Earlier tonight, Chris and I recorded a video to talk about the upcoming fundraiser. It was difficult for me, to say the least. I knew ahead of time that Chris wanted me to talk about our Cory. I geared myself up as best I could, and spoke from the heart. In hindsight, I realized there were so many more things I could (and maybe should) have said. However, I will save that for the things I write here, and think of things I want to add during the event on NY Eve.

Remember – please join us for the fun! You can watch everything live on Chris’ live video stream. If you want to join the chat room to talk to everyone there (there will be a few hundred people!!), simply choose a nickname, enter it in the box below the video frame on the live site, and start talking! Be sure to let me know who you are, so I can say hello.

You can make a donation right on the live page, below the chat box. Be sure to include your request for Chris! At the end of the night, we hope to have raised a lot of money for the MDA. What a great way to remember our Gimpah!

I love you, Cory. I still miss you more than I can begin to explain. It’s still so surreal to not see you online every day. I keep looking for you. I hope you’re proud of what we’re doing… and I hope you’ll laugh your ass off watching us on Thursday night.

My boss, Chris Pirillo, was also a friend of Cory’s. Cory loved being a part of Chris’ community, and even was the recipient of a new computer monitor several years ago, courtesy of Chris. On more than one occasion, Chris was moved by Cory’s story. The night we lost Cory, Chris was one of the first people I called. He was stunned, and at a complete loss for words. That, my friends, is something I’ve not seen happen in all the years I’ve worked for Chris. He always has something to say. That night, on the phone, he couldn’t manage much more than damn over and over.

For the past couple of years, Chris has done this NY Eve fundraiser for the IRC Network our channel is found on. It’s called Subservient Chris. Yes, you guessed it! For a minimum ten dollar donation, Chris will perform random crazy acts on request. In past years, he’s been known to sing, dance, eat strange things, and even end the night in a dress… complete with wig, makeup and heels! For both of those years, 100% of the monies raised went directly to the IRC Network, to help defray operating expenses.

The network has changed this past year, and it is very self-sufficient. When GeekShed approached Chris for this year, there was no doubt as to what we would be doing. This year, only 25% of the money raised will be kept by GeekShed. The other 75% is being donated directly to the Tucson, AZ chapter of the Musclar Dystrophy Association, in Cory’s name.

This may not seem like much, but it’s the best way we can think of. Subservient Chris is always a hell of a lot of fun. We laugh hysterically all night. I can picture Cory sitting there watching, laughing himself silly as always. I can also picture him submitting his own PayPal donation, cackling at whatever crazy thing he had come up with for Chris to do.

All it takes to have Chris do something silly is ten dollars. My hope is that we have enough people waving those ten bucks around to keep Chris busy for many hours. Ten bucks times a heck of a lot of requests will add up to a very, very nice donation in honor of our Cory. The event will be broadcast live on Chris’ stream. Please, drop by and join us, even for a little while. I promise you a good time!

However, I need your help! I cannot do this alone.

What are your thoughts and ideas? How would you like to see us do this? Sure, we can get a link to their bank account/paypal/whatever – and simply blog/tweet/fb/ our intentions. We could organize a local event, and still allow people to donate from around the world. We can do whatever we want… but what DO we want?

I am a detail person. I am an organizer. I get things done. But this isn’t something for me to do alone. I want this to be a group project. I want your ideas and thoughts, the love you had for Cory, poured into whatever we come up with.

Leave a comment here, or email me at kat at lockergnome dot com and let me know what YOU think we should do. Let’s all work together to come up with one hell of a great event to honor our friend.