Fort Lauderdale, FL (Feb. 13, 2019) — The ITEX Education & Exposition (ITEX) trade show has announced that its charity of choice is The Jillian Fund and that ITEX will dedicate a portion of proceeds from the 2020 show to the organization.
The Jillian Fund was founded in 2013 by a group of inspired and caring individuals who set forth to fulfill a simple wish: to help families in need. The main objective of The Jillian Fund is to provide financial support to families with children who are suffering from life-threatening and life-altering illnesses and who require critical care.
ITEX, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, will recognize The Jillian Fund at its keynote luncheon on April 14 in Orlando, Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort. Speaking on behalf of The Jillian Fund will be George Gorman, father of the foundation’s namesake and executive dealer business manager with Ricoh. Also speaking will be Mike Stramaglio, president of All Covered and the leader of The Patriot Pack, a group of motorcycle riders who undertake a cross-country ride each year to support The Jillian Fund.
In addition to donating a portion of ITEX 2020 trade show proceeds to The Jillian Fund, Marc Spring, founder and CEO of ITEX, is providing complimentary exhibit space on the floor of the trade show. The Patriot Pack will have the opportunity to share its story and help raise awareness and funds for the nonprofit in this space. Spring said, “I’m so inspired by the meaningful aid The Jillian Fund provides to so many children and their families. For that reason, I want to do whatever I can to encourage the channel to become Jillian Fund supporters and get behind this great cause.”
Liz Campbell, executive director of The Jillian Fund, said, “We are very grateful for the support from ITEX. Their generosity will support families who are truly facing their worst nightmare—the serious illness of a child. Allowing families to spend time together when it matters most is critical to ensuring that a child feels loved and supported. Through the generosity of our donors, we can make sure that more families have the gift of time together, the most important gift we could give to a family in crisis. We thank ITEX for choosing The Jillian Fund as a beneficiary and for honoring Jillian’s memory.”
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About ITEX
ITEX is the largest and most extensive national trade show connecting vendors and resellers in the office technology space. Founded by Marc Spring in 2001, ITEX was developed to provide dealers with access to a vendor-agnostic trade show. ITEX features practical education that addresses modern industry solutions to help grow their businesses. Spring reacquired the show in 2016 and continues ITEX’s mission of being at the forefront of the industry while keeping a pulse on actionable industry changes.
About The Jillian Fund
The Jillian Fund was founded in 2013 by a group of inspired and caring individuals who set forth to fulfill a simple wish: to help families in need. The main objective of the Fund is to provide financial support to families with children who are suffering from life-threatening and life-altering illnesses and require critical care. Our goal is to allow family members the opportunity to be by their child’s side and focus on their needs. Since 2014, The Jillian Fund has helped more than 200 families; the majority have children with cancer. The Jillian Fund is named for Jillian Lauren Gorman, who was a typical, independent, fun-loving and adventurous teenager when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer at age 16. She died three years later. Her father, George Gorman, works at Ricoh.
