# extra  going to waste staroptions



## pointsjunkie (Jul 18, 2008)

i wonder if every starwood owner who has leftover staroptions could book 1 night in orlando and we orchestrate the dates .we could get enough for a make a wish family to have a holiday or i am sure a few families.

i am going to call starwood to see if it could be done.

it is such a shame letting 3000-8000 staroptions go to waste , but if we use a little ingenuity i think it could be done.

i am on with starwood right now. i'll get back to you and let you know.  

barbra


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## Ken555 (Jul 18, 2008)

Great idea - I'd be happy to donate my extra Options each year to such a cause.


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## tomandrobin (Jul 18, 2008)

I have 700 points left......I don't think there is much that can be done with it.


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 18, 2008)

it would have to be enough for 1 night at either svv or svr.we will need to hear from other starwood tuggers to see what they have left.


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## GrayFal (Jul 18, 2008)

What a great idea!
I don't have any points but it is a great idea.


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## clsmit (Jul 18, 2008)

We have some for 2008 that will go to waste; about a night's worth in Orlando. Too few for me to call in myself, but I'm happy to help combine them with others to help out Make a Wish!!


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## oneohana (Jul 18, 2008)

Barbra,
You must be reading my mind. I was going to pm you since you are the master at this thing. I have 21,625 *options available to chip in.


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 19, 2008)

oneohana said:


> Barbra,
> You must be reading my mind. I was going to pm you since you are the master at this thing. I have 21,625 *options available to chip in.



that would be enough for a family to go away. call make a wish at 1-407-622-4673 ask fir ruthie. ''get 3-4 families dates and then call starwood to see what is available using the staroptions you have.book the reservation then call make a wish back to get the families name and address to give to starwood. it is that easy.

you could get a small 1 br sun-thurs.or we could combine like the thread said and get something the family needs.

i hope we can get more TUGGers on board.thanks 

barbra


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 19, 2008)

Ken555 said:


> Great idea - I'd be happy to donate my extra Options each year to such a cause.



how many do you have left?


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 19, 2008)

clsmit said:


> We have some for 2008 that will go to waste; about a night's worth in Orlando. Too few for me to call in myself, but I'm happy to help combine them with others to help out Make a Wish!!



how many exactly do you have?

we need to know the amount from everyone so we can get the most days for a family.


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## Ken555 (Jul 19, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> how many do you have left?




I'm not sure, but I think ~ 1000. I must have read your post wrong, I had thought you were going to try to convince SVN to bundle all our excess Options together, but now it seems we each need to have at least one night's value. I suggest, since you're already in talks with them, that you ask if they could bend the rules for donations like this and would combine all excess Options from many members. Seems like they would receive a lot of good press from it, as well. It might be good to talk with their marketing dept, if possible, to propose the idea.


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 19, 2008)

any more people out there with extra staroptions they will not be using. for the first time i think we only need people that have a full night's worth of options
so the minimum amount is 3700. that would be a mon, tues, or wed in a 1 br.

please let's get this going.

barbra


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## jerseygirl (Jul 19, 2008)

Barbra --

This is a great idea and I wish I had some to chip in.  Last year, I left the difference between gold and silver seasons at Harborside on the table, but this year I have none, sorry.  

-- Jerseygirl


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## Ken555 (Jul 21, 2008)

Ken555 said:


> I'm not sure, but I think ~ 1000.



Just checked - I have 1,900 SOs left from this year. Let me know if you convince SVN to accept these... they're yours for the asking!


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 21, 2008)

thanks i will check with them. does anyone have suzanne clarkes e-mail address or phone number. i think i will start right at the top.


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## NED (Jul 21, 2008)

We will have 5,575 left over this year. Great idea!


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 21, 2008)

excellent. i am still waiting for everyone else to figure out what they have left.


