http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Taxes/CutYourTaxes/10bigDeductionsTooManyPeopleMiss.aspx

I wanted to thank the foundation for the generous scholarship I received.  Going to college has gone from a dream to reality.  But without the assistance the National Kidney Foundation of Utah has provided, I do not know where I’d be today. You are helping me make a better life for myself.  I’m 21 now, but when I was 16 I received a kidney transplant.  It changed my life.  Being sick makes you wonder if you will ever be able to accomplish anything and now I have the world at my fingertips.  I am the first person in my family to go to college.  I am in my final semester of the Occupational Therapy Assistance program at Salt Lake Community College.  I have always had an interest in the medical field.  I am very grateful to be able to persue my passion.  The Kidney Foundation does wonderful things and I will forever be grateful for how you have helped me since my transplant.  Sincerely, Brooke R.

The holiday season is tough enough without the additional frustration of having Polycystic Kidney Disease. Thank-you for your support.  I work for a company that offers good health insurance–for which I am grateful…but the longer I live with the disease, the co-pays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses–soon begin to take their toll on the budget.  The $350 gift to help us pay for some of our medications in the month of December gave me tremendous hope that I can keep on trying and working.  I will never be able to thank-you enough for what you do for us patients and those of us who feel victim to the relentlessness of kidney disease.  My love and respect goes out to you and all the wonderful donors of the Kidney Foundation that help people like us.   Sincerely, David J.

Dear Kidney Foundation:  Thank you so much for the gas card to help us buy fuel to get to and from dialysis this week.  We have to make the 130 mile round trip 3 times a week.  We live in Panguich, and must drive over the mountain pass (Bear Valley, Hwy 20) to get to Cedar City–even in bad weather–because my husband simply can not miss dialysis or he will die.   We have put our home up for sale in order to move closer to the clinic, but it is very sad.  My husband was born in this very bedroom. It is a very old home, and special to us, but don’t know if anyone will even buy it.   In the meantime, we will make the drive to Cedar City, faithfully 3 times a week.  Thank you for your help and assistance in helping us get there.  Please let me know if I can do anything to help the Foundation.  I am good at making flyers and advertising, and have run a blood drive at our Church Social Hall.  Let me know if this is helpful, I want to help and return the favor to your organization.  Thank you again for your help, and concern for our wellfare.  Sincerely,   David & Connie O.

Dear Kidney Kars, I am writing to give thanks for all you have done for me to help me stay current on my insurance premiums.  Living with kidney failure has so many aspects that need to be addressed– always when you least expect it.  Last week, I had surgery to try and place a Peritoneal Dialysis catheter so I can dialyze at home.  This has been a long process to get that to work, and when I got to dialysis on Friday, my fistula clotted, and I needed to have a fistula-gram to open it up again.  This was much unexpected– but so like kidney failure.  Thank you again for the help and burden it relieves me of.  Merry Christmas to your donors who help improve our lives with their Kidney Kars and other donations.  R. Hammon

Dear Friends of the National Kidney Foundation of Utah:  I’ve been fighting renal failure for 2 1/2 years.  I’ve had lots of testing, with the end result of having a fistula put in my left arm, and doing 3 hours of dialysis 3 times a week.  I started dialysis last December 8, 2008.  One of the ‘blessings’ of end stage renal failure is all the love and giving from friends and family, and organizations like the  Kidney Foundation!  My ‘baby’ brother, and his wife have started the process of being tested to see if they can donate a kidney to me.  Words can not express my feelings of thanks and gratitude.  I am so grateful for the generosity of others, my family and the Kidney Foundation. Thank you, thank you!  From the bottom of my “kidney.”  –B. Jackson

Dear Kidney Foundation, I would like to thank the National Kidney Foundation of Utah & Idaho for your willingness to help me lighten the burden on my sholders.  My health and financial stress does not allow me to sleep well at night.  I cannot explain how grateful I am for your help, but from the bottom of my heart I appreciate your support in this time of need.  Your kindness to me will never be forgotten.  Yours truly, T. Katoa

An essay about Kidney Kars donation in Utah by Mindy Lind. Mindy is the daughter of Roger Stratford, a past Kidney Foundation Board President and Kidney Donor.  Thanks to both Roger and Mindy for sharing this perfect essay about Kidney Kars! 

http://marzipansmind.blogspot.com/2008/12/national-kidney-foundation-loves-me.html

I wanted to share a short note to say Thank you for helping us pay some of our bills.  I work for the School District and am out of work 3 months of the year.  The last paycheck I got was in June, and I won’t see another until the end of October.  Luckily my husband has two jobs, so we’ve been able to make our house payments.  But since I’ve had kidney failure, it’s been really hard to pay for everything, especially all my medical treatments and medications.  It was so hard for me to ask for (financial) help.  It was humiliating, but I had no options left.  I can not tell you how grateful I am for that little extra help paying for my meds.  It meant so much to me, and took such a huge burden off mine and my husband’s shoulders this summer.  God Bless everyone who has donated to the Kidney Foundation.  Thank you so very much for your assistance.  I can only hope that one day I’ll have a transplant and will be able to repay this kindness to the Kidney Foundation myself.  Sincerely,   Michelle S.

Automobiles » Lung and kidney groups losing donations.

By Steven Oberbeck

Updated: 08/11/2009 09:28:13 PM MDT

Click photo to enlarge

Luz Lewis-Perez of the National Kidney Foundation… (Steven Oberbeck / The Salt Lake Tribune)

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The federal “cash-for-clunkers” program may be wildly popular with auto buyers, but some Utah charities that rely on vehicle donations for funding say the initiative is cutting into the number of cars and trucks they’re receiving.

The National Kidney Foundation of Utah, which gets more automobile donations than any other charity in the state, estimates the number of vehicles donated to its Kidney Kars program is down 10 percent to 15 percent since the clunkers program began.

Things are much worse at the American Lung Association in Utah. Donations are down 50 percent to 60 percent as many owners of used vehicles opt to take advantage of rebates of up to $4,500 for trading in their gas guzzlers for new fuel-efficient cars instead of making a charitable contribution.

“We’re going to need a few more weeks to really gauge the impact, but already we’re feeling the effects,” said Luz Lewis-Perez, who oversees the Kidney Kars donation program in Utah.

Standing beside an auctioneer at Brashers Auto Auction in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Lewis-Perez watched as 44 cars and trucks donated to the Kidney Foundation were sold. Although some went for a lot more and others a lot less, the average selling price was $680 — enough money for the Kidney Foundation to help several thousand Utahns receiving dialysis pay their bills while they wait for a transplant.

“Fortunately, the ‘cash-for-clunkers’ program is only temporary, while we’re in this

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for the long haul,” Lewis-Perez said.Craig Cutright of the American Lung Association in Utah said that only a few years ago, its vehicle donation program was the organization’s largest funding source.

Then the federal government changed the rules on how much of a tax deduction those who donate could take. Donations dropped off sharply.

“Now we’re having to deal with this ‘cash-for-clunkers.’ It seems as if the federal government just wants to come up with programs that will harm charities,” Cutright said.

Daniel Boroschoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, takes another view. His watchdog group monitors charities, and he thinks that although some may suffer short term, overall the clunkers program may prove beneficial.

“Some charities may very well see fewer cars donated, but that isn’t the only consideration. If this program helps stimulate the economy, then it should help those people that charities exist to serve.”

Lewis-Perez said its is easy to understand why the clunkers program is so popular.

“The government is giving out money. But we’d like to remind people who have an automobile they want to get rid of and aren’t using for the clunkers program that donating their car [to charity] is truly the best way to get rid of it.”

steve@sltrib.com