our community! They had several stories of children along the course who are dealing with a Mitochondrial Disease and then children who lives were taken by it.  It was so heartbreaking to see these sweet children.  It made me realize that there are others who  are facing the same challenges as my sweet Ramsi, and some who are facing much harder things too.

The money that was raised (about 18,000) went straight to UMDF (United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation)
and that will go towards finding a cure!  I can't wait to help out with it next year to help raise more awareness!

Here are a few pictures from the "Rockin" with Ramsi" team! Thanks to everyone who donated on behalf of our team and for those who showed up and walked with us!!!!

Ramsi turns FIVE

I know her Birthday was over a month ago, but I thought some cute and fun pictures should be shown to celebrate her!!! We love this little girl more than you can imagine! She is such a sweet girl who is full of life and wants to be busy all the time! She will try and try to do something and ask and ask until we let her! She is amazing in every way and she just keeps on improving and we couldn't ask for more in a daughter!

I picked her up from school and took her to the Zoo with her sister and Grandma HIllesheim! That wore her out and she fell asleep immediately in the car!  Then we had a family party for her later that night and she loved it!

                                 Picked her up from school to go to the Zoo.

                                          

                                                   Loving the merry-go-round!!

                                                                        So Cute!

                                                                   passed out!!

Our 1st Annual Benefit Dinner and Silent Auction

Grandma and Grandpa Stoney

We are so thrilled with how our very first fundraising event turned out. We had so much support from family, friends, and others who gave of their time to help us out that evening. There was an amazing dinner, an educational documentary, a speaker, and lots of fun auction items to bid on.

Joseph and Shandie Andrews

Grandma and Grandpa Hillesheim

Dr. Ashely Warnock

Wendy Burkman, Angie Larsen ABC 4, Diana Reed, Natalie Walden

We were privileged to have Dr. Ashley Warnock, a geneticist up a Primary's to speak to us. She did a wonderful job helping the guests to better understand Mitochondrial Disease. We'd also like to thank Angie Larsen of ABC 4 who emceed for the evening. She was simply fabulous! Pictures from the event turned out awesome thanks to Chad Braithwaite of Faces Photography, and our spectacular documentary was a hit thanks to the many talents of George Evangilista. We'd also like to thank Wes Miles of Miles Studios for being such a fabulous DJ for the night. Thanks so much to Rob McDonald who did more than he ever needed, and to all the rest of our family and friends that helped us in some way to pull this off! There were so many people who helped even in small ways. Every little bit helps and makes a difference.

We raised more money than we'd originally thought and are so excited to be able help families with their medical bills and also to give to research. The generosity shown at this event and during all the prep leading up to it was so overwhelming. We were humbled at the amount of people wanting to help and give of their time or talents in some way. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts....

That Saturday night almost 3 weeks ago is one we will never soon forget. Many people's hearts were touched and as a result it made for a very special evening. May we all continue to spread awareness and education of Mitochondrial Disease and help these sweet kids whose lives are being affected.

 We are already planning our next event! This one will be much less expensive to attend and will be LOTS and LOTS of fun. So stay tuned for details. Hope everybody's having a great September, Fall is just around the corner!!!