DANCE FOR RACH

PRESENTED BY THE LOST FACULTIES

NOVEMBER 21, 2009 ~ FED HALL, U OF W was a HUGE SUCCESS

Raising $11, 296.50 for the RACH Fund

Thank you to the Lost Faculties, those who volunteered, and those who supported this event!!

 (click for Poster)

READ BELOW THANK YOU from Marie Amodeo and The Lost Faculties:

Marie Amodeo:

A Fabulous Fundraiser for RACH - Thank You to the Lost Faculties

The Lost Faculties, a band at the School of Optometry comprised of faculty and staff, held a fund raising dance for RACH on November 21 at the University of Waterloo.  There was an amazing response to this event with a huge turnout from Optometry to support one of their own, friends and fans of the band, and thanks to the article in the KW Record -  many new people became fans and contributed to a great cause.  We had over 500 people at this event. 

There was a silent auction (many thanks to our generous donors), glow sticks given for donations and tootsie pop sales.  The total amount raised in this one night was $11,296.50! 

Thanks to the Lost Faculties for having this event and to a great evening of music.  They had everyone on the dance floor all night and nursing sore feet the next morning!  Thanks also to everyone whose hard work contributed to a fabulous, fun-filled night for an amazing cause. 

Marie Amodeo

The Lost Faculties:

After barraging you all with e-mails prior to the Inter-Professional Relations Night/Fundraiser for the RACH charity ( www.rach-fund.com) at Federation Hall November 21, we thought we should let you know how it all went.

We had a fabulous response for tickets. Many of our friends from optometry attended, people from the UW community, old friends of the Lost Faculties (including a large contingent from Lutherwood), new friends that had read about the event in The Record and many, many more. Over 500 people were there on the night. We had 24 come from Parry Sound (Rachel Higgins hometown) including her parents, brothers & sister, aunts, uncles and friends. Huge thanks to Marie Amodeo who  
co-ordinated the ticket sales, liaised with the RACH fund and Rachel's family to make sure we were doing things correctly, and worked like a Trojan on the day & evening of the event to ensure it all went without a hitch. I should add that she did all this on her birthday - what a woman!

From reports on the night and since the event everyone had a rollicking, good time. From the perspective of the stage that  
certainly appeared to be the case! We had several fundraising initiatives throughout the evening, including a silent auction (with generously donated prizes from individuals and local companies), glow stick sales (especially useful for audience participation in the song 'Layla'!), bidding for songs to be included in the final set and opportunities for personal donations to RACH. We have an enormous debt of gratitude to the principal people that made this happen and to the many unsung heroes that volunteered to assist on the night. These included:

Marilyn Smith (silent auction organization and co-ordination)
Judy Brisson (glow stick queen, silent auction prizes and organization)
Louise & Colette (Judy's sisters who brought their Oktoberfest trained skills to all aspects of the nights fundraising)
Debbie Jones (prizes, silent auction)
Bob (a fan of the band who organized our press presence in The Record & on TV)
Tanya (tickets and poster preparation)

A major lynchpin in the event happening at all was our optometry students and their representative organizations, CAOS & UWOSS. Not only did they financially support the logistics of the event, they rallied our student body to support the cause. Graham Berg did a wonderful job in making it all happen. Graham, thank you so much from us all. Thank you also to the year representatives who promoted the event, sold tickets to their class, manned ticket sale stands at lunchtime, and supported the societies efforts. Fabulous job!

I'm delighted to report that the total commitment was not without reward. The final tally is in and $11,296.50 was raised for the RACH fund. It was the band's privilege to be the entertainment at such an extraordinary effort.

Thank you all!
The Lost Faculties

READ BELOW Event information:

Get Lost @ Fed Hall

CAOS and UWOSS presents "The Lost Faculties for the Inter-Professional Relations Night"

Charity of choice - RACH - Rally Against Cancer Hardcore

Rachel Anne Cecilia Higgins (RACH) was in her first year of Optometry school at the University of Waterloo during 2002 when a variety of health issues began to plague her.  By August 2005 a brain tumour had robbed the world of a wonderful human being.  In June 2006 Rachel was posthumously awarded her Doctor of Optometry, recognizing her dedication and determination to finish her studies despite her illness.  Rachel and her family started RACH (Rallying Against Cancer Hardcore), a fundraising group allied to the Princess Margaret Hospital whose details can be found at http://www.rach-fund.com/.  This fundraising society raises money to support brain cancer research and to-date has raised over $300,000.

The Lost Faculties, a classic rock band comprising mainly faculty and staff from the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo, are holding a RACH fundraiser at Fed Hall at the University of Waterloo on Saturday Nov 21st.  This band was recently featured in the Grand Magazine and has played gigs in Canada, US, England and Holland.  A night out with the "Losts" pretty much guarantees a good time for one and all.  Details on the Band and their music can be found at http://www.optometry.uwaterloo.ca/~lostfaculties/

The event costs a mere $10 for an entry ticket and there will be opportuniities on the night to bid on Silent Auction items, make tax deductible donations and buy Lost Faculties merchandise.  All proceeds on the night will go to RACH.

Help us fight brain cancer by supporting the fundraising event in any of the following ways:

a)  Buy a ticket for you and as many of your friends as possible.  Tickets can be purchased by contacting This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   Remember - they are only $10 a ticket for the entire night!

b)  Donate a prize for the silent auction.  Ideally we are looking for unusual prizes to bid on, such as sports tickets to events, holidays or time at your cottage, lessons with a golf pro (if you know one who can donate their time!).  someone to cook dinner a a donor's home or anything else you can think of.  Please contact Marie Amodeo with prize suggestions at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Marilyn Smith at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Lyndon Jones at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

c)  Tell as many of your friends as you know and get them to come out to support a very worthwhile cause.

Many thanks for supporting RACH

Regards

The Lost Faculties