more ways to give back and pay it forward & an update

It occurred to me not long after I wrote about some of the ways I give back and pay it forward that I left out an organization that I believe in and support, The Liz Logelin Foundation. I've written about The Logelin Family in the past and it's a great time to remember them again.

...If you aren't familiar with the logelin family, you can check out their blog *here*. Liz Logelin died suddenly the day after her first child was born. Her husband, Matt, found himself not only a widower but also a single parent to a newborn. Matt and Madeline's adventures and life are shared via their blog. It's sure to make you laugh and make you cry. Out of this tragedy came the liz logelin foundation which raises funds for other widows and widowers. One of the ways they raise money is "$7 on the 7th", donating $7 on the 7th of each month. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it does add up and many families have been helped through these efforts...

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Recently I learned of a family who is in the process of adopting two daughters from the Ukraine. These little sweethearts have Down Syndrome and sadly the future for children with this syndrome in the Ukraine and other countries is very bleak and lacking in hope. I now have a button on my blog that will take you to Room for More, where you can follow along with their journey. The family also has a lot of really neat ways that you can help them in raising the funds needed for these adoptions. Please give them a visit!

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I am thrilled to announce that I am now the proud sponsor of two boys from Kenya through Compassion. For some reason it took me way too long to make the commitment, over a year. I guess I was trying to find exactly who I was meant to sponsor. I was so touched by Vincent who you can also read about here at We Are THAT Family, that all of a sudden it became clear who I was looking for. Within a couple short moments it also became clear that I was looking for two people.

As soon as I receive my information packets, I'll be sure to tell you all about the two new members of our family. Mr. H took a peek at them and their stories online and he seems pretty excited too. The girls haven't had a chance to actually hear all of the details yet. One thing that did stand out to Mr. H and I is that if the opportunity to take a trip so far away were to be possible, that we could actually visit Kenya and our sponsored children with the help of Compassion. Visiting Africa has always been on my list of things I want to do some day and now we have a reason. I'm going to start a savings fund now and maybe just maybe when Kelley and Bethany are a bit older, we'll take a trip!

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giving back and paying it forward...

I received a message from a friend Carolynn, who battled NHL at the same time I did, after my recent post sharing my ups and downs (admittedly mostly downs). She mentioned a great thing about giving back and helping others. I totally agree with her and wanted to write a more upbeat post about "me" these days. One thing that I haven't started doing is volunteering. Mr. H and I have talked about the possibility of doing that. We talked about some of the many things I can do and some of the things I'd like to do but may not be physically up to. I'll share more about that in the future. Today I'll write about the things I'm doing now. It's my hope that this post will encourage all of you to "give back" and "pay it forward". Even on a small scale you can put a smile on someone's face, remind them that you care and help them out...all of these things make the world a better place!

In the past 3 years I have received so much from so many. I know I've mentioned that over and over. Please know that I'm not being boastful, well maybe I am. Looking up the definition of boast came up with this: "To speak of with excessive pride", and I do that. Not of my own actions but of the kindness of others. All these years later and I'm still so very thankful and amazed.

I have offered many thank you's, but they always feel short of the gratitude I feel. The only way that I have come up with to properly express my gratitude is by "giving back" and "paying it forward". I love to do this! I have a sort-of donation budget each month. I say sort-of because when things like the earthquake in Haiti happened, I was led to donate but didn't want to count that in my budget. Things like that happen randomly, so they are outside of my normal budget.

There really is no rule for who or where my donations go. Unfortunately, I've learned the hard way that there are people out there who will take advantage of a situation. That upsets me because that particular donation could have gone to a better cause. So usually I help people who are fighting lymphoma, mostly because those are the needs that I am aware of and I know that there really is a need. Also organizations related to blood cancers like The LLS, Team in Training and throughout the year various Relay For Life activities.

I do need to step up my help to other non-cancer organizations that are important to me. I can definitely do more for the ASPCA or even my local humane society. However, as a family we do a lot of "hands on help" like rescuing kittens. We don't stick with cats only, there's been a few trips to various animal rescue centers with a baby bird who's been abandoned and situations like that. And a few tortoises have been helped, even if it's just a lift across the street.

Then there is the gift closet, which at this point is empty. However, when I come across something while out shopping or online that makes me think of a friend, I'll get it. I guess in a way Amazon has become my go-to gift closet, it's so easy to send an item to someone else. Mr. H teases me about my shopping habit, his favorite quote to make fun of me is "click-it's mine!". He needs to rephrase that to "click-it's their's!"

One last thing I'll mention is something that is happening right now, Compassion's trip to Kenya. Compassion International is a great organization I've learned about helping children all around the world with housing, food, medical care, schooling, and ministry. Compassion encourages you to sponsor a child and from what I've learned you really do get to communicate with and get to know that child. Kelley and Bethany are very excited to sponsor a child, so that's something we'll be doing soon. Every so often Compassion will take a trip with several bloggers who then share their experiences. I love to follow along with them and right now they're in Kenya. You can follow along too, there's a button on my blog to keep up with the bloggers, which I'll also add to this post. And you can follow their twitter link here: http://twitter.com/theshaungroves/compassion-bloggers-kenya

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