Wow . . . my readers amaze me.

Last year I created the Christmas card experiment just to see how many readers would actually send me a Christmas card.  This year I was trying to create a gimmick to liven things up a little – and then several of you contacted me and expressed interest in raising funds for a charity in honor of my mother.  One of you even came up with the idea of starting a scholarship for my mother.  I think the scholarship idea is fantastic, but just a little unrealistic.  So I thought the next best thing would be to help raise funds for the disease that plagued her.

Mom suffered from lupus, and for those of you that don’t know what exactly lupus is, here is the U.S. government’s definition:

Lupus is a disease that affects your immune system. Normally, your immune system fights infections caused by germs. Instead of protecting your body, your immune system makes the mistake of attacking your body’s healthy cells. Lupus can affect almost any part of your body, including your joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain.

In Mom’s case lupus destroyed her kidneys, which caused her to be on dialysis, and later caused her to become severely weak.

So how can I combine my Christmas card experiment with raising funds for lupus?  By giving my readers two options.

Option 1:  You can make a direct donation to the Lupus Research Institute in memory of Kim Geeding.  Have the acknowledgement sent to my address, and I’ll consider that my Christmas card.  I’ve done some research, and out of all the lupus organizations I feel most comfortable with the Lupus Research Institute came out on top.

Option 2:  If you just want to send a card and no money, then I will total up all the cards received before Dec 25, and for each card donate a dollar (up to $50) to the Lupus Research Institute.  If you include any money, I’ll make sure to donate the funds directly to the Lupus Research Institute. 

So far I think this is a win-win.  I get to see how many people are willing to send me a card and get to help to raise funds to help fight lupus.

Send all cards to

Keith “BagOfNothing” Geeding
421 Vista Noche Dr
Lewisville, TX 75067-8345

Please be sure to include the “BagOfNothing” in the name so I know the card comes from a reader and not the dentist or plumber.

Also, did you know you can shop online and help fight lupus at the same time?  Shop at your favorite retailer such as Apple iTunes, Barnes and Noble, The Home Depot, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, Nike, Target and many more and a percentage of your purchase will go to the Lupus Research Institute to help fight lupus.  Link