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
Have you been watching American Idol? I have to be honest and say that I got hooked this season. I had never watched this show before, as I rarely watch TV anyway. I don’t know how it came about but I remember flipping through the channels one weekend many months ago and I just somehow got stuck on Idol.
Anyhow, my favorite contender was Danny Gokey. I don’t know, but there is something about this guy that screamed “genuine!” Naturally, I did some research on him, to know more about the person. I found out that he is running a charity called Sophia’s Heart Foundation, and I thought that it would be good to give them a shout out.
Sophia is the name of Danny’s late wife, who passed away due to a heart condition. In her 27 years here on earth, she showed a passion for children, emphasizing the need to meet their needs in every aspect possible. Upon her passing, her husband Danny felt the need to continue her work, and thus the charity was born.
Today, Sophia’s Heart Foundation works alongside many other entities in order to help children ages 0 to 18. The people involved in the organization are dedicated to providing various activities and assistance to children. Some of the ways by which you can help:
-Music and arts workshops
-Scholarships
-Provide food, clothing, and shelter
-Provide medical aid to families in need.
If you are interested in helping out, visit Sophia’s Heart Foundation and find out more about them.
Categories: Charities, Children, Websites
Where do you go when you want to find things to buy online? We all have our special favorites but I would be willing to bet that a lot of people have eBay at the top of their lists of web sites. And why not? You can find most anything on eBay.
Auctioning off things for a profit is not the only thing that eBay is busy with these days though. One of their projects is to hold a sale – not an auction, mind you – of fashion items for charity. Auction Bytes has this report:
eBay announced a collaboration with fashion designer Yigal Azrouel for Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion Week. eBay is an online sponsor for Azrouel’s men’s and women’s Fall/Winter 2009 runway shows and will host a charity sale – not auction – from the designer’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection.
eBay said the collaboration represents its continued commitment to support the fashion world. In 2005 and 2007, eBay partnered with the CFDA and Vogue to present 7th on Sale, the largest sample sale on the Internet. eBay has also partnered with leading designers for past charity auctions.
So where does the charity part come in? Read on:
As part of the collaboration, eBay will sell a variety of looks from Azrouel’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection in a sale to benefit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The charity sale, launching on June 4, is unusual in that typically such charity fund-raising events are offered in an auction format. eBay said all pieces would be offered at fixed-prices that are below retail in order to make high-end fashion accessible to eBay’s users while raising money for a charity benefiting environmental causes.
High end fashion pieces for lower prices and the environment benefitting – not such a bad deal, don’t you think?
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Charities, Children, Environmental, Fundraising, Ideas, News, Organizations, Programs, Shopping
Who would have thought that the former Russian president and current Prime Minister has such a soft side to him? Many of us know him for being a tough politician but this piece of news goes to show that even the toughest of people have hearts and compassion for the less fortunate.
A charity auction is going to be held today in Saint Petersburg, Putin’s hometown. The charity auction is going to feature 28 works of art made by well known celebrities and politicians. The theme is based loosely on Nikolai Gogol’s The Night Before Christmas. As for Putin’s handiwork, it is a painting featuring a yellow window with embroidered curtains flapping in the wind. The scene outside the window is a winter landscape. Putin’s work is titled Uzor (Embroidery).
According to Nadezhda Anfalova, the curator of the exhibit and a painter as well, Putin painted the picture within 15 minutes, without anyone else’s assistance. The proceeds from the sale of the painting – and the other paintings to be auctioned off – will be given to two local children’s hospitals as well as a church that needs to be restored.
We may not be Putins or other celebrities but this is a prime example of the fact that we can all do little things to help those who are less fortunate around us. Perhaps painting and the arts is not your thing but I am sure that if you look hard enough, you will find some way by which you can help out.
Categories: Activities, Charities, Children, Fundraising, Inspiration, News
Some people are thinking about what good business to do this Christmas. Decors and small tokens that they can give to other people are surely on their mind. But while others are thinking of profits, others are doing it for organizations where hopefully their talents can be put to good use. Charitable organizations have to think of some way to generate income although it is not really the main purpose of their existence.
We see Christmas cards or even some baked goods coming from them. Ideally, anyone would be touched at the efforts and for sure, endorsing or buying them can really do a lot than get money for all their efforts. It is about acknowledging and valuing what these people try to come up during the Christmas season. Also, many would be surprised at how these made goods and items would be of better quality than the ones that we find in the usual department stores.
That is perhaps the funny part. While many companies are trying to find cheaper materials, these people make do with what they have. It is not a business for them but rather an outlet to see what they can come up with. Charities are not income-generating groups. They are there to support their occupants and discarded people of society.
Hence in a manner of speaking, it is like training them and helping them give their lives a purpose. This is something that they have truly forgotten and with these ventures, perhaps they can discover themselves and find intent to live in the process.
Categories: Activities, Campaigns, Charities, Children | Tags: cards, Charities, christmas
