It was the birthday of one of my good friends last week. She’s a newscaster, and every year for the past 10 years, she’s been celebrating her birthday at the local orphanage near her home.
Its a great idea as not only does it make the kids happy, but its also a wonderful way to do something meaningful on your birthday. Last year, it was held it the orphanage itself, although some years my friend holds it it different venues. One year it was at a fun-fair at a huge mall (the escalators were fascinating to the kids who had never seen one before!), and another time it was at an animal shelter, who my friend (an ardent cat-lover) also does a lot of volunteer work for.
Although my friend foots most of the bill, she cleverly asks for sponsors to help out with various things, and they almost always agree to do it – like a fast-food place always does the food and even includes a mascot for entertainment, and this year she got a glitter-tattoo artist to come at cost.
She always sends out an email to all her friends with a list of things the children need – from necessities like medicine, milk and diapers, to more fun stuff like toys , books and art supplies.
Another thing she does is that we all get one child each for the day, and we bring a special present for them ( we get to know their age beforehand). Last time, my husband and I got a sweet little girl who was just thrilled with the simple presents we brought – slippers, “princess” school supplies etc….but was as excited to have our attention for an entire afternoon.
Since then, we’ve heard that she’s been adopted by a family in France!
Categories: Children, Fundraising, Tips, Volunteering
It is hard to be sick. We all hate it when we have to stay in bed whether it is just with a fever or with a worse bug. The feeling of lethargy dampens our spirits. Having your body let you down is really annoying especially when there is much that you want to do. It is even worse when it is cancer.
Just imagine how much worse it is when you’re a kid. Very few people see you as normal. You regularly need chemotherapy, you may undergo surgery, not to mention losing your hair. It can be difficult to keep your spirits up when you are undergoing so much treatment.
It isn’t only the child who suffers. The whole family shares the difficulty, not physically but in the finances, in their schedule, in their lifestyle. Their whole lives tend to be rearranged to work around the needs of their family member with the disease. When the times are rough, the whole family tend to be down.
They need people to help them. Financial assistance is a great help but that isn’t all they need. They are looking for angels. That doesn’t mean they are looking for miracle workers in spite of the title.
The simplest way you can support the cancer warrior (child fighting the disease) is to send a card. You can be a birthday, christmas or a card angel. This means sending a card on those special occasions just to wish them well.
If you are willing to give a more long term commitment, why not be an angel. Angels are people who commit to a year (or more) of supporting a family through the difficult years of treatment. These angels are asked to send a card or little gift once a month to the cancer warrior and one member of the child’s family. Angels do this without expecting any response from the family. They may be too busy trying to cope with the situation to respond. They need people who will consistently send every month without fail.
If you want to know more, please visit the Cancer Warriors website.
Categories: Children, Ideas, Organizations, Programs, Tips, Volunteering