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## oneohana (Jul 25, 2008)

*Whatever Happened?*

Is everyone waiting on each other? As of 7/23 Make a Wish had a request for a 1bedroom with a check-in 10/9 and check-out 10/14. They also had a request for a 2 bedroom, but I didn't ask for the dates since I didn't have enough *options. I was a little short, so I just borrowed from '09.

Barbra started a good thing, let's not let it die.


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 25, 2008)

oneohana said:


> Is everyone waiting on each other? As of 7/23 Make a Wish had a request for a 1bedroom with a check-in 10/9 and check-out 10/14. They also had a request for a 2 bedroom, but I didn't ask for the dates since I didn't have enough *options. I was a little short, so I just borrowed from '09.
> 
> Barbra started a good thing, let's not let it die.



hi, i was just trying to get 2 or 3 more people to gether to get this rolling. did you borrow for 2009 for yourself or for make a wish?

can you give them back to 2009? together we could have enough for the 2 br. get back to me ASAP. please.

i was very busy this week with my camp, it was show week


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 25, 2008)

this is also the first time a new you actually got in touch with makes a wish , that is great. did you book the 1 br for make a wish?


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 25, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> this is also the first time i new you actually got in touch with makes a wish , that is great. did you book the 1 br for make a wish?



please , do you have any staroptions left so we can do something good with the leftovers.


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## oneohana (Jul 26, 2008)

Barbra,

I borrowed *options from 2009 to get a 1 bedroom for make a wish. I was short a little over 2,000 options and was going to have some left over from 2009, so I just borrowed them.
The way I look at it I get my *points from paying my mfs earlier.:hysterical:  I actually saved money by not having to drive out to WMH to use up my options.


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 26, 2008)

oneohana said:


> Barbra,
> 
> I borrowed *options from 2009 to get a 1 bedroom for make a wish. I was short a little over 2,000 options and was going to have some left over from 2009, so I just borrowed them.
> The way I look at it I get my *points from paying my mfs earlier.:hysterical:  I actually saved money by not having to drive out to WMH to use up my options.



congratulations, isn't it the best reservation you ever made? you will be thinking of them the entire time they are on vacation.  

can't wait to do it again. maybe this year, just waiting for my 90 day window and then i will know what i have to donate.


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## oneohana (Jul 26, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> congratulations, isn't it the best reservation you ever made? you will be thinking of them the entire time they are on vacation.
> 
> can't wait to do it again. maybe this year, just waiting for my 90 day window and then i will know what i have to donate.



Yes, it was. I love Disney and we have annual passes to Disneyland. I enjoy  just going there and watch the people having a great time.

It will probaly become an annual thing for me. I will always have leftover *options, and it doesn't take that many to make a reservation. Plus if it could put a smile on a child for a few days, what's the saying... "priceless".


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## Denise P (Jul 26, 2008)

Hi Barbra

I only have 2600 but they are yours if Starwood will let us combine options.


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 26, 2008)

still working on that with them. it might be too confusing and the computer system the way it is set up will probably not allow the combining from owners to make up a day's worth of vacation.


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## iluvwdw (Jul 29, 2008)

I will be travelling to Orlando in November for Thanksgiving week, but I haven't been able to make my ressies yet (staying less than a week at VR or VV...90 day rule :annoyed: ).  But once I get my nights confirmed, I will GLADLY donate whatever options we have left!  I will let you know!


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 29, 2008)

that would be wonderful. how many do you think you will have left?


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 30, 2008)

we have had one other member of TUG give a week to Make a Wish, how many more of you have leftover staroptions more than 3700?


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## tomandrobin (Jul 30, 2008)

How about Starpoints? I have lots of them, but only 700 Staroptions for 2008 left.


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## pointsjunkie (Jul 31, 2008)

you could always give a 5 night starpoint stay to make a wish. dolphin or swan are 10000 per night and off disney they have 7000 starpoints per night also. call make a wish and tell them and they will give you dates that they have families wanting to go away. don't forget you get the 5th night free. so it would be 28000 starpoints or 40000 starpoints for a 5 night stay. that would be a fabulous donation to a good cause.

disneyland  in CA has starwood resorts also


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## tomandrobin (Aug 1, 2008)

Barbara

What type of accomadations do they usually need? Length of stay? Any particular check-in days? 

