We are all aware of the devastation that has ravaged north Alabama. Families are coping with the loss of homes and family and trying to rebuild their lives. To the best of our knowledge, the DI Alabama family has not suffered any loss of life, but we have had several families who have suffered the loss and significant damage to their homes. In the spirit of DI and for the love of the children who have worked so hard to go to the 2011 Global Finals (GF) Tournament, DI stands ready to help …..

DI Alabama and Destination ImagiNation, Inc. have worked together to establish a DIsaster Benefit Fund. This fund is intended to help Teams pay the DI related fees for going to GFs. The following notes address who qualify and how to apply:

• Who Qualifies
  • Anyone who Team has suffer the loss or significant damage to their home and property
  • Anyone who has an outstanding balance due to DI that they feel they can not raise due to the tornado disaster
• Who Does Not Qualify
  • Anyone who has paid their DI account off in full
  • Anyone with a small balance due to DI they can be funded through other means
• Send an email to David Thomason and Gary Brown containing the following information (if you do not have their e-mail addresses, use this form to initiate contact with them):
  • A description of the circumstances that have placed you team at risk from going to GFs. Please be specific and remember this funds sole purpose is to help those impacted by the Tornado Disaster.
  • Provide a financial statement including the following:
    • The total due to DI (Original Invoice)
    • The total amount collected to date (Funding in hand or committed by other sources to pay this bill)
    • The estimated amount that your team can rise to help pay this amount. We anticipate that ALL teams will be able to do something to help themselves.
    • And finally the balance due to DI for which the team will need help from the fund to pay off. (For example if you owe DI $10 and have collected $8 and you think you can raise $.50 for an outstanding balance of $1.5, it’s the $1.5 we want to help out with.)
• This fund is not intended to cover your transportation or shipment costs associated with going to Globals.
• PLEASE keep in mind that this is a very limited amount of money that we are trying to do as much good as possible. The more you can raise and the less you ask for helps more teams in the long run. 

This is NOT a commitment by DI Alabama or Destination ImagiNation to pay any of your DI bill, but we will try to help those in need as best we can.

We need this information from the teams by not later than Wednesday May 11, 2011. The committee overseeing this action will send you a response by the end of that week.

One last reminder, this is a limited fund, so be reasonable.  Like all other effort in these times we need to meet real needs and do what we can to pay our way as much as possible.

Once again, our prayers are with all of those who have suffered loss or grief during the past week. God Bless you and we hope to see you in Knoxville!

IDODI,

David & Gary
Co-Affiliate Directors
Destination ImagiNation Alabama