Fundraiser to help Tori Schmanski

Good morning! I hope you all recovered from Thanksgiving! It was nice to take time off to be with family and friends.

To continue my story from last week... So I've been a big fan of For Every Body for several years. About two years ago in January 2005, I was almost finished with my classes at Brigham Young University, and I needed an internship. I looked everywhere for an internship that I would like and learn from.

I looked online and found an internship at For Every Body. I was so excited! It sounded like the perfect job for me. I loved the company, their candles and everything about the idea. So I applied and fortunately, they liked me! I worked for about four months as an intern, and then I moved all the way to New York City to work as an intern there. While I was away, For Every Body called me and asked if I would work for them. So that brings me to today, almost two years later. I'm an even bigger fan of the company, and want everyone to know about it!

One of the things I like most about For Every Body is how they give back to the community. They make candles for different causes like breast cancer, organ donation and then last year they made one for a young girl that was in a terrible car accident. Her name is Tori Schmanski.

Tori sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury in an automobile accident on Father’s Day, June 19, 2005. At the time of the accident, she was 15 years old and a very talented dancer. Her car rolled two and a half times, and landed upside down in a canal. Everyone except Tori was able to swim out of the vehicle. Tori was submerged in water for 15 minutes before help could arrive.

We created a candle called “Pray 4 Tori” in September 2005 to help raise funds for her medical bills. We reintroduced the candle a couple days ago to help Tori travel to China to receive treatment that she cannot get in the United States. Charitable donations have also been given from numerous individuals and generous contributions from companies to the Tori Schmanski Fund to help fund their trip.

You can buy the candles at www.pray4tori.com and make donations there. You can also read about Tori and how she has progressed the past year and a half. Please tell everyone about this. Tori's and her parents are leaving on Jan. 11 and will be there until Feb. 12. They need as much support as they can. I'll keep you posted on the progress of this fundraiser.

Have a great week! I'll write again next week.