Inspirational letters from NJSC Student Council members
Hey there Chad,
You probably don't remember me we met at Six Flags Thursday but I just wanted to say that you and your story is a huge inspiration. Your one of the few people I've met that have been able to turn something that would ruin some people into something positive and make a difference out of it. I think what your doing is really amazing for everyone, and just wanted to say keep up with you magic. Getting to meet you was pretty awesome, never met anyone famous really so that was really cool something I'm sure I'll never forget, anyway keep up what your doing.
Hey Chad,
First I wanted to start by saying your performance Thursday was amazing, I've always loved watching like street magic on tv, I've never been a huge fan of stage magic but I've always love card tricks. So getting to see them upfront and having them done to me was crazy, and I'm glad you were there because well this is kinda a long story but in a sense it relates to your story that you told there. Well I grew up for the most part without a dad, well till I was 14. Now you might wonder what exactly does this have to do with your story, well his last words to me or last wish rather was for me to do the best i can at what i choose to do, now I mean it was very vague but after you story I understood what he had wanted me to do, he wanted me to follow my passion and do what inspires me. Now to the point of this, after your performance, and your speech it inspired me to wanna pick up the deck again and take it this time with a bit more then just a little trick here and there. So the reason i am coming to you with this is not only to thank you for inspiring me to get back at it but also to ask the magical chadakazam (excuse the spelling lol) for some pointer or to help me in learning card tricks even if its just pointing me in the direction of someone who can teach me these tricks I'd be very grateful. Thanks for your time
Hi Penny,
I am a Student Council advisor. We met at Great Adventure last Thursday. Chad is an inspiration and I am so glad that your charity was chosen this year. As a mother of two, I admire your strength. As a daughter who lost her mother to brain cancer, I can understand the devastating loss of your husband to that disease. I am so excited to take part in helping to make a difference for a family that is struggling. I look forward to hearing back from you.
Hello Chad,
You recently came to my school (Melvin H. Kreps, East Windsor NJ ) and did a magic show for the Spread the Magic Foundation. After the show I bought one of your magic videos and was truly inspired to start practicing magic once again. You said when you were a kid you went to a local magic store. I have also been to a couple of magic stores myself, one in Bristol, Pennsylvania and the other in Las Vegas . However, I was beyond fascinated and speechless by every single one of your tricks, especially the one that you did on me when you made a prediction and knew what movie I would pick! As a 13 year old magician, I would be completely honored if you would let me volunteer my services to you or even be an unpaid intern for any of your magic shows that you do for the Spread the Magic Foundation.
Your Fan truly,
Marc
Subj: Fwd: Thank you from NJSAC schools
Hello Chad-
Your story was so inspiring and the magic you share with kids is absolutely what you were born to do.
I was sitting in the front row with my 4 year old son, 4 year old niece and my mother. My mother is a Cancer survivor and your story touched us all. You brought so much joy to us and all the families in the audience tonight. We all enjoyed the show and wish you much success on your journey to "Spread The Magic."
Best Wishes,
Robyn School Social Worker
Melvin H. Kreps Middle School
Thank you for a great show! Everyone raved about how amazing Chad was! We ended up doing quite well in ticket sales, I think the newspaper and radio helped a lot. I just finished counting everything out. I will have it double checked by our School Activities Accountant, but by my count we made $2130 in ticket sales (426 tix) and received another $299 in donations, so that is $2429 total! I am very happy with our turnout. We will send that money to the New Jersey Association of Student Councils, and they will add that to what will hopefully be a very large check for you in April/May at Great Adventure!
Thanks again!
Steve
.Subj: Re: NJSAC Event (October 15, 2010)The assembly went fantastic. Thank You so much.
Kalyn.
Hi Chad,
Yesterday, you performed at Westfield High School and my son Kevin, a WHS sophomore, was lucky enough to be in the audience. He shared your story and your talents with us that very same evening at our dinner table. What makes you extra special to us is that Kevin's sister,our daughter Katie, was diagnosed in 2008 with ALL.Katie is currently a sophomore at Tufts University in Boston. She finished her active treatment this past May and is doing very well. You are a marvelous young man and a tribute to your Dad. Your family is absolutely amazing and I have to say, your story made us all cry. We are in awe of your inspiration, talent and focus on the future. There is no greater work than what you do at each and every show. We can recall all of the wonderful people who worked with Katie each and everyday to not only minimize her pain but who sought ways to keep her spirit strong and positive. Our son Kevin spent many hours with Katie, often forgoing time with his friends. It made a huge difference to her successful outcome and I know you understand what that means. My thoughts and prayers will be with all of you as you continue to work and play with pediatric cancer patients. YOU are a true hero and we absolutely know how proud your parents and your sister are of you. We wish you all the best life has to offer and thank you for the incredible impact that you are making today.
With our sincere thanks!
The Galasso Family - Lisa, RJ, Katie and Kevin
Hi Chad!
My name is Jacob Steinfield and I am a senior at Westfield High School, where you performed on Friday. I know you get e-mails like this all the time (and they all say that "I know you get e-mails like this all the time") but I really wanted to tell you how touching your cause is. The sense of maturity that you give off is astounding; if I remember correctly, you are only 22. I was moved to tears during the video segment at the start and then brought to tears once more, but this time laughing with my friends at how cool your tricks were. After I got home, I told my mom your story and she started crying just from the story alone (she lost her mother to cancer). So, keep on being you. You are the kind of person that this world needs more of. And I will absolutely, 100% try to donate in some sort of way to the Spread the Magic foundation. You're the man.
