Greetings!

There are so many great and wonderful organizations that ask for your consideration each year to support their cause. I know it is difficult to help all of them all of the time. The solution is taking turns and helping as many as you feel comfortable.

I hope you will consider taking a turn this year to help the Central Illinois Memorial Kidney Fund. This is administered entirely by unpaid volunteers. Virtually, one hundred percent of the net proceeds from the fundraising events go directly to the needs of the patients. All of the money raised stays here in Central Illinois and benefits many local folks you may call friends or neighbors.

This fund was established to help people with chronic kidney disease. Many people on dialysis lose their income and are beyond insurance and/or Medicare coverage. This often makes it difficult to pay for rent, groceries or even basic utilities. CIMKF provides funds for expenses that cannot be met with any other form of assistance available to them. A board of unpaid volunteers and health professionals meet regularly to review patients’ needs and requests for assistance.

The largest fundraiser for CIMKF is “Encore” presented by the Morton Civic Chorus under the direction of Denise Adams. This year will mark the 40th year that the Morton Civic Chorus has donated the proceeds from their benefit concert to dialysis patients throughout Central Illinois. This year’s production will take place at the Hartmann Center Theatre at Bradley University May 24th through May 28th at 7 p.m. and May 29th at 2:00 p.m. We are inviting you to come and enjoy the show.

Karen and I are happy to be the 2011 Honorary Chairmen. We hope you can attend one of the performances and we hope you are able to support this great cause by making a donation to CIMKF. Every nonprofit organization feels the need for funds in the recent economy with very tight budgets to meet. Your help will truly be appreciated and can make a big difference to the families getting the support.

Sincerely,

Mike and Karen Murphy
Honorary Chairmen