Tom


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## pointsjunkie (Aug 1, 2008)

i would definitely say a room with 2 double beds. call the make a wish number first and ask them. they will tell you what their needs are for the families

407-622-4673  make a wish number

barbra


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## pointsjunkie (Aug 10, 2008)

i am still waiting for the rest of you to fugure if you have any leftover staroptions for 2008? it must be at least 3700 so we can book a day. i have enough for 1 night in orlando, ned has 1 night and we are waiting for iluvwdw to make the 90 day reservation, is there anyone else out there has leftover options?


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## clsmit (Aug 10, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> i am still waiting for the rest of you to fugure if you have any leftover staroptions for 2008? it must be at least 3700 so we can book a day. i have enough for 1 night in orlando, ned has 1 night and we are waiting for iluvwdw to make the 90 day reservation, is there anyone else out there has leftover options?



I have 6000 options to use for a one night. PM me to let me know what night I should call for and what other magic words to say to link it up with yours and it will be done!

Carol


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## iluvwdw (Aug 21, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> i am still waiting for the rest of you to fugure if you have any leftover staroptions for 2008? it must be at least 3700 so we can book a day. i have enough for 1 night in orlando, ned has 1 night and we are waiting for iluvwdw to make the 90 day reservation, is there anyone else out there has leftover options?



I'm still trying to figure out if we are staying an extra night at the end of our trip.  I will discuss with DH tomorrow, hopefully I will know how many options I will have left VERY SOON!


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## pointsjunkie (Aug 21, 2008)

just waiting on a few other people.


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## nodge (Aug 25, 2008)

I've got 15,875 StarOptions to donate for 2008.  

I could call and get a day or two at an SVO Orlando resort to donate directly to Make-A-Wish . . . . OR . . . . . ..

If there were any Tugger that wanted to extend their stay by a day or two (wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to check-out at 10 AM on your check-out day), I bet we could work out a deal where I'll book the extended days if that Tugger promised to make a financial donation to Make-A-Wish for the reasonable value of those nights.  I bet Make-A-Wish would love the cash.

I'm thinking that Pointsjunkie will serve as the broker of any deals.

Interested?

-nodge


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## pointsjunkie (Aug 25, 2008)

nodge said:


> I've got 15,875 StarOptions to donate for 2008.
> 
> I could call and get a day or two at an SVO Orlando resort to donate directly to Make-A-Wish . . . . OR . . . . . ..
> 
> ...



just waiting on one more person to find out how many days we can get, so far with you options and 2 other people we have enough for a family for 4-5 days. hold on a few more days and we will be ready to make the phone calls.

barbra


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## nodge (Aug 25, 2008)

Given how cheap RCI & II Extra-Vacations/Getaways are for Sheraton Vistana Resort and Villages for the rest of the year, it seems a shame to "spend" StarOptions for a week there.

I bet if we pooled the donated StarOptions into a week at a less available/ more desirable SVO resort and auctioned off that week on ebay or here on TUG, we'd collect enough money to buy and donate SEVERAL Vistana weeks to the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Alternatively, if anyone has a few hundred bucks sitting around and an II or RCI membership but no StarOptions to donate, they could still "Make A Wish" come true for a child in need simply by buying and donating one of these extra-vacations/getaways.

-nodge


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## pointsjunkie (Aug 25, 2008)

i don't think with the 4 people we have that have shown a desire and an interest to donate that we have a full week to go anywhere. we do have 4-5 nights at an orlando resort.


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 4, 2008)

when i come home we will coordinate the reservations. please list what each one of you has so i don't have to thumb through this entire thread. or PM me. i spoke to starwood and they told me exactly how to coordinate this. they were very helpful.

barbra


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## nodge (Sep 4, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> please list what each one of you has so i don't have to thumb through this entire thread.



