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Leprechaun Foundation Fact Sheet The primary purpose of The Leprechauns is to anonymously grant to terminally and chronically ill children their greatest individual dream or desire. The foundation also works to complete selected projects that help these special children. The Leprechauns are anonymous. The wish simply comes true, without an individual being named for it happening. Leprechauns donate their time, money, talents and contacts because they find the knowledge that they made a dream come true for a child sufficient reward. The children and their families also remain anonymous. Identifying a child or a family is the exception, never the rule, and is always done with utmost respect for the privacy of both. The Leprechaun Foundation was established in early 1980 at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital by two IRS employees who felt a personal need to help sick children. Within a few years, concerned businessmen and their wives and The Wives of the Cleveland Browns established contact with other hospitals in the Cleveland area that treated terminally and chronically ill children. Hospital child life workers, social workers, nurses and physicians are the "ears" of The Leprechauns. They serve as important go-betweens...telling children's wishes to a Leprechaun Wish Person assigned to the hospital, while maintaining the secrecy that makes the fulfillment of a wish magical for the child and the donor alike. A perfect wish is one where the child simply feels it came true because wishes can come true! All kinds. From things such as a computer, a family dining room table, a flight in a helicopter, a musical instrument, a bicycle, an Arabian horse, a VCR, a ramp that allowed a child to come home from the hospital, to meeting an entertainment or sports hero, or a trip to see a relative or even Mickey Mouse! Through the years, The Leprechauns have arranged meetings with The Beach Boys, Henry "The Fonz" Winkler, the San Diego Chicken, New Kids On The Block, Arnold Schwartzeneger, Macho Man Randy Savage, Billy Ray Cyrus, Big Bird, Chick Corea, Michael J. Smith, Hanson, 'N' Sync, Oksana Baiul, Michael Jordan, Shawn Kemp, Mike Hargrove, Sandy Alomar, Cal Ripken Jr., George Brett, and a wide variety of sports teams. Children have attended Indians and Browns practices and met their heroes. The Leprechauns have provided chemo caps to prevent hair loss for children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. They have also installed and kept a stock of toys in toy chests in Ireland Cancer Center at University Hospitals, at MetroHealth Medical Center (3 chests), and at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. An outdoor play court was built on the roof of Rainbow, and an indoor year-round garden and treehouse was created at MetroHealth Medical Center. Cabeling for an interactive TV system at a Rainbow. A special training room at Health Hill. Turkeys are provided for hospital-bound children and the staffs on Thanksgiving at area hospitals. Christmas stockings are delivered and stuffed for children who must spend Christmas in the hospital. The Christmas Adopt-A-Family Program provides an entire Christmas--including food, toys and clothes--for families of sick children who cannot provide their own. Food baskets at Easter offer another boost for those who are through long periods of illness. A yearly St. Patrick's Day Party is held in the atrium of Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. 98 cents of every dollar raised goes to the children. None is used for administrative costs or salaries. Every officer, director and member of The Leprechauns is a volunteer and receives no salary or other compensation. Three committees are at the heart of The Leprechaun Foundation: The Wish Committee, The Fundraising Committee, and The Membership/Publicity Committee. Officers oversee Leprechaun activities keeping things on schedule and making sure wishes are granted and other projects are done. From time to time a special committee will be appointed to work on a particular project. All committee activity is supervised by an Executive Board consisting of members who have been actively involved within The Leprechauns for at least a year. At this time, The Leprechauns work with Child Life Workers, or persons in similar capacities at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, Ireland Cancer Center (University Hospitals), MetroHealth Medical Center, Health Hill, The Cleveland Clinic, and Hospice of the Western Reserve. One major fundraiser is the annual Non-Party, which grants those invited a night off if they send what they would normally spend for a charity social event. Other fundraisers include an annual golf tournament, auction, clambake, and reverse raffle. There is also an annual Black Tie Reverse Raffle sponsored by the Friends of the Leprechauns. Funds have also been raised by organizations holding sock hops, bake sales, reverse raffles, casino nights, Jazzercize classes, and by grade school and college student classes and organizations. Some individual contributions are doubled by matching corporate funds. Some corporations donate either in a set amount, or as a percentage of sales. When The Leprechauns are designated, funds given to The United Way Campaign find their way to The Leprechauns. A growing list of memorials is another way funds are raised. You're invited to call for a volunteer application. Call Jean Dunbar at (440) 235-5025, or Debbie DiBlasi at (440) 349-2168. Your name and phone number will be passed on to a committee chairperson, who will contact you. You are under no obligation to join. You may want to try a committee, join us sometime in the future, or recommend us to a friend.
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