Public speaking

[IrishLake]

I am giving my first ever real public speech tonight. Well, I did it in college and when I was a kid in 4-H, but it feels like this is the first real one as a "grown up." My family has been invited to a cocktail party that is the kickoff event for the annual fundraiser my sons speech therapy center has. Many people who get therapy at this place receive a financial aid package since speech therapy is not usually covered by health insurance. We got an anonymous gift that covers 90% of the expense, and they asked if we would come and if I would give a little speech about our situation (my 15 month period of unempoloyment, during which time my son was evaluated for hearing loss and speech and language delays) and how important it is for anonymous donors to continue giving so that kids like my son can receive help.

Any tips? I'm kinda nervous, but not really. I have somethign written down, but I'm just going to wing it when we get there. I think using notecards for something like this isn't appropriate.