Donation to BBCH and a New Fundraiser

Recently, Elle's parents went to Maine Medical Center to present a check for $1,000 to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital. This marks the second year the Fund has made this donation and we are to make it an annual event.

The wagon Elle's father is holding is the wagon Elle used to move from class to class at Fairfield Elementary School. After her passing, the school donated it - with a plaque remembering Elle - to BBCH for other children to use.

In other news Heather Corbeil-Vire, a friend of the family, has set up a fundraiser with Tupperware.com. If you visit the link provided, 40% of any purchases you make at the site will go to The Power of Elle. So if you need more Tupperware to store your food in the fridge, click here to get it and help a great cause in the process.

2013 A Successful Year for The Eleanor Clare Paye Charitable Fund

Thanks to your generosity, the Fund was able to distribute over $6,000 in 2013 to various causes in and around Saco, ME. These included, but were not limited to:

• $300 to sponsor the 1km kids fun run for the Hugs From Hayley Race for Maine Children's Cancer. It is known as "The Elle Dash".
• $407 to the Saco Parks and Recreation Department to help buy two bikes for their Saco Bikes for Kids program.
• $1,000 to the Maine Children's Cancer Program
• $1,000 for two iPads for classroom learning at Fairfield Elementary School in Saco, ME.
• $1,700 in Bright Light Scholarships for dancers at the Steppin Out Dance Studio in Saco, ME. This is where Elle took dance for 3+ years

2014 has already seen us donate money to Fairfield School and to a fundraiser to help a young girl in Saco get a service dog. Her name is Delia Binette. She has experienced major health issues in her young life and continues to be a ray of sunshine. A service dog would improve her life in numerous ways. You can read about Delia and her need for a service dog here. This is a very, very worthy cause and we encourage all of you to help in the drive to get Delia this dog.

We will also be making a $1,000 donation to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in the next couple of days. This is where Elle received the majority of her treatments and their level of care was simply amazing. We were fortunate to have a place like BBCH for Elle.

We are looking forward to making 2014 even more successful than 2013. Please join us in making that happen!

Another Successful Fundraiser for Power of Elle / More Funding From Power of Elle

It has been a busy summer/early fall for the Fund.

First, some very good news. The Tea for Two Dolly & Me Tea Party held on September 15 raised $1650.62 for the Fund, an increase of almost $200 over last year's event. Sandy Mekonis has our everlasting thanks and gratitude for organizing this event.

And it is because of events like these and donations from so many generous people that we are able to give back.

We recently once again sponsored the 1km fun run called "The Elle Dash" with a $300 donation at the Hugs From Hayley Race for Maine Children's Cancer. Hugs from Hayley is another wonderful organization worthy of your support. You can learn more about them here. We consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to work with them every year.

The Fund donated $100 to the Fairfield School in Saco (where Elle attended kindergarten) for their Walk-a-Thon.

And the Fund gave $407 to the Saco Parks and Recreation Department to help buy two bikes for their Saco Bikes for Kids program. These bikes will be used by children in the town's park and rec program.

Again, it is because of the generosity and kindness from all of you that the Fund is able to give this money to so many different and worthy causes. And we cannot thank you enough for it.

Two Fundraisers for The Power of Elle

On Thursday, September 5, Jennifer Skinsacos held her third annual fundraiser for the Power of Elle at Ken's Place Seafood Restaurant in Scarborough. Jennifer takes all her tips from that evening along with any donations from patrons and generously gives that money to the Fund. This year, Jennifer was able to raise $1,142 over $1,300 for the Fund and we couldn't be more delighted. It is events like these that allow the Fund to do things like donating to the Maine Children's Cancer Program, or to buy books for the Fairfield School library. Thank you to Jennifer and Ken's Place for their continued generosity and support!

And tomorrow, September 15, there will be the second annual Tea for Two Dolly & Me Tea Party, held at the North Dam Mill in Biddeford. This wonderful event is run by Sandy Mekonis. Her daughter Laina and Elle were best friends, meeting at age 2 when they first starting dancing at the same dance school. You can read more about it on the Facebook Event page. Everybody raved about the Tea last year and it is sure to be a success again.

As always, the Fund is extremely grateful for the generosity and kindness we receive from so many members of the community. It reminds us that Elle's spirit is still alive and she is still making a difference.

More Donations to Fairfield School

As you may or may not know, Elle attended Fairfield School for a brief time before her passing. It was a very important moment for her and something she had looked forward to for a while. So the Fund always looks for opportunities to help Fairfield School. In that spirit, we can announce the following donations from the Fund to Fairfield:

• $1000 for two iPads for classroom learning
• $500 for the Garden/Greenhouse Project

We hope these donations will help the children at Fairfield continue to grow and learn the way Elle did in her short time at the school.

We will also be announcing the winners of the Bright Light Scholarships and the Heart of Dance winner from the Steppin Out Dance Studio shortly.

Donations To MCCP and the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital

Part of our ongoing efforts at the Fund include a goal of making yearly donations to the two institutions that provided such wonderful care for Ellie during her fight with cancer. As of today, we have reached that goal for the first time.

In late November of 2012, the Fund made it's second donation to the Maine Children's Cancer Program. It was for $1,000.

Then earlier today, the Fund made a $1,000 donation to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital.

We cannot say enough about the excellent care that Ellie received from these two organizations. The staff at both are dedicated and caring, and they - along with Ellie's indomitable spirit - is why she lived such a full life while undergoing treatment.

We are so pleased to have been able to do this. And we would like to make it an annual event. If you would care to help us in this, or in our other charitable efforts, please consider making a donation to the Fund.

The Eleanor Clare Paye Memorial Playground: Build Day and Dedication

On October 13, members of the community came together in a Build Day to finish building the Eleanor Clare Paye Memorial Playground at Young School in Saco. It was a lot of hard work (and even more mulch), but the results were fantastic.

Then on October 15, the playground was officially dedicated in a short ceremony which culminated with the students of Young School getting to try out the new playground.

The Fund wants to thank not only John Sherman and the Saco Parks & Rec Playground Committee for voting to name the playground in Ellie's memory, but to all the volunteers, donors, other sponsors, KaBOOM!, Let's Play and the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for making this a reality.

Below are a few pictures taken at the Build Day on October 13 and the dedication on October 15. You can read a news story about the dedication here and view the Saco Parks & Rec Playground Committee Facebook photo album of the Build Day here.

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From Build Day

From Dedication Day