Yolanda Muller
Send Me On Vacation (SMOV), a non-profit organization that provides much-needed vacations to women with cancer who have undergone treatment, announces that four companies have donated $25,000 each to become sponsors at the philanthropist level for the Vacation Donation program, SMOV’s effort to encourage companies and individuals to donate timeshare weeks.
The philanthropist-level sponsors are BuyATimeshare.com, SFX Preferred Resorts, Absolute World, and Unlimited Vacation Club.
BuyATimeshare.com specializes in finding buyers for timeshare owners while assisting clients in securing an affordable timeshare on the secondary market.
SFX Preferred Resorts gives consumers the ability to request quality resorts listed in multiple exchange networks, rather than being restricted to just one exchange company that is affiliated with the resort.
Absolute World offers a range of services in the vacation industry, including select resorts and hotels, luxury boutique real estate, a destination club, and a shared ownership and resale division.
Unlimited Vacation Club by AMResorts is an exclusive travel club whose members get privileges at AMResorts properties in Mexico and the Caribbean, including guaranteed preferred rates and special offers.
“These donations give Send Me On Vacation the ability to send a tremendous amount of breast cancer survivors on vacation,” said Cathy Backus, founder of SMOV.
SMOV all started last January when Jeanette Bunn, president of Travel To Go, donated a trip she had won at an industry raffle to SMOV. Following her lead, Todd Rogers, Bryan Lunt, Patrick Hartough, Mel Grant, Remi Filo, Eliana Jones, and a long list of industry leaders continued to donate trip after trip.
“It was contagious. I was speechless, and for me, well, that’s nearly impossible,” Cathy said. “Our purpose is to change the lives of survivors by using the vacation concept to restore the body, mind, and spirit. When you can use resources and concepts in the industry you work within, it serves everyone well.”
All weeks donated to the Vacation Donation program are on a space-available basis. This way, only unused vacation weeks that developers and exchange companies would have burned are utilized.
2013 Send Me on Vacation Annual fundraising event will be held at a spectacular property located in upcountry Maui, called Lumeria Maui. It’s a four-day event scheduled for November 1-4.
The title sponsor of the golf tournament will be Chicago Title. Each of the 18 holes can be sponsored by honoring a cancer survivor you know or one that has been granted vacation in 2013. The cost is $500 a hole. The tournament will be open to locals from Hawaii, as well as those attending the annual event.
“My name is Yolanda Muller, I’m a fourth-stage breast cancer survivor, and I was selected as 2012 Send Me On Vacation recipient. I have just returned home from a life-changing vacation experience in Mexico. I am from Mexico and have always wanted to visit my country.
“SMOV went to great lengths to be sure I was able to return to my homeland and meet family I was never able to know, see places I never knew existed, walk-on long sandy beaches, and find a sense of peace that came from being away from hospitals, receiving treatments and the stress of having a condition in fourth stage that rarely gives you a break.
“Thanks to the generous contribution from the timeshare industry, Send Me On Vacation is able to send women like myself on a vacation to rejuvenate and heal our body, mind, and spirit. After years of treatment, it was a divine blessing.”
More information about the event can be found at www.SendMeOnVacation.org under the event tab.
“While you are on the site, show your support for the cause and become a member. Membership is complimentary. Live Aloha for a few days with us in Hawaii, and consider supporting us in changing the lives of survivors, one vacation at a time,” said Cathy.
If you have a week or two you’d like to donate, contact Cindy Pheps at vacationdonation@sendmeonvacation.org, or Cathy Backus at cbackus@sendmeonvacation.org.
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