Sunday, February 21, 2010

Self Sacrifice and Lent

As hard as I've tried to make this easy-peasy, I suppose Lent is about self-sacrifice, abstention, etc. So, today I will suggest something along those lines. For the next 7 days abstain from EITHER lunch out, morning coffee at Starbucks, Sunday lunch out or whatever luxury you choose in order to save some cash. Calculate how much cash you saved at the end of the week, and donate it to the organization of your choice. Pretty simple, right? Until your lunch bunch friends start hounding you. That's your opportunity, though. Tell them about this site. Tell them about Lindsay and Vinny and Lily and Megan and Kate and Austin and Jay and Holly and Emily and all the kids that maybe you've never heard of who have endured way more than any of us, even their parents, can really imagine! And they can join you on this endeavor. Trust me, it will be SO much easier if you have a friend or two spurring you on.

I'm not going to feature a new organization tonight. I'm going to revisit one that I've already mentioned. Since it was the first one I featured, I'm afraid maybe some folks have missed it. And since it's a small operation but one run by people I know and trust, I REALLY REALLY want to help get the word out. Kids of Childhood Cancer is a group that raises money to help kids being treated at Brenner Children's Hospital hem/ onc unit. They have made some real headway in getting microwaves and mini-fridges in the room on the hem onc unit. It might sound like a small thing or even a luxury, but when your child is having trouble breathing, hooked up to O2, the last thing you want to do is walk down the hall and wait 5 minute for your microwave dinner (the 5th you've had this week, thank you very much) to cook. When your child is vomiting and begging for a little Propel to help get the bad taste out of her mouth, you want that cold Propel to be right there in the room, not down the hall. And when your child hasn't eaten in a week and she's suddenly asking for mac-and-cheese, you don't want to walk down to the community fridge only to find that someone has taken her mac-and-cheese. Can you tell these scenarios aren't made up :-) They are also working on getting some Wii's for the floor. The thing about the Wii is that it really pulls the kids mentally and, if they're able, physically out of that hospital room. The parents behind Kids of Childhood Cancer have great ideas and know first hand what families in cancer crisis need. The cool thing is that they are making those ideas reality by working with the oncologists and hospital administrators at Brenner. So visit their page (the link takes you straight to the donation page ... heehee) and peek at the pictures of kids and consider donating your savings from this week's abstentions to this worthy group.

Thanks!! Oh, and big thanks to Sarah for sharing this site on your Caring Bridge! Hopefully more people will join us in this little project!

Believe that there's light at the end of the tunnel. Believe that you might be that light for someone else. --Kobi Yamada

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