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
AMAZING DAY AT THE 4th ANNUAL WALK
We had an amazing time at the 4th annual walk! The weather was perfect, the beignets were delicious and the crowds were ready for fun!
Thanks to your incredibly generous support we have been able to support amazing causes around St. Louis. We've been able to donate:
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$7,000 to Annie's Hope in memory of Andie's best friend, Laura Eisenbath.
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$2,650 to the Andrea Jean Goldford Scholarship Fund. supporting a student working towards their Master's in Social Work.
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$1,250 to CHADs Coalition, supporting mental health services in our local schools.
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$1,100 to Duo Dogs for Mental Health, helping to provide training and care for therapy dogs in our area.
3RD ANNUAL DANDIELION WISHES WALK-
We were so proud to have raised over $12,000 to pour back into the community at the 3rd annual walk in October 2023.
This money was split between CHADS Coalition, the Andrea Jean Goldford Memorial Scholarship Fund, and ZAKA.
CHADS continues to use our funds to go back into schools and support mental health for teens, ZAKA provides crisis counseling and trauma support for Jewish youths suffering from PTSD, and the scholarship fund is able to ease costs for a student studying social work at UMSL.
We are so thankful to all of you for making this work possible in Andie's name!
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!"
REGISTRATION OPEN!
The 4th annual dANDIElion Wishes Charity Walk is less than 3 months away and registration starts TODAY! We want to share where some of the proceeds will be going this year.
Firstly, we will be awarding our 2nd recipient of the Andrea Jean Goldford Memorial Scholarship. We are in the process of working with UMSL to go through applications and we will have information on the recipient soon.
Second, this year we will be donating a portion of our proceeds to Duo Dogs for Mental Health. Specially trained dogs visit patients in various locations around St. Louis to help bring comfort and healing.
Lastly, all proceeds from the raffle will be donated to Annie’s Hope in loving memory of Andie’s dear friend Laura, who lost her battle with breast cancer in January. Annie’s Hope provides family support groups, school supports, summer camps, and other grief services for children of all ages having to deal with the loss of a parent.
We are so excited to see you all again for the walk on October 20th! Mark your calendars and register today!
"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"
