09/02/2026
🤎 AN EVENING FOR MAE 🤎
Thursday, September 24 | 5–8 PM
Serene&Silk • Downtown Effingham
Some of you already know Mae.
Some of you have followed her story, prayed for her family, donated, shared her name, and stood beside them through an unimaginable season.
And some of you may be hearing Mae’s name for the very first time.
On September 24, we’re opening our doors for an evening centered around this little girl, her story, and one more opportunity to help.
Mae — lovingly known as Birdie — recently celebrated her first birthday. The very next day, her family received news that changed everything.
Mae was diagnosed with SURF1 Leigh syndrome, a rare mitochondrial disease caused by a mutation in her SURF1 gene.
And the reason her story needs to be told now is incredibly urgent.
Leigh syndrome is progressive and life-limiting. There is currently no cure. Without an effective treatment, Mae is not expected to survive this disease.
But there is hope.
A groundbreaking gene therapy for children with SURF1 Leigh syndrome is advancing toward human clinical trials. The treatment has already been developed and is moving through toxicology studies — one of the final steps before a clinical trial can begin.
If the necessary funding is secured, a human clinical trial could begin as early as 2027.
This isn’t simply about improving Mae’s quality of life.
This is a fight to give Mae a life to live.
And if this therapy is successful, what is being fought for today could reach far beyond Mae and change the future for other children and families facing this disease.
On September 24, Mae and her mom and dad won’t physically be here with us.
They’ll be in Texas, meeting with the research team working toward the very treatment we’re raising money to help move forward.
They’ll be exactly where they need to be.
And while Mae and her parents are there, we’ll be here at home doing what we can — raising funds, carrying Mae’s story farther, and covering this little girl and her family in prayer.
They’ll be doing their part there. We’ll be doing ours here.
And together, we’ll keep fighting for Mae.
So on Thursday, September 24, from 5–8 PM, we invite you to join us for An Evening for Mae.
There is no ticket and no admission. Just come.
Come shop. Bring a friend. Learn Mae’s story. Give if you are able. Share her story. Pray with us. Or simply come and stand alongside a family fighting for their little girl.
Throughout the store, we’ll share photographs and pieces of Mae’s story, along with opportunities to give directly toward the research working to bring this treatment to children like Mae.
For the evening, Serene&Silk will donate 20% of all sales toward Mae’s fight.
We’re also creating a limited number of special Made for Mae hats and pullovers. They will be released at 5 PM on September 24, both in store and online, so those who cannot be with us in Effingham can still participate.
100% of the profits from every Made for Mae piece will be donated.
And there is something pretty incredible happening with the money raised.
Qualifying donations are being matched dollar for dollar through the end of September.
An incredibly generous donor has committed to matching donations to One Shot to Live, meaning the impact of what we are able to send can be doubled.
$25 can become $50.
$100 can become $200.
$500 can become $1,000.
Every purchase, every donation, every share, every prayer, and every person who learns Mae’s name matters.
Our hope for September 24 is simply to add our hands to the many already carrying this family.
To tell Mae’s story to someone who hasn’t heard it yet.
To give people another opportunity to help.
To pray.
And to send as much as we possibly can toward the research that could give Mae — and children like her — something they desperately need:
Time.
If you cannot join us in person, you can still be part of the evening.
The Made for Mae pieces will be available online beginning at 5 PM. You can give directly. You can share this event. You can tell someone about Mae. You can pray.
Because we never know who a shared post might reach.
It may reach someone who gives $10.
It may reach someone who gives $10,000.
It may reach someone who stops and prays for Mae.
Or it may simply reach one more person willing to carry her story a little farther.
🤎 AN EVENING FOR MAE 🤎
Thursday, September 24 | 5–8 PM
Serene&Silk • Downtown Effingham, Illinois
For Mae. For more time. For the hope of a cure. 🤎