The Great State of Oregon! . . . Home of world class Pinot Noir!. . . Crater Lake, the deepest fresh water lake in the US!. . . . Eugene, Oregon where the movie "Animal House" was filmed! . . . .  birthplace of disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding! . . . and whose state name is widely believed to originate from a typographical error in a 1700's French map of the region! . . .

proudly casts 15,875 StarOptions for our next favorite charity . . . . 

The Make a Wish Foundation!

-nodge (OK, I'm still watching too much TV)


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## saluki (Sep 4, 2008)

LOVE that Oregon Pinot Noir!


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## CeeWoo (Sep 4, 2008)

Barbra-
Is there a min # of points that we can send your way (to send to MaW)?  We can't do anything till next year, but will probably have at least some points left then.  Provided, of course, this could turn into an ongoing thing.

BTW-your kind and caring heart is showing 

I wonder if Starwood could be persuaded to match points for this cause?


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## clsmit (Sep 4, 2008)

*To continue nodge's theme*

The Heart of the Nation, Ohio, home of the Rock Hall and the Football Hall of Fame, where you can get of not-so-bad ice wine and really yummy maple syrup, the home of lots of Presidents and deciding state for way too many elections, offers *6000* options for this wonderful cause.


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## BLUE AYES (Sep 5, 2008)

I should have 14,700 available, will know later this month.

NY - Go Blue (Football not politics)


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 6, 2008)

when will you actually know? 

i am planning on running this every year at this time of year so the staroptions we have leftover can be used to help a family.

will call on monday to see which family can fit in to out allotted staroptions.

thanks everyone.

barbra


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## BLUE AYES (Sep 7, 2008)

PJ,

By 9/24 (3 months before my christmas trip)


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 8, 2008)

just spoke to ruthie at Make a Wish and she loves the idea of all of us joining forces to get a family to go to orlando.

she is calling me back on 9/25, we will wait for our final person to see if they can book on sept 24th for their december trip and to see what they have left for 2008.

we really could use other people who have 3700 staroptions or more left for 2008 to help us out.

i guarantee that this will be the best reservation you will ever make.   

barbra


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## hefleycatz (Sep 16, 2008)

pointsjunkie

we have 14700 so left over for this year and will not be able to use them.   we would love to donate them.  We actually rode down with a child from the make a wish foundation when we went to Florida this summer.  His first everything, plane trip, visit to Florida and to Disney world.   It makes you feel so fortunate for healthy children.   So we would love to be a part.

lee


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 16, 2008)

that is fabulous just waiting till after the 25th for someone and then i will coordinate the reservations.


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## James1975NY (Sep 17, 2008)

I would be very interested in seeing if Starwood would allow the donation of points in this manner.

Truthfully, I believe that they expect unused StarOptions every year and count on this to balance their inventory.


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## CeeWoo (Sep 17, 2008)

James1975NY said:


> I would be very interested in seeing if Starwood would allow the donation of points in this manner.
> 
> Truthfully, I believe that they expect unused StarOptions every year and count on this to balance their inventory.



You may be right, but I sure hope that they find it in their black little hearts to allow this 

BTW-I just made my 09 reservations and it appears I'll have 5500 pts left if this becomes an ongoing project.

Barbra-you have my deepest respect and admiration for coming up with this.  Helping those children (and their families) in need of these moments of pleasure is as great an act of love & compassion that one can do.


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 17, 2008)

James1975NY said:


> I would be very interested in seeing if Starwood would allow the donation of points in this manner.
> 
> Truthfully, I believe that they expect unused StarOptions every year and count on this to balance their inventory.



i already spoke to them and they were fine with it.


each person is booking with their own stroptions. i will coordinate the days they are to give to starwood so we will then have 4-6 nights of stay. i will then get everyone's reservation numbers and then have starwood to put all of them under one umbrella reservation and then give this to make a wish and then they will give me the names of the family going on the trip.

they will not lump all our leftover staroptions together for one reservation. each person has to have at least enough for one nights accomodations.


