Planning a holiday cancer fundraiser to donate money to the American Cancer Society. How do I do this?

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I've decided to raffle off a basket to donate money to the American Cancer Society in my Dad's name. My Dad died last year of lung cancer & I feel like this is the least I could do. How do I go about doing this? My biggest concern is getting stuff to put into the basket. I know I can write letters to different companies asking them to donate things to put in, but what should I say in the letter? Any help on this topic at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
S.R.S - Thank you, but I already KNOW that I want to raffle off a basket filled with goodies. I'm in school right now, & the silent auction thing did cross my mind..but it would take so much more time then I have available. Thank You for the idea, though. Maybe I'll use it when I have more time.

[S.R.S. 2008]

Get in contact with the American Cancer Society by email. Then what you can also do is find a place, like a benefit hall or even a bar and have a silent auction. Get a list of sponsers, like Avon, Covergirl, Golf Courses, sports stores, restaurants, gift shops, florists, or you can always find crafty people to make stuff that you can raffle off. Place the baskets out for all to see with a piece of paper that has places where you can write peoples names down. At the top put what they are bidding on and a minimum bid. People will get the hang of it. Use facebook and myspace to invite people to come out.