Happy New Year everyone!  I thought it would be a good idea to start the new year and our new blog with a couple of introductions.  Long-time TAFFY supporters may notice that our Facebook presence has grown substantially in the last couple of weeks.  This is due, in no small part, to a new partnership formed over the last few years that’s finally come to fruition.  The Joel Huber Memorial Golf Outing (run by the incomparable Dave Lee) has decided to join forces with TAFFY in an effort to grow, improve, and continue its efforts indefinitely.

As a long-time TAFFY supporter, you already recognize the name Joel Huber.  Joel was a good friend of mine who tragically passed a few years back.  He was known personally by a number of our board members; celebrated and remembered through a memorial fun-run/walk; and at the very least, remembered as the loudest and most fun guy in our Vegas Room at the TAFFY Bash.  In short, Joel was one of our favorite supporters.

Joel’s good friend Dave Lee started this golf outing in Joel’s name shortly after his passing.  It’s an amazing time with amazing people and TAFFY is proud to become a part of this amazing tradition.

To our new friends just joining us on Facebook or on this blog, let me tell you a bit about TAFFY.  Taking Action for Friends, Family, and Youth was formed in 2003 by my cousins (sisters Maureen Lemon and Katie Grode) in memory of their mother.  Feel free to check out our mission statement on the website, but in general, what TAFFY does is help people.  We’re a small grassroots organization that raises money for people who are going through a hard time.  Whether it’s a mother who can’t afford Christmas for her kids (because her chemotherapy treatments cost too much) or a low-income classroom who can’t afford a field trip, we try to step in and ease the burden.

At the end of the day, TAFFY is here to help revitalize people’s faith in humanity.  Many times people see a friend or family member in a tough spot and feel powerless to help.  TAFFY can usually step in with the tools and knowhow to throw together a fundraiser for the family.  We’ve held tons of spaghetti dinners over the years, small euchre nights, and fun-runs but our primary source of income for the year is our Annual TAFFY Bash, held in Northville near the end of the summer (believe me, you want to be there).

We don’t make tons of money; we don’t want to change the world; we just aim to help out great people going through tough times.