October 2014

“Life is bittersweet. The trick, I guess, is to know when you’re in the bitter and when you’re in the sweet.”
—Margot Murphy, the inspiration behind the Love From Margot Foundation

Life has certainly been bittersweet for those of us at the LFM Foundation thesehis past few weeks, and it’s often been hard to separate the two. On one hand, it’s been an exciting and celebratory time, with Founder Mike Murphy’s book, Love Unfiltered, launching September 16th and reaching Amazon’s bestseller lists in its first week (#4 in the Self-Help category!) We held a launch party here at the Volkswagen Store where Mike individually met with and passed out autographed copies to all who attended.

On the other hand, it’s been a difficult time, as we have said goodbye to two of our beloved clients. It is always devastating to lose someone to cancer, and it is even more difficult when that person is a single mother to a young child. 25-year-old Rachel Brennan, who passed away on Monday October 13, is the youngest client we’ve lost, and she leaves behind an 18-month-old boy named Jaylen Brennan Vidal. Our thoughts are with her family, particularly her mother and grandmother, who are caring for Jaylen. It was with heavy hearts that we also said goodbye to another one of our grantees, Deborah Woods, on October 11, 2014. Services will be held for her on Monday October 20th 2014 at 11 AM at Praise Fellowship Baptist Church at 5221 Central Ave., Richmond, CA. As we mourn these two women, we’re comforted to know that at least we were able to ease their burden in their final months, and this fuels our inspiration to continue this life-changing work.

Every client, and their loved ones, become part of our family here at the LFM Foundation. You may remember the story of Johnson Eng, the father of nine ten who lost his wife and his children’s mother to cancer around Christmas of last year. Since that time Mike and Samir (founder and board member) have remained close to the Eng family. Last week, on a beautiful October day, Mike and Samir took Johnson and all of the kids out for a day on a boat in the San Francisco Bay. They said it was a day their family will never forget, and we won’t forget it either—making a difference in this way is what inspires us to do the work we do.

We were able to celebrate some of that work on Saturday, October 18, 2014, when we attended the 40th annual dinner gala for our partners, the Shanti Project; an organization that has been supporting those battling life-threatening illnesses such as HIV, AIDS, cancer and breast cancer through our Margot Murphy Breast Cancer Program. It was deeply gratifying to hear how our partnership with Shanti has enabled them to serve many more of those in need over the past year.

How You Can Help

Thrift Store:

In an effort to raise more funds for the foundation to support our clients, Mike is looking into opening up a thrift store across the street from our headquarters here in Oakland, CA. We are looking for caring and motivated individuals to volunteer their near-new clothing, help us set up the store, and more! For more information, please email us at: info@archive.lovefrommargot.org with the subject line: Thrift Volunteer

Help As You Shop with Amazon Smile:

Amazon Smile is a great way to give to charity as you shop. Simply go to smile.amazon.com and when prompted, select the Love From Margot Foundation as your charity. Then shop the entire Amazon store, and .5% of what you spend will be automatically donated to us. Just remember to start from smile.amazon.com.

Buy Mike’s book:

If you haven’t yet purchased your copy of Love Unfiltered, or if you want to give copies to your friends and family, the book is available on Amazon or directly at MikeMurphyUnfiltered.com. With the holiday season approaching, it makes a wonderful gift! All proceeds go directly to the Love From Margot Foundation to support our clients battling cancer.

Donate:

And of course, your direct donations are always deeply appreciated. Because Mike covers all the charity’s overheads himself, every penny you give goes directly to help our clients and ease their burden as they fight for their lives. Donate here.