Many thanks to conference attendees who purchased raffle tickets. Kellie Geres reported that attendees' contributions helped raise a record $1,912, $1,000 of which will go to Birthday Blessing, Inc. Special thanks to HomeWork Solutions for its generous contribution of an additional $1,000 to go directly to the charity. As a result, the total conference charity amount donated was $2,000--a record amount collected for INA conferences.

Birthday Blessing believes when underprivileged children don't receive presents on their special day, they feel forgotten and their self-esteem may suffer. Birthday Blessing, a non-profit organization, gives birthday presents anonymously to underprivileged children. By touching the lives of these children, the organization believes that it will help them grow emotionally and socially--so one day, they will have a positive impact on society. The organization was started in 2002 by Sharon Brown. To date, it has provided approximately 500 presents to children in the northern Virginia and southern Maryland areas.