Focused on a Cure: IP's Cutest Kid Contest

Irresistible Portraits hosted their first IP's Cutest Kid Contest in April! They had two days of drop in FREE sessions in mid April, then invited the parents back in to pick their favorite which would be uploaded to the online voting contest. IP had 30+ families show up during those two days.

From April 21st to April 28th, the children and families were supposed to promote voting as much as they could and see how many votes they could earn. One vote equalled one dollar. IP set their goal at $10,000 in votes!

During the week, the parents shared their creative fundraising ideas with us - from lemonade stands and yard sales to auctioning off their relatives for dates!! Needless to say, IP met their goal and a little more! The grand total on the evening of April 28th was $10,175 for Focused on a Cure!!

The following are winners...

Jackson Parsons - IP's Cutest Baby

Katie Westmoreland - IP's Cutest Tot

Caroline Jeter - IP's Cutest Tween

Bryana Hott - IP's Cutest Pre-Teen

Jackson Parsons raised the most money totaling to $1303, therefore he is IP's Cutest Kid for 2010! Check out this image with his collection bucket that him and his sister carried while walking the neighborhood collecting from door to door!

We asked Lauren (Jackson's mom) to share her fundraising story with us...

The Focused on a Cure foundation hits home for our family being that Jackson's Nana is a 15 year breast cancer survivor. So when IP's Cutest Kid Contest came across my facebook events with all proceeds going to FOC, we were determined to raise as much money as we could. Who knew dressing a little boy in pink and sending him door to door could raise so much money. We set our goal at $1,000 and started raising money.

With the help of his big sister McKinlee, Jackson raised over $100 in our neighborhood asking people to donate money for "breath cancer." People were melting in their hands as they stood there with their bucket and sign. We also set up buckets at his pre-school, consigned clothes, sold our couch, took a class field trip to the fire station, raffled a Mary Kay basket, and asked just about everyone that walked past us.

Friends and family all over the US sent donations through the mail and online. It was amazing to see how supportive everyone we spoke with was. We are very grateful to have such wonderful family and friends. I am so proud of Jackson for being such a good sport, wearing so much pink, and being so excited everytime someone else gave him money. I am also thankful that this contest allowed me to teach my children about donating and giving back.

Thanks you to the IP family for starting this foundation and thank you to our wonderful family, friends, and everyone that helped us exceed our goal and raise $1,303 for Focused on a Cure.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

God Bless,

Lauren Dorsey Parsons

Check out some images from Jackson's Cutest Kid session on IP's facebook fan page - www.facebook.com/IPbyKG.

Focused on a Cure: Pink at the Rink [Skateland USA]

We had our first skating fundraiser - "Pink at the Rink" - at Skateland USA in Kannapolis, NC this Wednesday. We had a great turnout and raised over $300 in just a few hours.... and had an absolute blast while doing it!

Thank you to the Frye's Amusements for their generosity!!! We hope to do this again soon!

To see all the candids from the night, check out the Pink at the Rink album on our facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/focusedonacure.

Let the Voting for IP's Cutest Kid Contest Begin....

Thank you to all our participants in IP's Cutest Kid Contest. We had a great response and we can’t wait to see how much money we can raise for Focused on a Cure through the voting process!

Voting begins TODAY (Wednesday, April 21st) and will end Wednesday, April 28th. Again, one vote is $1. You can vote as many times as you’d like. (For example, 20 votes equals $20). Keep in mind all votes are tax-deductible donations.

The voting will take place online through this link: http://irresistibleportraits.com/index.php?page=FocusHome|Contest.

1. Click through the thumbnails until you find who you’re voting for.

2. Click on the button underneath the image – “click to vote for this image.” This links to Focused on a Cure’s PayPal account.

3. You can change the quantity of votes in your shopping cart to the amount of votes/dollars you wish to donate at that time.

4. Click “proceed to checkout.”

5. You can either enter your Paypal account login (if you have an existing paypal account) OR you can enter your credit card info into this screen.


6. Verify the info you provided and click “Pay Now.”

7. When you see the “thank you” greeting at the top, you’ll know your transaction was completed!

8. You can click “View Printable Receipt” to have a copy for your tax records.

If you have someone who absolutely refuses to use their credit/debit card online through paypal, you can turn in cash or checks (made to: Focused on a Cure). However, we need it between the dates of 4/21 and 4/28 for it to count as votes.

We will keep everyone updated with votes on our facebook fan page – www.facebook.com/IPbyKG.

Tell everyone you know – friends, family, co-workers, church members, neighbors, everyone! Voting can take place anytime from anywhere! Remind them that every vote is a tax-deductible donation to Focused on a Cure!

Don’t forget there will be a winner from each age division as well as a GRAND PRIZE WINNER that will be named “IP’s Cutest Kid.”

