The Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund
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RECENT UPDATES
I'm so excited, I just can't hide it. So I wont.
The latest and greatest news from the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team is simply remarkable. We are very proud to share some of the recent events that have helped to carry on Sasha's legacy.
On April 12th, 2010 the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team was back in Durham, NC to present the second Boredom Busters donation to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. The donation capped off a weekend of fun and philanthropy. With the help of Delta Sig, Sigma Nu, Pi Phi, and Kappa, Duke's undergraduate population turned back the clock three decades for an 80's Prom Party hosted by the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund. All told, over $1,500 from the party and T-Shirt sales was raised for the Boredom Busters - Duke program.
Special thanks to The Playhouse toy store in Durham, Kidzu Children's Museum in Chapel Hill, Paint Your Pot in Cary, Duke University, Michael Burakow, Jeff Forte, Arthur Leopold, and the Wyngaarden Family.
Check out photos from the weekend below!
(Left) Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk at Kidzu Children's Museum
(Right) Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk at The Playhouse
(Left) The 80's Prom Party in Durham on April 10, 2010
(Right) Charlie Benzyk, Michael Burakow, and Dave Krauss at the 80's Prom
(Left) Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk at Paint Your Pot in Cary, NC
(Right) The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center Staff receiving the donation of toys, games and activities from the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team. From left to right: Jean Hartford-Todd, Nancy Butters, Ginny Calhoun, Diane Burakow, Amy Benzyk, Nicholas Burakow, Michael Burakow, Jeff Forte, Casey Henderson, Jessica Wyngaarden, Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk
THE FUN-RAISING FUND-RAISER
On March 12, 2010 we held the Fun-Raising Fund-Raiser and it was truly a blast. The place to be was The Vault and over 200 guests were treated to music by Taste and DJ Hevan, appetizers, free vodka from Triple 8 Vodka, a photobooth from Photo Fun Box, photography by Brookview Studios and a feature TV spot from Dirty Water TV. We raised well over $4,500 which went to the Boredom Busters-Boston program and the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund at Duke University.
Below are a few shots from the event!
AND MATT BROWN, THE BIG iPAD RAFFLE WINNER...
Welcome to the online home of The Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund!
I'm so excited, I just can't hide it. So I wont.
The latest and greatest news from the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team is simply remarkable. We are very proud to share some of the recent events that have helped to carry on Sasha's legacy.
BOREDOM BUSTERS - BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER DONATION 2010
On June 14th, 2010 we successfully donated the proceeds from the Fun-Raising Fund-Raiser to the Boston Medical Center's Child Life Specialists Team. The event was greeted with open arms by the BMC's Development Office as well as the Child Life Specialists. The Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team was proud to present a sampling of toys and games purchased at Boing! Toy Store in Jamaica Plain, MA along with access to over $3,000 that the Child Life Specialists will be able to use over the next year to replace and supplement their Boredom Busters resources.
BOREDOM BUSTERS - DUKE DONATION 2010
On June 14th, 2010 we successfully donated the proceeds from the Fun-Raising Fund-Raiser to the Boston Medical Center's Child Life Specialists Team. The event was greeted with open arms by the BMC's Development Office as well as the Child Life Specialists. The Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team was proud to present a sampling of toys and games purchased at Boing! Toy Store in Jamaica Plain, MA along with access to over $3,000 that the Child Life Specialists will be able to use over the next year to replace and supplement their Boredom Busters resources.
Check out photos from the donation below!
See More: http://www.bmcdevelopment.org/taking-away-the-tedium-during-a-hospital-stay
See More: http://www.bmcdevelopment.org/taking-away-the-tedium-during-a-hospital-stay
BOREDOM BUSTERS - DUKE DONATION 2010
On April 12th, 2010 the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team was back in Durham, NC to present the second Boredom Busters donation to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center. The donation capped off a weekend of fun and philanthropy. With the help of Delta Sig, Sigma Nu, Pi Phi, and Kappa, Duke's undergraduate population turned back the clock three decades for an 80's Prom Party hosted by the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund. All told, over $1,500 from the party and T-Shirt sales was raised for the Boredom Busters - Duke program.
Special thanks to The Playhouse toy store in Durham, Kidzu Children's Museum in Chapel Hill, Paint Your Pot in Cary, Duke University, Michael Burakow, Jeff Forte, Arthur Leopold, and the Wyngaarden Family.
Check out photos from the weekend below!
