Today is the best day in my life.
I wanna dedicate this post to Far East Grocery in Champaign (2 minute walk from my house). So I have been walking around C-U area, trying to look for business sponsors. For those of you who have not already know, I need to achieve an individual goal of $3500 by May 2015. So, yesterday (Oct. 27th) I went to Far East Grocery and talk to Vivia about Illini 4000. I did not get to talk much to her since there were quite a number of customers in line. She told me to come back today.
Right after my class, I took a bus back and went to Far East again. Vivia was not in when I reached. I got to talk to her mom for awhile, and while I said, "I'm here to let you know about Illini 4000, a non-profit organization, aiming to raise fund for cancer research and patient services. We also.." I haven't even finished my sentence, she has already taken out her huge check book, saying "Oh so it's for Breast Cancer Society?" I replied, "Not Breast Cancer Society, but American Cancer Society and other organizations, 75% for research purposes and 25% for clinical services/family support programs."
Then she asked me to wait for her daughter, Vivia, to come.
When Vivia arrived, I explained to her again, what Illini 4000 is, what do we do, and how could Far East help us with our mission--monetary donation or goods donation. And we went a little further, talking about the recognition our team gives to sponsors:
--> Saddle level (Company's logo will appear on Illini 4000 official website): $300-$649.99
--> Wheel level (Company's logo will appear on our support vehicle that follows us throughout the journey): $650-$999.99
--> Jersey level (Company's logo will appear on our team jersey): $1000 and above
After we finished talking, she said give her a minute, she needs to talk to her mum for awhile. It was just like less than a minute later, Vivia came back and yelled, "Jane, we gotcha at the Jersey level!"
I don't know how to react for that moment. I was toooooooo surprised! I honestly don't know what to say at that moment, but I gave her a big hug.
I'm really touched by how supportive Vivia and her family are. Vivia wrote a check for me, and while I have her fill out the donation form, there's a line:
I would NOT like to receive Illini 4000 & Portraits Project Newsletter ____
So if you DON'T WANT it, you tick the box. But Vivia was like, "I want to receive updates for Illini 4000!" She also asked whether she could buy our team jersey, then I was like, "It's free for you! Sponsor gets a free team jersey!" Even if our team don't give out free jersey, I would use my own money to buy for Vivia.
Words couldn't describe how thankful I am to have such supportive people in my lives. What did I do to deserve such huge help from Vivia and her family. Honestly, they are just running a family business, imagine how many groceries they have to sell to earn that amount of money. All I could say is, I am really really really really thankful for their kind donation, and I wish I could do something personal to return the favor. In them, I see pure happiness and kindness. There are so many things I need to learn from them. They show me the true meaning of "It is better to give than to receive".
Once again, thank you so much, Far East! I don't ask for more, I wish that they will always be blessed by the best things, stay happy and be in good health forever!
For now, the least I could do, probably is to promote their business to as many people as possible (P/S: this is completely voluntary, they didn't ask me to do so to return the favor, I do this just because I want to do it). Well the groceries they have there are sold at very reasonable prices and there is a wide variety of groceries, including Milo! :D #bestthingever
Visit their FB page for more information!
Sincerely,
thank you Vivia and family!
thank you Far East Grocery!
No comments:
Post a Comment