Raise The Roof 2012 Recap

Raise the Roof 2012 was an incredible experience for Erica and I. It was our first time attending the event, and a trip that we had been looking forward to for months. We spent quite a bit of time preparing our speeches and even recruited Erica’s parents to help us make our preview video.

We were really excited to reveal our bike trip to everyone after keeping the project a secret for so long! When we spoke with Brandi and Catherine back in July about making this fundraising effort a reality, it was so difficult to not tell all of our friends and family about how excited they were, and share all of the great things we were going to do to raise money and awareness for the Looking Out Foundation. A few short weeks before the event, we went into project overdrive, getting t-shirts printed, building a website, Facebook page, getting informational postcards printed, and even getting a large banner printed with our logo (thanks JK and Cindy for the logo – we love it!)

A big highlight for us at Raise the Roof was getting to be a part of the event – as intimidating as it might have been! Bert took us backstage, where we got to say hello to Brandi, Tim, Phil, and catch the adorable Baby Jo eating some dinner. We also got to speak with Hillary Zuckerberg from the Why Hunger organization, and Kim Bogucki from the If Project; both of these organizations are doing amazing things that really make a positive impact on the world. Go check them out, and get involved where you can! Why Hunger and The IF Project

After our presentation, we got to hang out in the back of the room and talk to people about our trip, answer questions, and just meet a whole bunch of amazing people that love Brandi’s music and support her foundation. We were able to connect with so many people who are willing to help us out to make this journey a success, and that means the world to us.

So, for all of you who were able to hang out with us at Raise the Roof, thanks for listening to our presentation and laughing along to our video, for coming back to say hello, taking a postcard, and for donating. We left the Triple Door smiling that night and more determined than ever to make Looking Out Across America a success for the Looking Out Foundation.

To Holly, Bert, and the rest of the team that put on this fantastic event each year…thank you seems to hardly cover how much we all appreciate what you do. You all are a special group of people that have inspired us to make a difference where we can, so thank you for everything! Mel