-Jacob Steinfield
Penny,
I would like to duplicate Elizabeth’s sentiments – the show was wonderful!! Chad is extremely charismatic and I wish him the best of luck in becoming a motivational speaker one day. As mentioned, we plan on inviting Chad back next year, regardless of the NJSAC charity pick. When would be the best time to reserve a date with him for the 2011-2012 school year?Your family is a true inspiration of hope and strength.God bless!-Pam Doehner
Hi Penny,
I cannot thank you and Chad enough for all of your help to make the show a success. Chad was amazing! I invited my family and the show is all they could talk about all weekend. My 6 year-old nephew tried to imitate Chad’s tricks all weekend (including the pen up his nose J). As soon as I walked into work today, the teachers that came to the show were talking about how great the show was too. Pam and I truly love working with Spread the Magic. It is our favorite charity that NJSAC ever picked. Pam and I are hoping to make the show an annual event and to donate all money raised from the show to Spread the Magic regardless of the NJSAC charity. Hopefully next time we will have a better turnout from the students.
Elizabeth
Chad and Penny-Thank you for helping me organize the assembly, Our entire population was amazed with the magic tricks. Chad, you have a fantastic talent and really know how to arrange a show that is geared towards children. Your choice of including music in between the acts and in the acts got everyone actively engaged. Many teachers are also enjoying telling Mr. Gardner that he is beautiful :)
We had a dance last night and many students came up to me to ask how I think the tricks were done. It was a great end to the week--the students were highly engaged and inspired by Chad.
Thank you again for donating your time to help make the funds raised this year meaningful to our students.Erin Spiess
Mrs. Erin Spiess, M.Ed
Mathematics Teacher
Student Council Advisor
Readington Middle School
Penny,
We are so happy Chad came. The performance was amazing. Every comment we received was positive. People are asking if we can do it again next year. Will he be available if we guarantee all proceeds to the foundation?
Patty
HI Penny,We were so blown away by Chad’s production (and his trusty behind the scenes helper, Lauren). We laughed, we cried but most of all were very touched and learned a life lesson through Chad’s experience. We sold $1400 in tickets alone, Still have some more fundraising to do. Let you know soon what our totals are.
Thank you again for schlepping out to Tabernacle.
Erica Maira
School Counselor
Student Council Advisor
We loved the show, we cried at the video, and Chad is AMAZING!!!!!
amazing, amazing.
He is a charming, personable, highly skilled, very talented, handsome and lovable young man.
By the way, the young girls were foaming at their mouths at the sight of him.
A fun evening was had by all - Mimi
Hi Penny - Wow! The show was awesome! Thanks so much for coordinating our event. I didn't realize you were Chad's mom! You must be so very proud of him - he is an angel! Your family has been through so much, yet you live your life for others and have helped and continue to help so many children! We are so thankful that school was open on Friday and the show was a go! Best wishes as Chad continues his performances in NJ high schools! May God bless you and your work with Spread the Magic! - Joan O'Neil
Thanks you so much for coming to Belvidere High School, and for all that you guys do! You all are truly inspiring! Keep up the awesome work!
Daniel/Belvidere High
Hi Chad,These are some of the pictures from your performance at Westfield
High School a few weeks ago. It was an amazing show and had a strong
impact on the school. We cannot wait to continue to raise money for
such a great cause like Spread the Magic Foundation.
Thank you for everything!
Bernadette Hopen
WHS Student Council Junior Representative
Hello Chad-Your story was so inspiring and the magic you share with kids is absolutely what you were born to do.
I was sitting in the front row with my 4 year old son, 4 year old niece and my mother. My mother is a Cancer survivor and your story touched us all. You brought so much joy to us and all the families in the audience tonight. We all enjoyed the show and wish you much success on your journey to "Spread The Magic."
Best Wishes,
Robyn A. Klim, LCSW
School Social Worker
Melvin H. Kreps Middle School
FROM SOUTHER REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL 10/1/10
Thank you for a great show! Everyone raved about how amazing Chad was! We ended up doing quite well in ticket sales, I think the newspaper and radio helped a lot. I just finished counting everything out. I will have it double checked by our School Activities Accountant, but by my count we made $2130 in ticket sales (426 tix) and received another $299 in donations, so that is $2429 total! I am very happy with our turnout. We will send that money to the New Jersey Association of Student Councils, and they will add that to what will hopefully be a very large check for you in April/May at Great Adventure!
Thanks again!
Steve
The assembly went fantastic. Thank You so much.Kalyn.
Thanks Chad....you were wonderful! We made approximately $1000 on Friday night too! I may try to get you involved with us again before the school year is over.
Sincerely, Barb Meyrick and the 2010-11 Student Council
The event was honestly amazing. We cannot thank you enough. There was such a buzz around the school immediately following the assembly and I am extremely confident that Chad not only had a lot of fun with the WHS students, but really impacted them with his story. I am so pleased with the result and hope to raise a ton of money for this charity. It was awesome working with you both!
Thank you,
Krysta Huber
Westfield High School
Dear Chad,
Thank you very much for coming and performing at High School South. The show was great, and appealed to all ages. Your story and cause touched many people. We hope that you continue to spread the magic.
Dear Penny,
It's my pleasure to support your cause. It's difficult to find one person you meet along the way in life that has not been touched somehow by cancer, personally or through the experience of a family member or friend. In reading about how your foundation began, I was inspired by your story, your husband and your son both taking their passion and waging the war against this disease despite the odds.
Recently, a sister of my daughter's friend was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor that has spread to her spine. She's spent several weeks at CHOPS and will soon begin her chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Boston Children's or Johns Hopkins. Her family is deeply religious and has kept our community of friends, neighbors, team mates, school family and church group informed of Hayley's condition throughout. Prayer has helped them stay strong for their beautiful 12-year old daughter and Hayley's courage is astounding. This gift is made in honor of Hayley and your son, Chad, for spreading hope in their own special ways.
I'll include your family in my prayers as well.
Be well,
Kim
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