Make A Difference

Science and new medical research can change lives. Finding new treatments for Cerebral Palsy begins with you. Your help and support will directly affect how quickly scientists and medical professionals can make progress towards this goal. You have the power to make a difference and we need your help.

RFTS, Inc. plans to pursue every avenue that can lead to a cures and new treatments for children impacted by CP in their lifetime. Funds raised through RFTS will support research, awareness, education and advocacy.

Legislation - Your Voice Counts

Every one of us matters. Children with Cerebral Palsy have no one to advocate for them except for us. Too little is being done on their behalf and there is a significant gap in the amount of research that is presently being conducted to search out cures and new treatments. Did you know that there have been no national research studies into the causes and effects of CP on a long term basis? Did you know that there has not been an organized national parent "voice" that has asked for this kind of research to be done? We owe it to all of these children to change that equation. Now is the time.

Speak out and ask your elected officials to support children with disabilities and pediatric CP medical research. It is critical that we, the private sector, lead the push to increase research funding and ensure that all promising research opportunities can be pursued. Currently, there is no unified, national pediatric research effort to more accurately understand Cerebral Palsy in children and how to cure it .Without a focused researched effort benefiting the thousands of diagnosed and undiagnosed children, larger health care and social costs will escalate in the years ahead. Our elected officials have not heard from us as a parent group unlike other parent groups advocating for Autism, Cystic Fibrosis, Juvenile Diabetes, Cancer and Spinal Cord Injuries to name just a few. We need to change this with your help.

Please contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and urge them to support this essential issue. An e-mail can make the difference and the millions of children with Cerebral Palsy should not be forgotten. Click here to find your elected government officials.

Please Donate Now

Please consider making RFTS, Inc. an integral part of your charitable giving this year and/or volunteering your time. Together we will make a difference for our children and generations to come. We rely on your support to continue towards a goal that will improve the lives of thousands of children and their families impacted by Cerebral Palsy.

Your contribution will directly support promising Cerebral Palsy research and help ensure that new and innovative research avenues are thoroughly funded and explored. Funds raised through RFTS will support research and outreach education. Please consider organizing a fundraiser in your community and or making RFTS an integral part of your charitable giving from year to year. Become part of the HOPE and together we will make a difference for our children and the generation to come. RFTS, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit, tax-exempt foundation designated by the Internal Revenue Code.

Help Us Fundraise

• Attend or COntribute to a RFTS, Inc. event
• Coordinate a fundraiser in your community, click here to learn more.

Donate Today

• Help children with Cerebral Palsy by sending your donation to:
  RFTS, Inc.
  3000 Old Alabama Road
  Suite 119-300
  Alpharetta, Georgia 30022
  
  
• Call us to learn more about other donation options: 770-561-5950
  
  
• Honor Gifts
  You can make a donation in honor of your loved one.
• Memory Gifts
  You can make a donation in memory of your loved one.
• Estate Planning
  To learn more about giving through estate plans, click here.
• Automotive Donations
  You can donate your automobiles. For more information, click here.
• Corporate Matching Gifts
  You can talk with your company and see if they have a corporate matching program. If so, please consider including RFTS, Inc and contact us for further information.

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Community Fundraisers

We are extremely grateful for the efforts of many individuals and organizations that are coordinating fundraising events and choose to donate the proceeds to Reaching For The Stars. This hard work and commitment makes an enormous difference as we work to find new treatments and cures for Cerebral Palsy.

If you are interested in organizing a fundraising event, please contact Anna Marie Champion at 770-561-5950 or click here for all RFTS Fundraising guidelines and forms.

Reaching for the Stars (RFTS, Inc.) is a not-for-profit organization. Under section 501(C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. RFTS Tax ID # 201917197

RFTS Fundraising Ideas

• Organize a birthday or anniversary party for a loved one, with gifts donated to RFTS, Inc. in their honor.
• Turn an annual event at your school, business, or church into a charity event donating the proceeds to RFTS, Inc.
• Plan a community run, walk, or bike trek.
• Run a marathon or triathlon and solicit support from friend and businesses for RFTS, Inc.
• Host a sale or auction with items donated from local businesses.
• If your company has a matching charitable donation program, please include RFTS, Inc. so that your company can match your donation.

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Tips for publicizing a Community Fundraiser

• Contact the city editor or health editor at your local daily and weekly newspapers. Encourage them to assign a reporter to write a story about Cerebral Palsy & RFTS, Inc. and to include details about your event.
• Contact the calendar editor and do the same with the date and time of the event and a short description of the event
• Contact the public radio and provide the same information
• Contact the medical news director at your local ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX television affiliates and invite them to send a crew to cover your event.
• Visit local community centers, churches, schools, hospitals and ask them to distribute/ display flyers about your event.
• If you have sponsors for your event ask them to display and distribute flyers.

Estate Planning

You can contribute to search for a Cerebral Palsy cure by making a bequest to Reaching for the Stars. A Foundation of Hope For Children With Cerebral Palsy. Providing a bequest is easy and should reduce any estate taxes you may incur. While legal consultation is always advisable before making any will provision, a bequest can be simple stated as follows:

"I give and bequeath to Reaching For The Stars. A Foundation of Hope for Children with Cerebral Palsy ____% of my total estate (or $______). RFTS, Inc. is a not-for-profit tax exempt organization located in the county of Hall and having its principal address PO Box 7339 Chestnut Mountain, Georgia."

Some assets are not transferred through a will. These include assets in a qualified retirement plan* that remain after your lifetime. Naming Reaching For The Stars as the beneficiary of your qualified retirement may be very advantageous. This is because retirement plans left to an individual, other than a spouse, can be taxed more heavily than other assets. All that is generally required to leave you retirement assets to Reaching For The Stars is to name the Foundation on the beneficiary line when you sign up, or modify your current election by notifying your plan administrator at any time. For additional information please contact you financial advisor or tax planner. We would be happy to provide more information and answer any questions.

*Qualified retirement plans include an IRA, Keogh, 401(K), 403(B), defined benefit plan etc.

Automotive Gifts

Are you thinking of selling or trading in your old car, boat, plane, RV, or other motorized machine. Why not donate it to Reaching For The Stars instead? As a charitable contribution your automobile donation can make a difference. Every dollar is critical and goes toward ground breaking research and grant programs to find a cure for Cerebral Palsy. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. For more information call us at 770.561.5950 or email us at info@reachingforthestars.org.