LIFEDesigns would like to thank Mona Mellinger for hosting a wine tasting party at her house to raise funds for LIFEDesigns endowment campaign. Mona was first introduced to LIFEDesigns through her daughter Sarah Burgess who is on our board. She immediately was touched by our mission to partner with and promote independence for people with disabilities, and subsequently she became a LIFEDesigns ambassador. As an ambassador she assists with fundraising, promotes our mission, and helps to connect us with others who want to support people with disabilities. In addition to hosting the wine tasting party, Mona played a major role in helping to connect German American Bank to LIFEDesigns for the Angel Tree. The project was very successful the first year, employees, bank clients, and people from the community enjoyed choosing a wish list. This year, we’ve received several phone calls and emails from people in the community who want to help, and have absolutely no connection with either German American Bank or LIFEDesigns. We’re excited to see the engagement from the community grow.
Mona was surprised that many of her friends did not know about LIFEDesigns which gave her the idea to plan a fundraising event to help others learn about our mission and generate new donors. Mona invited 20 of her friends to her house to taste delicious wines. This fun social event raised $3,750 for our endowment held at the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. Mona, a very humble woman, did not wish to be acknowledged too abundantly for her efforts. She said that “seeing the work LIFEDesigns does with clients just melts my heart” and she wanted to help. We thank Mona for all of her support, and hope that this can serve as an idea that will help others create similar experiences!