I know I've been behind. Being sick in May is totally throwing me off course...ugh.
As corny as it sounds, I want to make a sizable charitable contribution/donation before I die. Right now I love doing things such as the local Salvation Army Angel Trees at Christmas or finding people on Craigslist that need something I can give (and no your son doesn't NEED that Xbox lady...)
But I want to do something big....and meaningful. I feel kind of like a nobody when I turn in my items to the Salvation Army or meet up with a lady to drop off some Christmas items for her kids. They say thank you and give me a smile, and then it's over. I even followed up with a lady after Christmas through email to see how her kids liked everything and if they had a good Christmas. She acted like it was a pain to reply or that it was no big deal.
I want to contribute to something that will let me help others while in return (selfishly) making myself feel great. A genuine thank you would be nice, instead of judging the meager offerings I do have. No I couldn't buy the kid a new bike but he did get clothes and some legos. No she didn't get a new stereo but she did get some new shoes and an art kit. Sorry?
My all time dream when I was younger (and still think about today) was to have desktop or even laptop computers donated to a hospital floor I once was a patient on in Dallas. This floor is mainly isolation units, meaning children do not get to leave their rooms for any reason during or after treatment. Sure they have a phone and TV, but what else is a kid to do? My mom stayed with me and had brought our home computer (which was ancient even for its time), hooked it up and got it online. We could email and IM friends (this was before MySpace, Facebook or Twitter), I could play games online, shop online and even watch movies or listen to music. But that privilege was only for me since no other patients had one. My dream was to have enough money and resources to have a computer donated to every room for every patient to use during their stay there. I wanted these kids to have some of the same 'online' advantages I had and not feel like a prisoner in their own room....forced to stare at the walls and the stupid exercise bike in the corner.
Of course, technology has changed and my guess is this isn't really needed anymore...which kind of kills the dream anyway.
My current project (if I can ever get my butt moving) is a blanket campaign I'm code naming "From the Ashes" (I won't go into details about the name since I have a huge paranoia about someone stealing my ideas before I get to put them into play!). When I was a patient the previous mentioned hospital, a group of ladies created several throw blankets by hand and donated them to the pediatric floor. I remember the social worker coming around with several blankets in her hand and told me I could pick one. I got to go through all of the blankets at my own pace and pick the one I wanted. I remember it was a small, throw sized blanket with the Looney Tunes on it.
Anyways, if you visit TylerRoseCreations.etsy.com you can see I am a 'blanket artist' and art hobbyist. I decided I wanted to do that too. So I did some research and thought over what I would need to do. I made lists and charts and plotted out different ideas for boys and girls of different ages. I love going to the fabric store to scour different prints and possibilities, but my finances have forced me to put this project on the back burner for now. I am proud to say I managed to buy 15 front pieces so far, but my all time goal is to make 30 blankets in all to donate, at least the first time. I've bought for boys and girls and even look for gender-neutral prints and patterns. I'm pretty anxious to get this project under way and am even a little giddy about taking them to the hospital when I'm done.
So check back with me at Christmas and see how that one is going ;-)
Anyways, I digress. One day I'll make a difference. I'll help someone and make a difference in their life and mine. Maybe I'll get a second look at life and find ways to better people other than myself. Perhaps I can look back on those kids who are in the shoes I once wore and say "I know" and give them a glimpse at a future. That sounds like too much, doesn't it?
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