I have been thinking a lot about this New Year that we are in, and all the things that will be happening this year with my own family and with others. I decided this year not to make any resolutions.
But I am making a commitment...I decided this year that I will expand on my charitable contributions, not financially, but in a more concrete way. I am constantly reminded that people are hurting, suffering and in crisis, and I need to help.
So after talking to my husband about this and how I feel led to do such a thing, I have decided to jump in with both feet.
This year, I am commiting myself to giving back...to those locally that have helped me...and to those I have never met...
So every month, I am going to focus on a charity or even a person that I can help in some way, it maybe making something, raising money for a charity, or voluteering, but I have decided that I need to make a difference.
The contribution that I making this month is to Greyson's Gift. Greyson's Gift was started after a mother lost her child a couple days before his birth. I personally know two people that lost have suffered such enoromous loss. One child died a couple days prior to birth, the other died from SIDS within the first year.
And those of you in blogland probably don't know that I suffered many miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy prior to my daughters birth hence the reason that my 13 year old and my 3 year old are 10 years apart, but thankfully I have never experienced the pain of a stillborn. As my suffering was immense, I am sure that their suffering is even greater.
So I am commiting 5 blankets to Greyson's Gift so that a beloved baby can be nestled in a homemade blanket while being cradled in its mother's arms for the first and last time.
Won't you join me?
Saturday, January 23, 2010
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2 comments:
I LOVE that you are doing this! My own sister suffered a stillbirth at 36 weeks. Our sweet Savannah would be 7 years old now. It's still hard for her some days.
We never know how a small act we do can inspire someone else to do something great. Two years ago I had the chance to speak to a group of residents from the Ukraine. They were here as part of a 'Sister City' program and I was asked to come and tell them how to get people involved in community projects/giving. It was 40 minutes out of my day. I had fun and never thought much of it again.
Apparently, one of the men in the group, a 29 year old, was really inspired by what we taught that day. He had since organized a mock world cup soccer tournament for the elementary schools in their large city. Each school was assigned to be a specific country and they all spent time researching the various nations etc. HE created a huge learning opportunity for 1,000's of kids because he was inspired by the bits of knowledge we provided. How amazing!
Oh- and at the time it was a bit of a pain in my schedule so I ALMOST said 'no' to the opportunity to speak. Imagine if I had listened to my "I'm too busy" voice?
The point is that sometimes things that seem like a small thing to US, can be a big thing to someone else. Most of the time, we never know which is which.
Thanks for the reminder about Greyson's Gift. I started a couple of crocheted blankets back during soccer season - need to dig those out and finish them up!
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