Fund Raising for R. Biggs Memorial

[Jan]

Some of you might have seen my post in the 'Today we lost Richard Biggs' thread, but I wanted to start a separate one for any fund raising activities folks find or start.

I've got some auctions going where all proceeds will go toward whatever Trust Fund will be started. JMS mentioned that and I saw a post from Bruce Boxleitner and Melissa Gilbert mentioning it also. I began a new PayPal account also (email: [email protected]) so all funds will be accounted for. Once the Trust is set up, I hope to link the account to that so the funds will be accessible at once. Direct donations can be sent to that account also

So far I've got 2 rare autographed Sleeping in Light CDs, some shirts, a comic and an autographed shooting schedule up for auction. I plan others and another poster is sending me some t-shirts to auction. If anybody else has items they'd like to donate, I'll be happy to add them also.

I've seen before how generous the B5 community is when I did some auctions for Kitten Rescue several months ago after JMS rescued Buddy the cat. With something this important, I'm expecting *great* things.

Thanks friends,
Jan

[Birdsatalcatraz]

Hi Jan,

I have some signed items I would like to donate, could you please e-mail me your address and I will post them to you straight away. [email protected]

Yours
Anneli

[Jan]

Originally posted by Birdsatalcatraz
Hi Jan,

I have some signed items I would like to donate, could you please e-mail me your address and I will post them to you straight away. [email protected]

Yours
Anneli

Anneli,

Thanks so much! I've sent my address in email!

Jan

[Jan]

Just wanted to update this to let people know what's happening. The response from people has been overwhelming! I've gotten emails from people donating items to auction and some generous donations direct to the PayPal account and there are bids on almost every item already. As of a short time ago, the combined auction bids and donations totals right at $500.00!!!

The address for the Trust for Rick's sons has been published:

The Benefit of the Children for Richard James Biggs II
Washington Mutual Bank
840 N San Fernando Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502

As I said before, mine is a strictly personal effort and not official. I do plan to try to contact the trust officer to see if they want me to relinquish the PayPal account to them immediately perhaps.

One of the ongoing themes of B5 was that one person *can* make a difference and each of you who bids or donates *IS* going to make a difference to Rick's children.

Thanks, friends...
Jan

[Jan]

Just to keep people updated, right now the combined total of auction bids and direct donations to the PayPal account total $621.25.

I've found at least a couple more Really Cool Things to auction and a few other people are sending me things to auction, so please bookmark the " rbiggsmemorial " seller name in Ebay.

Thanks,
Jan

[Jan]

Remember I told you I'd found some more Really Cool Things to auction? Just to keep interest high and make sure that I tempt as many people as possible, I've just added two more auctions of some *really* rare B5 items.

First is the Babylon 5 Treatment for a prime time series. This is what JMS put together to shop around to the studios when he was trying to get B5 off the ground. Lots of color illustrations by Peter Ledger and character sketches and profiles of how JMS originally envisioned them. It's *really* cool seeing how things changed yet how they stayed the same.

Second is the Crusade Writers Bible. Shorter than the other, this has character profiles and some tantalizing hints of what we might have seen if this spin-off hadn't been ended before it truly began.

These were sold by the Official Babylon 5 Fan Club but are not the autographed versions. Still very rare, though. Good luck and have fun!

Jan

[Jan]

With a little over a day to run on the earliest items, I'm thrilled to report that the combined total of auction bids and direct donations has now gone over $900!!!

But wait! There's still more to come! Over the weekend I'm going to start auctions of some of the items that people are so generously donating to the cause. Among them:

- The case topper card from the Rittenhouse "Complete Babylon 5" card series autographed by JMS himself, this is quite rare.

- A new, sealed set of Season 3 B5 DVDs.

- Autographed photos from Babylon 5 and Trek.

- A call sheet from "And All My Dreams, Torn Asunder" autographed by Peter Jurasik.

Stay tuned and keep watching and bidding on the auctions.

Thanks for all your help!

Jan

[RedFox]

Great work Jan, thx!

My bidding wasn't too successful so far, but at least it has pushed the bids up on some of the items by a fair margin... pls keep posting updates, thx.

[Jan]

Will do, RedFox. And thanks for your bidding and interest.

Jan

[Jan]

Well, folks, the first set of four auctions has ended and, as of about an hour ago, the combined total of bids and direct donations has passed the$1,000 mark. Isn't that amazing?

I know that this well all mean a lot to Rick's wife and sons. I'm very proud to be a B5 fan right now.

There'll be still more auctions shortly so keep watching and bidding!

Thanks,
Jan

[Jan]

$1,700.00

One Thousand Seven Hundred Dollars.

Seventeen Hundred Bucks.

Wow.

BTW, I may not have mentioned it, but I did want to assure everyone that I will be sending information on who donated and bid along with the check I send to the Trust. I don't know if acknowledgements will be sent out from there or not.

Seventeen Hundred Dollars....

We now return you to your regularly scheduled forum....

Jan

[CRONAN]

Hmmm. Are there other donations running or is it just this one?

[Jan]

Originally posted by CRONAN
Hmmm. Are there other donations running or is it just this one?

Other fund raising campaigns? The actual trust for Rick's sons is:

The Benefit of the Children for Richard James Biggs II
Washington Mutual Bank
840 N San Fernando Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502

and lots of people are sending donations directly there, I'm sure. Another poster on the moderated newsgroup is taking private bids to construct a custom Starfury model. Another person is presently setting up a website and will be auctioning autographed cards. I've heard that Rick's costars are batting around ideas for fundraising also.

What I'm doing is strictly an individual effort. If I hear of any more, I'll be happy to post them.

[Jan]

I just found this over on Sandy Bruckner's Zocalo Today and she said she thought it would be okay to repost. It's a note she got from one of Rick Biggs' sisters:
----------------
I would also like to thank you for sharing the information about the fund set up for Rick's children. I would like to ask you to please let everyone know that if they send money to the bank, Lori, Richard's wife, will have no way of knowing who they are, won't have their addresses and won't be able to thank them. It is important to her that she be able to thank each and everyone of them. It would be such a help if they could send a note or card to the post office box as well. That way Lori, R.J. and Hunter can thank them for caring. We have felt the love and thoughts sent our way this past week and a half. It is a comfort to know how many lives our brother touched. Please keep his memory alive in your thoughts and keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Maria Biggs-Lynch
--------------------
As a reminder, the PO box mentioned is:

RJ and Hunter Biggs
1052 W. Alameda Ave #350
Burbank CA 91506.

and the Trust Fund is:

The Benefit of the Children of Richard James Biggs II
Washington Mutual Bank
840 N. San Fernando Blvd
Burbank CA 91502.

And for those who've donated via the PayPal account or by winning any of the auctions I have going, I'll be forwarding your information when I send the check. Also, if you donated items, I'll send that info, too.

Thanks all,
Jan

[Birdsatalcatraz]

RBiggsMemorial

Dear Jan,

I am so amazed at what you have accomplished, not only that, but proud to be a B5 fan! Keep up the good work and keep us posted. You are a gem!

Love and best wishes,
Anneli