Dear Friends,

One year has passed since our first fundraiser of January 19, 2001. We wish to again take this opportunity to thank all of you so very much for your generous and loving support.

Over this last year, we have spent many hours researching the complexities of mental health in the U.S., Canada, and some international organizations, to determine what to do with the funds we raised on January 19. We visited facilities, read financials, met staff and patients and so many wonderful and, dedicated people spending countless hours donating their time and resources to their cause. Pat Little, Ilene Dode, Veronica and Robert Crawford, Michelle Moorhead, Bob and Ruth Lavinia, Debbie and Steve Moak. The names go on and on. Our money would have been well spent funding each and every organization we researched. However, we had to make choices and feel very confident about our decisions. Enclosed you will find a list of our very worthy recipients. All of the funds we raised from Canadians were distributed in Canada and all of the funds we raised from Americans were distributed in the U.S.

In October 2001, Scott and Naomi Gauthier from Jewelry by Gauthier had their first Gauthier Classic Car Rally. We were thrilled when they chose the Todd Thomas Foundation, from the many charitable organizations they support, as the recipient of all funds raised at this car rally. We thank them for their amazing generosity and also thank our fellow car enthusiasts for participating in the event. It was a great success as we raised over $100,000.

So what will the Todd Thomas Foundation do next? We have decided this year that we will not have a fundraiser. We feel, at this particular time, the energy and time required to stage a major event is better spent fundraising in a different way. We intend to raise funds through private donations, requesting assistance from pertinent drug companies and lobbying our governments. For example, in the small city of Victoria, British Columbia, the provincial government granted the city $80,000,000 for medical facilities and none of these funds were allocated to mental health. This is in spite of the fact that 20% of our overall population suffers from mental health problems. We see our Foundation becoming an advocate to this very issue. Todd's mother, Donna Thomas, Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Todd Thomas Foundation, lives in Victoria and was instrumental in raising $80,000,000 for their university several years ago. She has made it her mandate to be a voice for mental health. You can be sure Donna will be instigating change as to how funds will be allocated in the future. The Todd Thomas Foundation has committed to raise $1,350,000 to build a new Crisis Unit for mental health patients in Victoria.

One of the long-term goals of the Todd Thomas Foundation has been to build a foundation that could generate an ongoing source of revenue for the organization. We feel we may now have the vehicle. Over the last 35 years Peter has developed what he calls his "LifeBook". It started in his earlier days as a simple book of goals but over the years it has expanded to include all aspects of his life. Peter attributes a large part of his success and his ability to create balance in his life to his LifeBook. He has shared his formula with several friends over the years. Recently he was approached to take his LifeBook to a new level by conducting seminars and teaching others. What a perfect match for the Todd Thomas Foundation. We thank Peter McGugan and Chris Kiersch for the countless hours they donated to help us bring LifeBook to where it is now.

Peter has already conducted a few test seminars. The first presentation was made to the owner of 84 restaurants, David Aisenstat, and his senior staff. In return for this presentation, the Keg Spirit Foundation has committed to donate $100,000 to the Todd Thomas Foundation. We are so thankful to David for having the confidence in Peter and being the first to step up to the 'plate'.

The second presentation was made to Al and Lisa Molina of Molina Fine Jewelers, and their staff and friends. Based on the very enthusiastic comments we received, it was obvious the program was a great success and we trust it will lead to new 'successes' for the participants! The Molina's have an annual Christmas fundraising party and have committed to name the Todd Thomas Foundation as the recipient of a minimum of $100,000 from their event in 2002 as a gift for the LifeBook presentation. Al and Lisa have been great contributors to the Todd Thomas Foundation from its inception and continue to be its biggest cheerleaders. We thank them so much for their unending support.

Dan Kennedy, Anil Jain, Wendi Hodapp, Vince Martinez and Christopher Deutsch of C9 Innovations, LLC have also been great contributors to the Todd Thomas Foundation. We are thrilled to announce their commitment to donate their time to redesign our website. Watch for our new look at www.toddthomasfoundation.org in the very near future.

We are also very excited to be partnering with C9 to help us devise the strategy and execution plan for how best to package and market LifeBook. C9 Innovations is a venture catalyst firm that works closely with entrepreneurs and technologists, investing their time and experience to help develop innovative products and businesses. We will keep you up to date as this unfolds.

As you can see, we have had a very busy year and continue to develop our Foundation with enthusiasm. It is a constant work in progress. We are forever amazed and grateful for the generosity of our family and friends, both new and old, and their willingness to so freely offer their services and ideas.

We continue to miss Todd. He is forever in our hearts and on our minds. A constant source of inspiration, we know he is with us in spirit and is proud of how far we have come. We are blessed to have each of you in our lives. Thank you for being there for us.

Lots of love,

Rita Thomas
Executive Director

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