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 24, 2008)

ok today is the 24th and we were waiting for one more person. how did the reservation go? please get back to us as soon as possible so we can make our reservations for make a wish.


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## BLUE AYES (Sep 24, 2008)

PJ 

I miscalculated, I actually need to check today, tommorrow and Saturday to add on to my week 52. So I need 2 more days. On a positive note for Make A Wish, it looks like I will be closed out (as of this  a.m.) and I should be donating 15,500 by Saturday a.m.

Dave


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 24, 2008)

no problem. we will wait.


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 24, 2008)

iluvwdw said:


> I will be travelling to Orlando in November for Thanksgiving week, but I haven't been able to make my ressies yet (staying less than a week at VR or VV...90 day rule :annoyed: ).  But once I get my nights confirmed, I will GLADLY donate whatever options we have left!  I will let you know!



i remember you used them , sorry.

barbra


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## Negma (Sep 24, 2008)

I have 16000 options left, let me know how I can help.


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 24, 2008)

that is great, just waiting till saturday for the last of our donating tuggers.


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## AlmTravel (Sep 24, 2008)

Just learning about SVO, but it seems everyone is saying they have StarOptions left over.  Does that mean Starwood does not allow you to bank them to the next year?


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## Ken555 (Sep 24, 2008)

AlmTravel said:


> Just learning about SVO, but it seems everyone is saying they have StarOptions left over.  Does that mean Starwood does not allow you to bank them to the next year?



Correct. See the FAQ at top of forum to learn more about SVN - lots of info.


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 25, 2008)

AlmTravel said:


> Just learning about SVO, but it seems everyone is saying they have StarOptions left over.  Does that mean Starwood does not allow you to bank them to the next year?



the reason many of us have staroptions leftover is because when you trade to go to other resorts the staroptions are different according to size of the units and the season you go. 

i used my SVV to book the weeks at HRA so it is not an even staroption trade so i will have leftover next year.

the leftovers can be used for a mini vacation if you have enough but if used wisely you should not have that many leftover under 20000 and then we pool them to sen kids to disney so they can stay at svv or svr with our leftover staroptions.


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## Johnsky (Sep 25, 2008)

*4875 SO left for 2008*

I have 4,875 SO left for 2008 -- enough for one night in a 1-BR at some resorts.  I would be happy to reserve this for Make-a-Wish.  Please let me know what day and resort is needed and we can coordinate when the reservation is confirmed.  :whoopie:


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## BLUE AYES (Sep 25, 2008)

Hi PJ,

Closed out again today, will know for sure by tommorrow 
(9/26). Have you suggested to SVO that they "match" our donation.


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## BLUE AYES (Sep 26, 2008)

15,650 available, whats the next step ?


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 26, 2008)

sorry it didn't work out. will speak to make a wish on monday. we should be able to get 2 families with all of us donating. that 's great.


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## baz48 (Sep 27, 2008)

Barbra,  we have 7,200 options for 2008 that we can add.  Please let me know if you need them.


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 27, 2008)

here is the list of people who have leftover staroptions that want to donate them to Make a Wish:

nodge, clsmit, hefleycatz, negma, johnsky, blue ayes,baz 48, and pointsjunkie.

if i left anyone out please let me know this weekend.

here's what need to be done prior to monday.

call starwood and verify the actual amounts of staroptions you have in your 2008 account.

i will speak to ruthie on monday (hopefully she is in because it is a Jewish holiday). if not then we will have to wait until wed or thurs till she gets back.

once i get the dates she needs i will pm you with the actual dates that you are going to make a reservation for and which resort. probably will be for SVV. the large 1 br. then you will pm me the reservation number  and then i will take all the reservations and  tell you to put each one in the families name. after that you will send me a copy of the reservation so i can call starwood to umbrella all the reservations for the 1 family.

it looks like we will be able to send to families to orlando, which is pretty amazing.   

