By Andy Slawetsky – On Nov. 1 much of the copier industry came together for the Jillian Gala, held in Garfield, NJ. The Gala was held by The Jillian Fund, the organization that I have ridden my Harley across the country to support the last two years, visiting dealers and picking up donations along the way.

This year’s event was massive, with over 750 people attending. There were silent auctions, casino tables and of course, the raffle of the Harley Davidson Fat Bob that Clover Imaging Group again donated for the cause. In all, over $350,000 was raised on this night!

While there were tons of dealers and OEMs in attendance, this event wasn’t exclusive to the world of print. That said, the guest list of industry attendees was huge, no doubt boosted by the fact that most of these people were already coming to the area for the Cannata Awards Dinner the following evening. The Cannatas graciously provided a bus to take out of town guests from the hotel where their event was held to the Gala and back. Very cool of them!

If you still don’t know what they do, The Jillian Fund exists to help financially strapped families stay by their children’s sides during the darkest parts of of their young lives. Instead of leaving their kid sitting alone in a hospital room, The Jillian Fund helps pay the family’s bills and literally keeps their lights on so that they can be with their child. Many of these kids won’t get better, although some do.

One speaker that evening, Stephanie, was one of these children helped by the charity. Hope helps and as the Jillian Fund’s newest board member, Stephanie told us how important it was to have her parents with her when she needed them most. The Jillian Fund has now helped over 100 families. 100 little kids didn’t have to suffer without the comfort of their parents by their sides at the scariest time in their lives. I get teary just writing this.

The charity was started by George Gorman of Ricoh in the name of his beautiful daughter Jillian, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer at 16. She fought hard, but eventually lost her battle. During his time in the hospitals, George often saw critically ill children by themselves as their parents had to work to pay the mortgage. Eventually, George put his thoughts into action and today, the world is a better place because of The Jillian Fund and the generosity of this industry, as well as others who George has touched.

The Patriots Pack will be riding again for Jillian this spring as we continue our pledge to George to do whatever we can to help his cause. It’s probably one of the things I am most proud of being a part of and I thank all of you that sponsored the Gala and continue to sponsor our journey.

Email me for information on how you can support us or get involved: andy@industryanalysts.com

~Andy Slawetsky