| February 2008 Newsletter |
Gloria's Angels Gala Fundraiser - Friday, May 16 
Thank you to the many people that have already joined the legion of Gloria's Angels. Since we announced Gloria's Angels Foundation launch in December, dozens of people have stepped forward to commit their time, talent or treasure to support the mission:
Lifting Burderns and Building Communities so families can focus on caring for a loved one with a life-threatening illness.
We have been doing the ground work to get up and running. Among the things we have accomplished to date are:
- Opened an office at 200 S. 333rd St. in Federal Way. Please stop by and say hello!
- Met with Karen Moyer, founder of the Moyer Foundation, to get valuable guidance and professional support during our launch.
- Met with other families caring for a child with a life-threatening illness to refine our service offering and provide prayerful support in the meantime.
- Established a comprehensive launch plan that will have us serving families by our target of March 31.
- Started work on a new website for Gloria's Angels Foundation that will be launched by February 15 ( Visit our site at www.gloriasangels.org.).
- Began preparation for a Gala Fundraising Dinner/Auction to establish financial support for our services.
The theme for this fundraiser is "Angels Among Us". We hope this will be the start of an annual tradition. A "Save the Date" postcard is being sent out to as many people we have addresses for. A formal invitation will be sent in late March. Until then, please spread the word to anyone you think has a heart to support Gloria's Angels - either by attending or volunteering to help.
As our preparation progresses, we will post the most current details at http://gloriasangels.org/ - please visit the site and register. We will continue to keep everyone updated through the Foundation website.
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Update from the Strauss Family
Happy New Year to everyone and we hope that you are all having a Glorious beginning to 2008. We are healthy and dealing well with the healing process. We like to see it as life with Gloria as opposed to without! Her presence is felt everyday in our lives. We spent Christmas and New Years with Kristen’s family in South Bend IN. It was very relaxing and allowed a lot of time to be with each other intimately. Our South Bend family is awesome. Church on Christmas Eve at Notre Dame felt like a family reunion. There were over 60 family members in attendance, wow!
Spending time with our children was and is at the top of our list. We went sledding, swimming and even attended a Notre Dame vs. Connecticut men’s basketball game together. The past 2 months have been all about our children. Recently Alissa scored 10 pts in her basketball game, played the piano for mass and received all A’s on her progress report. Maria and Joe are both excelling in school and basketball. Maria performed “Fabulous” from High School Musical 2 at the talent show in January and Joe picked up snowboarding - watch out X Games! The rest of the family is doing well. Vincent (1 ½years) has learned to use the Gloria card. The other day he turned off the computer by pushing every button possible! I said “Vincent!”He responded “Gloria”. What was I to do, he said “Gloria”!
Kristen and I are continuing to speak at parishes. January 24th we were at St. Brendan’s. It felt great to be there and prior to that we gave some inspiration to the local “Relay For Life” teams. It amazes me how Gloria’s life continues to impact so many people. In February and March we will be speaking at Kennedy High school 2/8, Mt. Rainier High School 2/13, St. Philomena Parish 7pm 2/28, Middle School Youth Conference 3/8 and Eastside Catholic HS 3/20. We are excited and want to extend our calling to any and all that would like to hear how God moved through Gloria and our family.
February is a special month as Gloria’s birthday is on the 20th. May we all live with Gloria in a special way this month. Gloria I pray sweetheart “Our bodies hold them tight and squeeze them hard right around our shoulders so we can feel you!”
Happy Birthday Gloria! You can leave a special greeting or prayer intention by clicking here. 
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Agent pursuing publishers for Gloria book  
We are moving quickly with the book. Jerry Brewer, our friend and favorite columnist, is working very hard on the book. Jerry will start his blog on February 20th, Gloria’s birthday. He will be posting often about his whole process while completing the book. We will have a link to his blog, www.jerrybrewer.net, on our website. We have also signed with an excellent agent from Vigliano Associates, in New York. Dan Ambrosio Vigliano Associates has represented 8 books that have hit #1 on the New York Times best seller list. We love Jerry and want to spread the excitement of Gloria’s book. Stay tuned to his blog and don’t miss the fun!
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Doug and Kristen Speaking Engagements
 In my 13 years at Pike Place Fish (FISH! Philosophy) , 7 years teaching Math and Spanish, 13 years of coaching high school basketball and building a family of 7 children, I have developed, and most importantly, lived some clear concepts of “Quality of Life”. Along with this, I handled my wife’s Multiple Sclerosis and our dear Gloria’s cancer. I am experienced in public speaking and can deliver a variety of “Quality” messages to any company, business, faculty or organization that will impact and change you forever! Through the breakdowns and obstacles in my life have come breakthroughs and quality of life for me and my family. In January, I spoke to a large group of educators and administrators in Orlando, Florida. The talk ended in a standing ovation. I will be speaking in April to the Indiana School Nutrition Association about customer service. If you would like me to speak or work with you, please contact me at
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Here are a list of the upcoming events where we will be appearing:
- JFK HS Sophmore Retreat (Burien) - Feb. 8
- Mt. Rainier HS (Des Moines) - Feb. 13 @ Gloria's Game Charity Basketball Game
- The Catholic Dad (webcast) - Feb. 19 (register by emailing
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)
- St. Philomena parish (Des Moines) - Feb. 28
- Archdiocesan Jr. High Youth Conference (Highline Community College) - Mar. 8
- Eastside Catholic (Bellevue) - Mar. 20
Click here to view our upcoming schedule.
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In the News 
The Seattle Times published a follow-up article on December 30. In that story, Jerry Brewer highlighted our family's journey since Gloria's funeral. Click here to visit the Seattle Times website.
 The Federal Way Mirror also published a nice story on February 5 to announce the launch of Gloria's Angels. To access the story online, click here.
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| You make everything Glorious! |
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