Noteworthy
Charity asks for experiences over cash
'The Worst Fundraiser Ever' allowed donors to offer gifts of actions and experiences to families with seriously ill children.
Posted — UpdatedDURHAM, N.C. — Anyone who spends time with Jake Ingham is going to hear a joke.
"Why don't turkeys make good pitchers? Because they always throw foul balls!" said Jake, to the laughter he was looking for.
Jokes are just Jake's thing.
"Who doesn't love Jake?" said Ingham's friend, Edson Freeman.
Ingham, now 15, has been dealing with a brain tumor since he was 15 months old. He and his family spend a lot of time in and out of hospitals, which made him a perfect match to receive a special gift at what is proudly called "The Worst Fundraiser Ever."
"What we wanted this to be about is, 'Who are you and what would you love to give?'" said Joey McMahon, the founder of "The Monday Life," a local charity that strives to make life better for kids in hospitals.
"The Monday Life" and "Headbands of Hope" teamed up for the event called the "Give Gala," a no-money charity event for kids dealing with serious illnesses.
"There was confusion when you say, 'Don't take out your wallet,' because that is not a thing that you typically hear," said Jess Ekstrom, founder of "Headbands for Hope."
Instead they asked for gifts of kindness. Freeman, who didn't know Ingham before the event, offered up his family's beach house in Daytona Beach for a week. Ingham was the winner.
"I thought that was very kind of them," he said.
Kindness, creativity and gifts of a memory overflowed that night, from a visit from a fire truck to a football jersey to the promise of a birthday party with ponies.
"The give gala was a really fun opportunity to for us to give something to a family that we knew they would appreciate because we had a similar experience," said Hannah-Rose Tucker, who was a donor at the gala.
Tucker lost her little sister to brain cancer three years ago and donated a gift card for a weekend getaway to MacKenzie Smithson who's had two brain surgeries.
"It makes you feel good, but it also makes me happy to see the pictures of her being happy," Tucker said.
The gifts of kindness turned out to be just the beginning. The event has created lasting friendships for all involved. Tucker keeps in touch with Smithson. Ingham and Freeman spent New Year's Eve together.
"I can't wait to see pictures of them enjoying themselves at our little place," said Freeman.
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