Team José initially served as a way for José and Jen to keep friends and family updated while also advocating for others living with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With his passing, we're transitioning to becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports people living with ALS to tell their stories, build community, and live with comfort and dignity.
goal met + a personal update
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Sharing one more update regarding the recent online auction to share the happy news that we met our goal! Since the auction ended, SEVEN more pieces from José's art collection have been claimed which has brought the total proceeds to just over $5,000–the goal amount we hoped to add to the FAJARDO STUDENT INTERNSHIP FUND at Hawai‘i Public Radio. Thank you to everyone who made this possible! Since there's a continued slow but steady trickle of inquiries about the art that remains, the page with the additional art will continue to be updated until all pieces are claimed (or until mid-December, whichever comes sooner), at which time the proceeds will be gifted to Hawai‘i Public Radio. And yes, I've also been adding new pieces as I find them. There's so much! While it's been a lot of work, it's also been a treat to send off each package. José would be delighted to know that his art has already been shipped off to friends, family, colleagues, and admirers in Arizona, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island. Finally, I've held off from sharing this here because I didn't want to detract from the focus on fulfilling José's wishes, but now that we have I will share that I recently organized a GoFundMe for me. It was something I struggled with and am still greatly humbled (and in truth, ashamed) by, but it has proven unavoidable. If I can reach this goal in the next two weeks then I'll be back on stable footing financially now that my business is back in operation. As far as #TeamJosé's next steps, there will be more to share once the final few tasks related to the auction are completed. All but two pieces requiring postal delivery have been shipped out, and I hope to begin local deliveries in the next few days. So if you've been waiting to hear from me, you will soon :) in gratitude, |
Team José | #TeamJosé
Team José initially served as a way for José and Jen to keep friends and family updated while also advocating for others living with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). With his passing, we're transitioning to becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports people living with ALS to tell their stories, build community, and live with comfort and dignity.
Annddd… that's a wrap! To everyone who bid, shared, commented, sent messages, won something, or made a direct gift to HPR in José's memory, THANK YOU. While there is much I wish I could have done differently that would have required more energy and brain power than I currently have on tap, I'm incredibly happy with our results. As of today, with a few contributions still pending, we raised $4,630.68. While this is a little short of our goal, we still have some items that were not bid on in...
From our early dating life through our travels, José and I shared a love of museums. I think this was the first photo I took of him viewing art and it quickly became a thing. I have dozens of images like this of him in his "art viewing stance" - and while this first one was captured unbeknownst to him, it became an inside joke for us + the camera. As of this moment, we've entered the final seven hours of the auction (77% to goal!) and I'm going to try to share a few more photos of him today...
I'm happy to report that we've sustained momentum and are 72% of the way to our goal with 28 hours to go! Please keep sharing and bidding. Will share one final update before the auction closes tomorrow. For a little inspiration, I've just shared a story that was published about a year after José shared his diagnosis on the blog, followed by the most recent posts to social media. View it all here:https://teamjose.com/28-hours-to-go/