barbra


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 29, 2008)

so far we were able to book 1 family in orlando. i had to call other make a wish centers at different parts of the country.
i want to run this by all of you who are donating. 

we could book a select week for make a wish and they would auction it off at a fund raiser but the winning family would go (not a make a wish kid).  they have gotten between $5000-$7000 for a week and that money goes to grant makes a wish vacations for kids.

i wanted to run this by all of you before i went ahead and did this. please pM me with your opinion.

barbra


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## pointsjunkie (Sep 30, 2008)

hi everyone who are donating, just spoke to this great supervisor at SVO and we will have 2- 1 large 1 br at svr for a 6 night stay nov 30- dec 6 to auction off for make a wish.

please call him to give permission to use your staroptions ASAP

ryan

sent this number to all of you in PM's.

please tell him that this is regarding Make a Wish  

then PM me to tell me you did it so i can keep a head count.

thanks,

barbra


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## clsmit (Oct 12, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> hi everyone who are donating, just spoke to this great supervisor at SVO and we will have 2- 1 large 1 br at svr for a 6 night stay nov 30- dec 6 to auction off for make a wish.
> 
> please call him to give permission to use your staroptions ASAP
> 
> ...


Barbra -- I called Ryan when you told us to but my reservation hasn't been made. He said he had to check with his manager. Any idea what's going on?


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## pointsjunkie (Oct 12, 2008)

hi all,

brian is working on an actual reservation for a make a wish family. will speak to him on monday.


thanks all,

barbra


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## pointsjunkie (Oct 15, 2008)

to all the very generous starwood owners who had leftover staroptions at TUG:

you can be very proud of yourselves you made *best the reservation ever*, for a Make a Wish family. a family of 6 will be going to SVR in a 2 br unit in november 2008.

your staroptions will be taken from your account by tomorrow.

still checking to see is we have enough for a unit to auction.

people want to know what a happy starwood moment is: THIS. they were so helpful and truly worked the system for us. 

congratulations and thanks,  

i applaud you  
barbra


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## hefleycatz (Oct 16, 2008)

Barbra:

Thank you so much for getting this done.    What a great way to use those SO's that are left over.  A big thanks to Brian with SVO also.   

This should also go over to the happy starwood posts.  

It so nice with everything else going on in the world, that we know we can make a little difference.  

Thanks again for your efforts.


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## tomandrobin (Oct 16, 2008)

pointsjunkie said:


> to all the very generous starwood owners who had leftover staroptions at TUG:
> 
> you can be very proud of yourselves you made *best the reservation ever*, for a Make a Wish family. a family of 6 will be going to SVR in a 2 br unit in November 2008.
> 
> ...




Barbara

Great job! We really admire your effort with organizing those rooms, for the kids and their families!  

Tom


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## BLUE AYES (Oct 17, 2008)

Just happy to be a part of it.


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## LisaRex (Oct 17, 2008)

Wonderful thread, folks.  I only wish I had StarOptions to donate!!!


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## pointsjunkie (Oct 29, 2008)

just thought i would give you all an update:

the family had to switch their vacation week and that is all taken care of.

and i am so pleased that we are working on a second family to go away in december.

i am also working on a program with starwood corporate to open this up to all starwood owners and post on mystarcentral (for next year).

just think of all the families we could give trips to.

thanks again to everyone who donated.

barbra


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## pointsjunkie (Oct 30, 2008)

just got the second reservation for a Make a Wish family.with all our leftover staroptions we were able to join forces and give 2 families a trip of a lifetime.

i applaud you all again..  

we will update this post again next year so we can do it again.

barbra


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## hefleycatz (Nov 3, 2008)

FYI  - my SO's are still in my account.   Were there some that were not able to be used.  (14,700).  I know your busy packing, should I call brian and see what happened.  

Lee


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## pointsjunkie (Nov 3, 2008)

they should be out this week, he has been busy working on his real job.


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## hefleycatz (Nov 3, 2008)

Thank you.   and again, have fun.


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