To review the grand prizes, go to http://irresistibleportraits.blogspot.com/2010/04/ips-cutest-kid-prize-updates.html.

Spread the word! Good luck! Happy voting!

"IP's Cutest Kid" PRIZE UPDATE

Announcing PRIZES for "IP's Cutest Kid".....

$500 gift card to Irresistible Portraits

42" LG flatscreen TV AND a 5 Hour Fishing Trip on Lake Norman from Holbrook's Radio & Television

$100 gift card to Audrey's Once Upon a Time Boutique

$25 gift card to Payton's Closet

Gift card to Pout Couture (Value undetermined).

Shampoo/Cut/Style, Make up Application, AND 30 minute massage from C.C. & Company Salon and Spa.

$25 Gift card to Punchy's Diner.

[Know anyone who would like to donate? Contact Renda at 704.933.5600.]

Each age division winner will receive up to $250 in prizes, including $150 gift card to Irresistible Portraits and a $50 Savings Bond from F&M Bank.

Focused on a Cure's Traveling Exhibit: March & April

Our exhibit (by Irresistible Portraits) will begin traveling to different locations throughout the community today! Take a look to see where it will be....

Today through Friday, March 26th
Fifth Third Bank (Wilmar branch)
871 Church Street N
Concord, NC 28025

Monday, March 29th through Friday, April 2nd
Cabarrus Family Medicine - Kannapolis
4443 Kannapolis Parkway
Kannapolis, NC 28083

Monday, April 5th through Saturday, April 10th
Concord Library
27 Union Street N
Concord, NC 28025

Monday, April 12th through Friday, April 16th
Breast Health Center
at CMC-NE Outpatient Center - Copperfield
1085 Northeast Gateway Court NE
Concord, NC 28025

Monday, April 19th through Friday, April 30th
CaroMont Cancer Center
at Gaston Memorial Hospital
Gastonia, NC

We need more exhibit venues from May into the summer months. If you have a business or know of someone who might be interested in hosting the exhibit, please contact Renda at 704.933.5600 or renda@irresistibleportraits.com. We will be happy to reserve the dates that are best for you and then we'll set up the display and take it down. No hassle to you.... just spreading awareness! We look forward to hearing from you!

While you've got your calendar open... Save the evening of Friday, August 6th for Piggin' Out for Pink 2010! More details to come.

Fundraiser Update

We've had a few different fundraisers in the last couple of weeks. "A Taste of Dream Dinners" was Monday, March 8th at the Cloverleaf Parkway Dream Dinners in Kannapolis, NC. Our turnout wasn't as grand as we had hoped, so Kristi (owner of Dream Dinners - Kannapolis) decided to extend the $25 offer (6-serving dinner for $25) until the end of March!!!! She decided to donate a percentage of the total sales to Focused on a Cure. We can't wait to hear the total donation from Dream Dinners!

Then, last Saturday, the Brow Lounge held their Grand Opening at their Cornelius, NC location. They offered to give 50% of their sales from Saturday to Focused on a Cure! WOW! We're still waiting to hear the grand total from Saturday, but it seems like it will be large considering the items in the boutique were sellling like wildfire! Even if you didn't make it to the grand opening event, stop by their location when you have time. Their boutique has some very unique accessories and clothing AND you'll be impressed with their fabulous location!

And last but not least.... Irresistible Portraits hosted a Bunny Portrait Fundraiser last Sunday... just in time for Easter! We raised a total of $1,100 for Focused on a Cure! The portraits were ADORABLE!

Take a peek at candids and portraits from these recent events on our fan page at www.facebook.com/focusedonacure.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR for Wednesday, April 28th from 5pm to 9pm. Skateland (in Kannapolis) has offered their facility for ROLLIN' FOR A CURE! We're going skating and you're invited. Tickets will be $5 each and a portion of the proceeds will go to Focused on a Cure!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR for Relay for Life Cabarrus on May 15th and 16th at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center. If you haven't joined a team yet, you're welcome to join ours! We have some LARGE ideas for fundraising at the event and we'd love for you to be a part of it.

Stay up to date with our events and fundraisers at www.facebook.com/focusedonacure.

Belk Charity Sale

Belk will hold its semi-annual Charity Sale event benefiting local charities and non-profits on Saturday, May 1st from 6-10am at Belk stores companywide.

The Belk Charity Sale is a private, four-hour sale dedicated to supporting local non-profit organizations. Participating charities will have the opportunity to raise money for their organization while ticket holders receive 20% - 70% off Belk purchases storewide, including special savings on rarely-discounded brands.

Focused on a Cure is selling tickets at $5 each and is able to keep 100% of the proceeds from every ticket sold.

If you're interested in purchasing a ticket, stop by IP at 1418 South Main Street, Kannapolis, NC or call us at 704.933.5600.