We are so honored that Annie Agarwal Photography has chosen to dream with us again for 2011!  The second Dream Calendar featuring children who are facing life altering illnesses and disorders will be available for purchase during the 2010 Holiday Season.  This year, the Dream Calendar is in memory of our dear friend and September model for the 2009 calendar, Julia Frisby.  We lost Julia this August and Annie wanted to be sure we did something to remember this sweet girl whose light shone so brightly!

Inspired by the Jonny Diaz song, Soon She Will Run, Annie has captured the sweet personalities of each child in a beautiful field filled with pink flowers!  We know that while we miss Julia here on earth, she is running in fields of green in heaven today!

You can check out the progress of the calendar photo shoots at www.thedreamcalendar.com.  Dream along with us and see how God is moving in the lives of these families that Clouds of Hope is committed to reaching out to!

 A Grandmother’s Gift… 

 I would like the enclosed check to be for one thousand, but you and God know my heart and my pocket book won’t allow that. So the thought I now have is that if I give a dollar a month for each of my great grandchildren, it will build and that every dollar helps for this marvelous program! 

Thanking God that you have all put your heart and plans to making this dream come true…..    Love, Grandma

Inspired by this sweet note, Clouds of Hope is kicking off a new fundraising campaign called A Grandmother’s Gift! Maybe you can’t give a thousand dollars towards the dream of a playground – but every little bit helps! 

On Thursday, April 8, Terrace Smiles (www.terracesmiles.com) will be having an Open House! Having just moved from their offices on 56th St. in Temple Terrace to a beautiful office building in Telecom Park, Terrace Smiles is hosting an Open House for the community! And…to make it even more exciting, they are planning on attaching some fun raffles and auctions with the events – and they have chosen Clouds of Hope to be the recipient of the monies raised!

Yesterday I met with Nikita and Jodi from Terrace Smiles. The office is a beautiful space with a gorgeous view! Definitely different than my memories of a dentist office! The plans are underway for a very special day and we wanted you all to know so that you could be a part of it.

So mark your calendars – April 8, 4 p.m. -7 p.m. , Terrace Smiles, 13214 Telecom Drive! A great time with activities for the kids and great information about Dr. Witt and Dr. Buckley!

We’ll keep you updated! Keep your eyes on this website for ALL of the exciting things happening with Clouds of Hope!

It’s been a while since the golf tournament in March, but we’ve pulled together some images from the event.  

We want to sincerely thank each and every family that participated in this years event.  A great time was had by everyone who attended and we are well on our way to bringing adaptable playgournds to Temple Terrace thanks to your help.

Keep your eyes open for information about next year’s tournament!

We are so excited to announce a new outreach opportunity for Clouds of Hope!  In the fall, Clouds of Hope will be partnering with the Special Needs Ministry at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace to bring families of children with special needs a much needed break!  Once a month, we will offer a time of respite for these families!

Camp CHEER is a chance for Children with special needs to Have fun and be Encouraged while their parents  Experience Rest! 

Our desire from the beginning has been to reach out to groups and organizations who support families dealing with life altering illnesses.  The dream of respite care was one that the Special Needs Ministry at First Baptist had been working on, but now thanks to God’s perfect timing, it can become a reality. 

Sound exciting?  You can be a part!  We are in need of “camp counselors.”  We will provide all of the training you need!  Mark your calendars for Friday, August 28.  We will provide dinner and offer you the information you need to be a successful “counselor” to our wonderful “campers.”  No experience necessary – we just need your willing heart and a commitment of about 6 hours a month. 

We are also in search of campers!  If you are a family with a special needs child or you know of a family who might benefit from a program like this, please contact us!  We want to be able to reach out to any family in need!  On Saturday, August 29 we will have our Camp Registration Day coupled with an exciting Family Fun Day for these families!

For more information, just click on the contact us tab on the right.  Send us your information and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

Keep your eyes out for more information as we get closer!  But for now, mark your calendars for Friday, August 28 for Volunteer training and a fun family registration day on Saturday, August 29.  Our first official Camp Cheer date will be September 26!

It’s hard to believe, but in just one short week all the planning, preparing, stressing, and sleepless nights will be over.  At least for a little while. 

This Friday, March 13, will be our second annual fundraiser, and everyone is invited.  Set to take place from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club. While the headline event is the Glow-in-the-Dark golf tournament, plenty of other activities will be taking place on the first fairway while the golf tournament is happening.

With bounce houses, canrival games and an outdoor movie there’s plenty to keep the kids in your family having fun all night. 

As a preivew, here are  a couple of the items that will be available as part of the raffle and silent auction baskets.

• Golf foursome at The Concession Golf Club designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin.
• 3 Day/2 Night stay a the Tradewinds Island Resorts
• Passes to Busch Gardens
• and so much more.

 Check back later in the week and we’ll have a full list of all the raffle and silent auciton items.

When you come on Friday night, don’t forget to bring your appetite.  Along with all the fun and excitement, there will be plenty of food too.

We had a very shocking revelation this morning.  When looking through some of the print material that has gone out about the Golf Tournament.  We realized that the Address on many things was listed incorrectly.   

The Address 5004 E Fowler Ave Suite C-254 is incorrect.

The Correct Address is 5004 E Fowler Ave Suite Suite C-243.

I’m not quite sure how that happened, but I think it has a lot to do with finalizing stuff late at night.

We apologize for any problems this may have caused.  If you have any questions regarding this please feel free to shoot us an e-mail: cloudsofhope@verizon.net.

We are excited to announce that Clouds of Hope has been designated as a tax exempt organization under section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code.  As a part of this, contributions to Clouds of Hope are deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.

This is a HUGE step for Clouds of Hope.  In February of 2008, we became a non profit organization within the state of Florida.  Now, almost a year later, we have been recognized with this federal status. 

A big praise for us is the timing of this classification.  We were under the impression that it might be mid April before we were notified.  However, here we are, a month before our annual fundraiser and we were surprised by the letter in the mail yesterday.  Another way that God is showing us He is so good!

Our Glow in the Dark Golf Tournament is quickly approaching.  We are busy planning out all of the details.  As part of that, we are still looking for golfers, raffle items, corporate sponsors, and volunteers.  Check out our home page for more information about how YOU can be involved!

Click the image to see the full letter

 

Not only were we able to purchase Donald, who you’ve seen already and read about, but we were also able to provide the financial support to the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.  The financial assistance provided to the Hospital will allow one of their ITP patients to attend Camp Charley this October.  Camp Charley is a once-in-a-lifetime camp experience for seriously ill children held at the Center for Courageous Kids in Kentucky.  You can find out more by visiting the Charley Foundation

Through our journey with ITP, we met Jaxen who is a patient at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.  Here is the picture of Jaxen presenting the check from Clouds of Hope to the Child Life Specialist at the Hospital.

Jaxen presents the Clouds of Hope Check to the Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

Evidently there was some confusion about when the segment was set to air.    We received a phone call from Fox 13 this afternoon confirming that the What’s Right with Tampa Bay segment will air this evening on the 6 PM news featuring the dream calendar.  

If you’re not able to watch the news tonight, you can view the segment from the Fox webiste. 

Fox 13 – What’s Right with Tampa Bay