dANDIElion Wishes is a non-profit that seeks to raise funds to help mental health organizations in the greater St. Louis area. The foundation was started in memory of Andie Goldford to address, destigmatize, and help support mental health research. We look to raise awareness about Andie's struggles, which so many other families face.
some see weeds, we see wishes
UPDATES
SAVE THE DATE
3RD ANNUAL DANDIELION WISHES WALK-OCTOBER 22ND!
We're looking forward to seeing everyone there for another day of celebrating Andie's memory and raising money to support mental health causes around St. Louis.
This year be ready for some gourmet coffee from the Coffee Culture truck as well as donuts and a variety of other treats! Raffle items are already coming in and we have some new items along with some old favorites!
Brian from Premiere Entertainment will be back for balloon twisting since it was such a hit last year!
Wear one of your t-shirts from previous years, because this year we're going to be stepping in style and outfitting your feet in dANDIElion Wishes socks!
ANDREA JEAN GOLDFORD MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND
We are pleased to announce that the first recipient of the Dandielion Wishes Andrea Jean Goldford Memorial Scholarship has been selected!
Our candidate is currently working towards obtaining her Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Missouri St. Louis and will be specializing in mental healthcare. Her interest in learning about and improving mental healthcare access stems from her own experiences. She shared with us - "My own family has a complex mental health and substance use background, so my passion for this field comes from a deep well of hope for a better future for all of us."
We look forward to meeting her this fall at the Scholarship luncheon. She is a great fit for the vision of our organization, and we are proud to have her representing Dandielion Wishes in creating a better tomorrow for people in need!
2ND WALK WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!
The Second Annual dANDIElion Wishes walk was a great success! Almost 200 people joined us on a beautiful October morning to raise funds for mental health, and remember our Andie.
Through your generosity we have nearly $13,000 to pour back into our community. This money will go far towards supporting various mental health organizations around St. Louis.
From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU to all of our amazing supporters.
CHADS DONATION
Thanks to your generous support we were able to make another large donation to CHADS Coalition for Mental Health-this time for $10,000. This organization is doing incredible work in our community to support mental health in our area's youth. Our board members personally know several children receiving help from CHADS counselors and the services they offer are truly life changing. We are so happy and proud to be supporting such a positive influence in our community; and are so grateful to YOU to allow us to do so.
CHADS COALITION DONATION
On May 6th dANDIElion Wishes made our first donation of $5000 to the CHADS Coalition for Mental Health. We met with the founder of the CHADS Organization, Marian, as well as several other directors within the organization. CHADS is a St. Louis based organization offering adolescents and their families support and awareness for suicide prevention, depression, counseling services, and educational programs.
We also donated a basket, complete with a dANDIElion Wishes mug, for their silent auction on May 14th for their bi-annual fundraiser.
We enjoyed meeting Marian, and were excited to make our first donation in Andie's honor. We were also tickled to hear that she outbid everyone on the dANDIElion Wishes basket we donated to their trivia night silent auction!
We have other exciting prospects on the horizon as we are in the process of planning a charity walk in the fall, once parks open back up. We’ll keep you posted as that develops, and we are designing our first tshirt as a part of this event.
Thank you to everyone who donated and made this donation to CHADS possible!
APRIL IS DONATE LIFE MONTH
April is National Donate Life Month. This observance helps to encourage Americans to register as organ, eye and tissue donors and to honor those that have saved lives through the gift of donation. Andie had registered for organ donation when she first got her license! By doing this, she made the decision for us, and was able to provide this amazing gift to many others.
We have green DONATE LIFE wristbands available for anyone who would like one to show their support for organ donation. Please notify us via email or Facebook messenger if you would like one.
Finally, we want to share an excerpt from a beautiful letter we received from the recipient of Andie's liver:
“ 'WE HAVE A LIVER FOR YOU!' ”
Those words are life-changing! To me, they were a miracle and my hope that a new life was ahead. Meanwhile, your family had sorrow and grief for their loss of a loved one. YOUR LOVED ONE’S LIVER HAS PROVIDED ME WITH A NEW LIFE! How appreciative my family and I are for the donated liver. Our families are forever bonded!"
NEW PARTNERSHIP!
We are happy to announce that we have chosen the initial organization we will be sharing funds with! CHADS Coalition for Mental Health is a local organization that helps adolescent and young adults by advancing the awareness and prevention of depression and suicide. It's a wonderful organization that serves St. Louis County and surrounding regions. To learn more you can check out their website: chadscoalition.org. Sandy met with the founder, Chad's mother, and was impressed with how she had turned her grief into this amazing organization. They also connected over their shared nursing backgrounds.
"When it's too hard to look back, and you're too afraid to look ahead, look right beside you and I'll be there"
