Why We Do This

 John and Holly Carney were called to begin Dinner with the Pros in late 2005. Here is a copy of the invitation letter for the first event.

Dearest Friends:

 John and I would like share some family history that has changed our lives. Hopefully, by sharing our experience we will be able to make a difference for others. Ten years ago, my brother, David, fell out of remission from Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. I was an exact match for a full bone marrow transplant and flew immediately to New York to be my brother's donor in hopes of saving his life. Although the cancer is completely gone now, David's lungs and bones were severely damaged by the chemo and radiation treatment. Over the years, there has been one scare after another and many times our family thought David wouldn't make it, yet God has continued giving him the gift of life. Miraculously, David is living on less than 10% of his lung capacity and is on an oxygen machine full time now, but able to talk, live and participate in life!

 With this tragedy came responsibility because David is a single parent of his daughter, our niece, Kodi Marie. For the majority of her life, Kodi has been in constant fear that she would lose her Daddy and it has devastated her. Kodi had become a desperate, confused, scared, rebellious, runaway fourteen-year-old girl who was completely out of control. We have come in contact with a number of troubled teens, but having to experience this crisis within our own family was overwhelming.

 We went on a fast track trying to educate ourselves before Kodi was lost to the world forever. We were fortunate to find amazing people and beneficial programs that were equipped to assist us in finding a safe environment where she would be able to continue her education and stay in high school. We discovered a teen placement program that provides the best schools for troubled teens based on each child's profile and needs. These schools for troubled teens are such a gift for families in crisis and for the teenagers to have hope for leading a healthy and productive life.

 We feel very passionate about the cause of helping other teens in crisis as a result of this experience. It is our desire to provide financial assistance to the facilities designed to assist in saving so many of our youth and keeping them in school at the same time. We are convinced that our niece would not be continuing her high school education without organizations like TAPS (Teen Adolescent Placement Services) available to aid families such as ours. The cost of helping teens in crisis is so tremendous that not all families can afford to get the help they need. We have decided to focus our energies on trying to make a difference by creating scholarships for these teens in trouble.

 We are launching an event called Dinner with the Pros to assist teens in crisis. Please join us at Ocean House in Carlsbad on July 20th 2006 for an intimate evening with good friends and good food for a great cause. We hope you will share this special evening with us and we thank you for all your prayers and friendship over the past year.

 John and Holly Carney

Update:

David Moneymaker passed away on May 22, 2006. Please click here for a video and some memories.