(Right) Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk at The Playhouse
(Left) The 80's Prom Party in Durham on April 10, 2010
(Right) Charlie Benzyk, Michael Burakow, and Dave Krauss at the 80's Prom
(Left) Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk at Paint Your Pot in Cary, NC
(Right) The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center Staff receiving the donation of toys, games and activities from the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team. From left to right: Jean Hartford-Todd, Nancy Butters, Ginny Calhoun, Diane Burakow, Amy Benzyk, Nicholas Burakow, Michael Burakow, Jeff Forte, Casey Henderson, Jessica Wyngaarden, Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk
THE FUN-RAISING FUND-RAISER
On March 12, 2010 we held the Fun-Raising Fund-Raiser and it was truly a blast. The place to be was The Vault and over 200 guests were treated to music by Taste and DJ Hevan, appetizers, free vodka from Triple 8 Vodka, a photobooth from Photo Fun Box, photography by Brookview Studios and a feature TV spot from Dirty Water TV. We raised well over $4,500 which went to the Boredom Busters-Boston program and the Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund at Duke University.
Below are a few shots from the event!
(Left) James Keefe of Taste (Right) Evan Dahlstedt AKA DJ Hevan
Welcome to the online home of The Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund!
ABOUT THE FUND
Sasha Burakow was a "human dynamo." In life, she inspired many people, accomplished astounding feats, volunteered her time selflessly, and was an amazing friend and family member. In December of 2003, she lost her life to a brain aneurysm after finishing her first semester at Duke University. Immediately following Sasha's passing, close friends, Dave Krauss and Charlie Benzyk, and brother Michael Burakow knew that something must be done. Upon their return to Duke, Dave and Charlie began setting up an endowment for Sasha called "The Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund." The following year, in the Spring of 2005, her extensive network of friends, family and classmates set out to raise the $15,000 required to bring the endowed fund into maturity. So, with the goal set, the Touched By An Angel Team, in concert with the brothers of Delta Sigma Phi, orchestrated a very successful fund-raising campaign that included a school-wide raffle and the "First Annual Touched By An Angel Prom Party". The campaign was born on Duke's campus, but the story of Sasha's incredible life soon spread and donations began pouring in from across the country. Through the combined effort of hundreds of volunteers and donors, over $20,000 was raised in the initial fund-raising campaign.
Sasha's story is compelling because she was an "honest-to-goodness hero," to borrow the words from a Boston Globe article about her tragedy. The article continues describing Sasha as the
"anti-procrastinator. She was an All-American in
lacrosse at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va. She was
captain of the lacrosse and field hockey teams and a straight-A
student. She won a citizen award from the Fairfax County Police this past spring (2003) when she pulled 9-year-old twins out of a smoldering vehicle in
December 2002...At Duke, she nurtured
neonatal babies in the intensive care unit and volunteered as a Big
Sister." Everyone who knew Sasha felt lucky to have known her, especially a young brain tumor survivor named Michael McCauley. Michael is the younger brother a high school classmate of Sasha's and was a recipient of the love that Sasha shared. When Sasha learned that Michael would be undergoing brain surgery, she was "the first person by his side...She spent endless time sitting in his hospital bed playing video games
with him while he had to lay still. She always e-mailed him and called
him to make sure his spirits were high. He was anticipating her return
from college more than a visit from Santa Claus," says Marcie McCauley, mother of Michael. Even while away at school, Sasha remained Michael's hero. She was bringing him autographs from the Duke Basketball team when the aneurysm ended her life at just nineteen years old.When it came time to choose a cause that the Memorial Fund would benefit, Dave, Charlie and Michael Burakow decided to follow in Sasha's inspirational footsteps. They chose a cause that was
very close to Sasha's heart: Boredom Busters. Boredom Busters was established by the McCauley Family after Michael McCauley received a box of toys from another family while undergoing treatment in the hospital. Led by older brother Matt, the McCauleys began collecting donations to provide pediatric inpatients at local hospitals with toys, games, and activities. To this day, the McCauleys continue to deliver "Boredom Buster boxes" to hospitals up and down the east coast. So, with the original Boredom Busters program as a model and inspiration, The Sasha Burakow Touched By An Angel Memorial Fund Team decided to use the dividends from the fund to bring the Boredom Busters program to Duke University Medical Center. In the Spring of 2006, with help from then Duke basketball
player JJ Redick, the Boredom Busters program made the first delivery
of 80 boxes to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke. As a frequent volunteer at Duke's Intensive Care Unit and a supporter of the original Boredom Busters program in Fairfax, VA, Sasha would have passionately supported this effort to bring joy and comfort to children undergoing treatment in the hospital. HOW YOU CAN HELP
There are several ways to contribute to Sasha's legacy. If you are interested in joining our efforts, please enter your name and email address in the form below.
It is only through the continued support of compassionate people that we are able to keep Sasha's cause alive. We would like to thank you for taking the time to learn about our efforts. Please consider becoming a part of our cause.
