Hey guys! We got the raffle tickets in today and they are now available at La Vida Mocha and throughout Monroe and Union County. Please do all you can to assist Burak and Irem in this worthy cause. There are five great prizes in this raffle. First prize is a diamond ring. Second and Third Prizes are handmade Ottoman Rugs. Forth prize are handmade and hand painted princess pitchers. Fifth prize is a cesm-i bulbul, which is an Ottoman pitcher with six glasses. Above are some photos of the items available in the raffle. Get yours at La Vida Mocha in Monroe, N.C. Thanks for supporting Irem Medical Fund's raffle!!

Here is the appraisal for the diamond ring offered at raffle. Please buy a ticket and help Irem with her medical expenses. Photos are in other posts below.

Perry's Ring Appraisal and Ring Photos

The grand prize for the charity raffle to help Irem Isitmen Akinci will be held on October 15, 2011. The grand prize will be a .70 Karat diamond ring appraised by Perry's Fine Jewelers at Southpark Mall in Charlotte, N.C.. To the right are some photos of the ring.

The ring is a lady's 14 Karat yellow gold ring containing a emerald cut diamond in the center.

The diamond weighs approximately. 70 carat with a clarity of SI 1 and a color of G. The

center is accented by 20 channel set baguette cut diamonds and 4 round brilliant bezel set diamonds with a total weight of' approximately 1.16 carats: The diamonds have an average clarity grade of VS2~S11 and color grade of G/H. The ring weighs 5.73 grams and is a 4.75. It can be resized to fit a larger finger.

The ring will be won through a raffle. There are many other great prizes. However, the main thing is to help Irem. Please buy a ticket to help her with her medical expenses.

The drawing will occur on October 15, 2011 at La Vida Mocha in Monroe, North Carolina. Thank you for your support.

Irem, Brain Tumors and a Raffle

Irem Isitmen Akinci is a thirty four year old woman from Istanbul, Turkey. She is married to Burak Akinci and they have lovely twin three year old daughters. They live in Monroe, North Carolina and operate La Vida Mocha Coffee Shop. What you may not know is that Irem suffers from a disease that causes tumors to form on the brain.

Irem started feeling bad and began to suffer from weekly seizures. The seizures increased in frequency and began to occur daily, and often times several times per day. She had no medical insurance in the United States, and so returned to Turkey for treatment.

Irem now has eight tumors on her brain. She has undergone treatment with a gamma knife, which has hopefully shank some of the tumors. Two were unaffected and need to be treated with the gamma knife again. Although Irem has medical insurance in Turkey, there is a tremendous deductible. The first surgery left about $25000 not covered by insurance. The second surgery will be cheaper, but will cost her out of pocket another $8000-$10000. She has surrendered her passport in an effort to receive treatments and can not come back to her home in the United States until the uncovered expenses are paid. She needs your help.

Beginning the week of August 8, 2011, raffle tickets will be available at La Vida Mocha in Monroe, N.C. The tickets cost $25.00 each. The grand prize is a diamond ring Appraised at $6700 by Perry's Fine Jewelers at Southpark Mall. Second and Third prize winners will each receive a handmade Turkish rug. The forth prize winner will receive two princess pitchers. These are handmade and hand painted with gold parts all over. They are made in Turkey. There's a stopper on top to make it use it a liquor server. It is very elegant and worth at least $500. The fifth prize winner will receive a cesm-i bulbul . It is a crystal picture with six glasses. These are an Ottoman tradition, and very hard to find. They are handmade and blown

"To me, priceless," says Irem.

We will need Irem's friends to help sell the tickets. Please check back soon to view pictures of the prizes and the diamond ring appraisal. If you can help sell tickets contact Burak at La Vida Mocha, or Joe Williams on Facebook. Thank you for your help.