2007 

The very First USC Quench The Fire event took place on Dec. 2^nd 2007 at El Dorado Park in Long Beach CA.  

At the time there was no online fundraiser, simply the day event, that would later expand into 3 more events, with the 4^th in the panning.  

This is the story of how the very first USC Quench The Fire Event got started as told by the man who took an idea and made it happen: 

http://www.helpforpain.com/QTF-story.pdf 

The event enjoyed the star presence of a couple of the Laker Girls and actor Richard Dean Anderson. 

My involvement with them started though a recommendation from a friend. At her advice, I registered as an attendee to the event and after a few e-mails exchanged with Mr. Randy Balncq I received a very warm welcome and entered the world of volunteers at the event. I can honestly say that Sunday morning changed my perception on a lot of things and ensured my eternal devotion to the USC Quench The Fire Event.

 2008 

The Second USC Quench The Fire event took place once more at the El Dorado Park in Long Beach, CA on Dec. 7^th.

The event once more enjoyed the participation of the Laker Girls and Mr. Richard Dean Anderson. 

This was the first year when online fundraising was available and this option led to the birth of The Purple Heart Project as a secondary fundraising page to the online efforts of the QtF.

http://www.active.com/donate/quenchthefire08/purpleheart 

The Purple Heart Project took a joke made by one of QtF’s star supporters earlier in the year and opened the fundraiser. At first the idea behind the fundraiser was to show support for the man who was the inspiration behind the name and the idea, but only a few days into the fundraising it became a worldwide show friendship and loyalty to one another as people from over 10 countries joined in the effort and brought friends along into it and spread the word. 

We’ve also benefited from an amazing offer made by an attendee, to have an event T-shirt from the previous year, that Mr. Anderson had autographed, auctioned off to raise more money. The T-shirt went on E-bay and was purchased by someone in Austria whom we’ve also had the great pleasure to see at the event in CA that same year. 

In total, the 2008 Purple Heart Project managed to raise online $7,314.78 thanks to people from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, UK, USA. 

In March 2009 the organizers of the “USC Quench the fire” came to us with the “prizes” for fundraisers. None of the fundraising efforts had been a competition in any way, but as a show of their gratitude for all those who fundraised on their behalf, to those who raised $1,000 and above they offered two tickets to Disneyland in CA. We fell into that category and since what we had achieved had not been the work of any one person, no one could take on the tickets. Therefore, again as a group, we asked the organizers to send the tickets we had been offered to a children’s charity in LA, “Challengers Boys and Girls Club”, in the hope that it will bring a smile to a couple of kids. We were assured the tickets had been sent as of March 9^th 2009. 

Photos from the event can be seen HERE.  

 2009 

The Third USC Quench The Fire Event took place on December 6^th at Whittier Narrows Park in El Monte, CA.

Attendees were again in the company of the Laker Girls and Mr. Richard Dean Anderson. 

With the option of fundraising online before the event once more available, The Purple Heart Project was re-launched in a less exclusive format.  

http://www.active.com/donate/quenchthefire/purpleheart09 

We didn’t focus on honoring one individual through our efforts, but expanded on making an effort for anyone and everyone that has had to deal with pain, in any shape or form. 

We also opened this website in order to honor all the participants from the previous year and their monumental effort.

Also, taking the auction idea from the previous year, we have expanded from a simple fundraising drive to hosting a wider online auction on e-bay, as well as offering the option to send gift certificates on behalf of donors who wish to honor someone with their efforts. The templates for the certificates can be seen on our Certificates page. We’ve had auction item donations from signed books, to hand-made items and even one family tree genealogy investigation. Some of our donors have allowed us to post a short profile for them on our Endorsers and Auctioneers page. 

In total, the 2009 Purple Heart Project raised $5,700.

The fundraising prize this year for those who raised $1,000 or more was a $100 Visa Card, which we once again requested be sent to the “Challengers Boys and Girls Club” in LA on behalf of everyone involved in The Purple Heart Project.