Pa. Man Turns Cancelled Wedding into Major Fundraiser

Phil Laboon in his Twitter profile picture

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By Kara Seymour

Break-ups hurt, especially when there is $15,000 to be lost.

But a Pittsburgh man has decided to turn his break-up into something positive.

Phil Laboon was set to be married on Aug. 31 and prepaid for his wedding reception at the Priory Hotel. But instead of calling off the event when his relationship ended, he decided to make lemonade out lemons and have a fundraiser instead of a wedding reception.

Laboon has partnered with Surgicorps International to host “ LemonAID,” a fundraising event to be held on the night that was supposed to be his wedding.

All proceeds from the event will support an upcoming Surgicorps mission, according to a press release announcing the event.

“It’s not every day that you get to give back to a Pittsburgh-based charity. Bad things happen, but no matter the obstacles you face you have to keep working hard to turn the lemons in your life into lemonade,” Laboon said in a statement.

Laboon hopes to raise at least $50,000 during the event to cover the average cost of a Surgicorps medical mission. Surgicorps, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit, has conducted 65 missions, visited 18 countries and four continents and completed more than 4,000 surgeries.

“Phil’s determination to make something good out of his bad luck inspires all of us at Surgicorps. For 20 years, our volunteers have been making a positive impact on a global scale through life-changing operations,” Surgicorps founder Jack Demos said. “We applaud Phil’s inspiration for LemonAID: “When life gives you a lemon…do something with it!” We’re honored to be the beneficiary organization of this event.”

LemonAID will feature gourmet food, an open bar, entertainment and an auction, which includes donated items such as a lunch date with Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto.