Reflection

I have a really great life. Despite all the crappy things I've done, the people I have hurt, those who hurt me--I am beyond blessed with what I have and who I share it with. My Nashville pastor once said that the best thing you can do with this life is to love. In about a month I will turn 30 and instead of having some big party to celebrate my life so far, I wanted to pay it forward. There have been people who helped me when I needed it, why wouldn't I want to do the same?

I started out doing this Thirty by 30 with the intention of letting people know what volunteer opportunities were out there or great ways to donate money to charities or causes they support. Who am I to show people that? I'm no Mother Theresa, that's for sure. The biggest lesson I learned through this experience was that there are so many amazing people in this world that want the world to be a better place and have really awesome ideas in how to help. As much as I patted myself on the back when I came up with this idea, I have been continuously humbled by people who do this stuff for zero appreciation or recognition. There were quite a few things that I was a part of that I didn't feel right about sharing that experience on here and counting it as one of my Thirty because there are some things that aren't my story to share. As I look back on my "Thirty" I think about the smiles, laughs, and even the ka-Ching of money leaving my bank account and I can't help but feel blessed. You may have been annoyed by these posts or my bugging you to donate time or money to something, but once you see the bigger picture, it was worth it. I set out to see how I could help change lives and in turn I changed my own.

I'm going to revisit each blog post up until my birthday and I'm asking for a birthday present from each of you. Yes, I'm that kind of person. ;) I want you to find something you support or someone in need and find a way to help out. I would LOVE to hear your stories! If you know of something that you think I would enjoy donating my time to, please share! I'm always looking for ways to get involved.

There is a quote that says, "Be the kind of person you want to meet." I remind myself of this daily. I also think about the kind of person I want Elie to be. We are role models to the next generation whether we want to be or not. It's not always easy, but it is always worth it.

#30 REACH Camp

 

A quick story about my husband and I that leads up to why I got involved with REACH Camp:

I was in the process of getting a divorce from my first husband and feeling like a failure, like I was going to spend the rest of my life alone, when my best friend told me about my "soul mate". He was her husband's friend from medical school and she listed all of the reasons she thought he and I would get along. The more she went on with things like "he's funny, he talks a lot like you do, he loves kids and is going to be a pediatrician, he wants to do work in Africa, he's a Christian..." and so on, and so on--I thought that she was making things up about him so I would give him a chance. Nobody could be that perfectly matched to me. Long story short, it turns out all those things she said about him were true as I discovered through our lengthy emails and phone conversations before hanging out with him. One of the things he told me about was working with REACH and how it was a big part of the reason he wanted to become a pediatrician.

I can't really explain what REACH Ministries is without sharing their mission statement:

"REACH Ministries builds relationships with youth and families with HIV/AIDS and other populations in need, in order to equip them for experiencing God's design, which is a lifetime of hope and purpose."

I knew that REACH Camp is for families that are affected by HIV/AIDS and that Brian goes on and on about how much fun it is (he's been volunteering with REACH since 2000), but I didn't really know what to expect beyond that. Because we were living in Nashville and in the process of moving to Idaho, we couldn't make any of the volunteer trainings but Brian assured me that he knew the ins and outs and I'd be fine.

IT WAS AWESOME!!! I was paired with another counsellor  (also AWESOME) who has been involved for a while and we were assigned to a group of late middle school-early high school age girls.  What did we do? We had FUN! That's it! We ate meals with these fun teens, climbed rock walls, did a ropes course (my favorite! Heights have nothin' on me! Well, when I'm in a harness), horse back riding, and there were other fun things to do like swimming, miniature golf, basketball, etc., etc., etc. We had campfires every night where we sang like idiots and participated in silly campfire games. We played Minute To Win It games. We basically danced and sang until midnight every night! We had a hilarious scavenger hunt where my co-counselor and I forgot to give very important clues to our team which led to some awkward, last minute conversations about golf since that was where we were going to be hiding, saran wrapped, with the clue.  We laughed so hard at our "Counselor--FAIL!!!" that I had tears streaming down my face, which I could not wipe.  haha!  My husband even led a game of mud football. It was evident in the several times I saw him over the weekend that he likes REACH Camp so much because he gets to act like the big kid that he is! I had countless people who have worked with or been mentored by Brian over the last 13 years tell me how amazing he is and how much they missed while he was in residency. Not that I didn't already know how amazing he is just from learning about him from my friend over three years ago.

OH YEAH!!! The Talent Show! The themed nights! Ahh!!! First of all, it must have been a prerequisite to attend camp to sing, dance, and play an instrument because those kids were TALENTED! There were hula hoops, break dancing, cup flipping, singing, comic sketches...INCREDIBLE! Every night there was a different theme that I liked to take seriously like 80s athletic instructor, Oregon Trail, and Favorite Country were a few of the themes. Because there is such a strict policy on confidentiality and photos, I don't have very many. I will definitely post the link once they are up on the website though. :)

Does this camp not sound incredible?! If it is something you would be interested in helping out, check out http://www.reachministries.org/index.htmlAl

Here is a MUST WATCH video from a couple years back to give you a taste of what REACH Camp is like:  http://vimeo.com/26203867

Also, you should check out this website.  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/redefine-positive .  This is the mom of a child with HIV that is trying to get updated and accurate educational videos about HIV/AIDS into the public schools since the ones they use are from the 80s or 90s and aren't always factual with the current medical knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

We had a Color Dance and this was my aftermath

This was 80's night and all the volunteers.  Can you find Brian and I? ;)

#29 Relay For Life

I don't think there is a person out there that doesn't know someone that has been affected by cancer. Relay For Life is a part of the American Cancer Society that raises TONS of money to help find a cure for this terrible, often times deadly, disease.  What happens is people put together teams to raise money. At the event, teams are responsible for decorating a tent that follows whatever the theme is for that particular event. They also come up with something to sell from their tent that proceeds go to the American Cancer Society as well. There is a big opening ceremony with music and a Survivor's March. Each team is then presented and walk their opening lap around the track. From that point on, each team must have a member on the track at all times throughout the next twelve hours (at night!). When it gets dark, people put out luminaries around the track with people's names that have dealt with cancer and a message to that person, if desired. This is always a very emotional time. It is ended with a breakfast and a closing ceremony where the money raised is announced along with any other awards.

This was my second experience with Relay For Life. I remember walking around a track in Yakima, WA and trying to find the luminary that someone made for my Grandma Rena when I was a little girl. It was fun to participate this year with my sister's church group. I'm not even going to try and take any credit for how awesome our tent turned out because The only thing I really brought to the group was an outlandish outfit. Haha! I totally appreciate the hard work they put in. Organizing that kind of stuff is not quick and easy.

Having grown up in Gooding where the event was held allowed me to see a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a long time like past teachers, co-workers, volleyball players, and students! That was pretty awesome to catch up! My dad even came down to walk with my sister and I and helped us make luminaries for his mom, dad, brother, and our mom's dad. It makes me sad to think about how this disease has plagued not only my family (I often "joke" that I'm genetically screwed), but friends and friends' families as well.

Bottom line: get screened for the things you ought to be screened for and support great causes like Relay For Life and American Cancer Society. :)

#28 FEED America + Target

If you have been into a Target lately, chances are you have seen the FEED America sections in clothing or housewares. Founded by Lauren Bush, FEED sells items that the proceeds go to supplying food to children and families in need.  Here is their mission statement from the website:

"FEED Projects' mission is to create good products that help FEED the world. We do this through the sale of FEED bags, bears, t-shirts, and other accessories by building a set donation into the cost of each product. Thus the impact of each product, signified by a stenciled number, is understandable, tangible, and meaningful. 

We take great pride in using environmentally-friendly and artisan-made materials, along with fair-labor production, in creating all FEED products. 

We stand behind our brand and the organizations and humanitarian programs each FEED product supports. Ultimately, we believe that everyone has the right to basic human necessities, such as healthy and nutritious food. FEED is proud to help FEED the world, one bag at a time."

What did I do to help this project? Simple! I bought a shirt! When we moved across the country, our moving truck with all of our stuff came about three weeks late. My husband had not packed with that possibility in mind so he sent me to the store to buy him some shirts to wear. That is when I discovered FEED + Target. I bought him a t-shirt and that bought 10 meals for someone in need. Pretty cool! And it wasn't even that much more expensive than the regular Target t-shirts. This is something that I have a feeling I will be helping out with more in the future. There is a hoodie calling my name...

For more information, check out feedprojects.com

#27 Salvation Army

#27 is one that literally ANYONE can do to help someone in need and a great charity to boot! All you need is time to go through your closet, home, garage, whatever, and time and a vehicle to make a run to a thrift store.

There are many thrift stores in any area of your city, I'm sure, and most of them contribute to a greater cause. I chose Salvation Army because it was founded on Christian beliefs and does a lot to contribute to impoverished families in the community. They often hold food banks and even have a place to stay and eat for those who need it.

Ways to help The Salvation Army:

1. Donate money. Not everybody has money to give but we all have seen the bell ringers outside of the mall or grocery stores around Christmas time and any change in your pocket can help.

2. Donate time. You can volunteer to be a Christmas-time bell ringer or find out how you can be involved in their shelters or soup kitchens.

3. Donate your stuff. This is what I did for #27. When moving, you generally go through all of your stuff while packing and unpacking. There was a LOT of stuff that Brian and I had that we didn't want and need so we donated it so someone else could buy it and that money would feed into the awesomeness that is the Salvation Army.

BONUS: If you ask for a receipt when donating your items, you can use that for a tax deduction. Boom!

#26 Buhl Fun Run

Every 4th of July that I'm in southern Idaho I try to run in the Buhl Fun Run. The registration money goes to support the Buhl High School Key Club, and although I have no idea what a key club is, it is through a school which translates to helping kids in my mind. Being a teacher on motherhood hiatus, I still like to touch young people's lives any way that I can.

I ran the 10k and not only did I get second place in my gender and 1st place in my age group, but I got a new 10k PR!!!  Woot woot!

#25 Finish Line and Special Olympics

I just recently took up CrossFit and wanted to get some new shoes more fitted to that style of training. My old running shoes have no traction and would not last long in this intense sport.

I went to Finish Line at the mall by my house to pick the shoes that will help me rise to greatness...or spend more time on the dirty floor than I ever thought possible. Ha! When I purchased my shoes, the girl working asked if I wanted to donate to Special Olympics. I said "yes" and, voila!  Another awesome charity helped by the amount of money it would have cost me to buy some of my favorite Hagen Daaz Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream. Score!

Of course I'm going to show off the shoes. They are definitely already broken in after my two week On Ramp class!

#24 Helping Hearts & Hands 10k

I grew up in a small town in Idaho called Gooding. Since I graduated from high school and moved away over ten years ago, some new things have popped up in this seemingly-crazy-boring town. One being Helping Hands & Hearts. This is a nice organization that collects food, money, clothing and what not to help families in need in Gooding County. I love hearing about organizations like this that help out locally, especially for my hometown. For the last five years they have been holding a Fun Run/Walk that the registration fee goes to this group.

I did the 10k and it was a ridiculously hot experience, but I managed to pull it off and get third place. Woo hoo!

It was also neat to run into old friends, colleagues, coaches, and teachers. One of the pictures is of me talking to my elementary school gym teacher and varsity volleyball coach, and a teacher that I worked with when I student taught in Gooding several years ago. Good times! 

I enjoy running so this is a good way for me to get some exercise and help out a good cause. :)

#23 Petsmart

I feel like more and more stores are offering to add money to your purchase to donate to a good cause. Earlier this year I wrote about donating to Autism Speaks at TJMaxx. This is a really easy way to give to a charity you like without breaking the bank. Most donations are a dollar or more if you want and I've even seen where they just round up your tab to the next dollar amount. Pretty easy, eh?

A couple of weeks ago we had an incident where my dog, Ruger, got out of our back yard. Because he has allergies and is constantly scratching his ears and shaking his head, he doesn't always wear his collar when we're at home because of the annoying jingling of his name and rabies tag. Luckily, Ruger was found and returned to us after a few scary and devastating hours. I knew we needed to get a new name tag that attached right onto his collar and doesn't jingle in case that ever happened again. He is epileptic among other health problems so every hour he is gone is quite scary. This took me to Petsmart.

While checking out with my new dog tag, the gal asked if I wanted to donate a dollar to help feed animals in the animal shelter. I immediately had "Angel" by Sara McClaughlin playing in my head while visualizing some homeless, eyeless Shih Tzu, so of course I said "sure".

Again, a super easy way to make a small difference that took less than ten seconds. :)

#22 Lemonade Stand

Since this summer has been crazy-busy, I haven't been able to do too much volunteering of my time. I also know that a lot of you don't have time to give to other people as well, so it is good to have some of my Thirty involve other things.

Today's Thirty (that actually happened back in June. Whoops!!!) involves money, and not a lot of it. In the subdivision we moved to there is prime real estate for kids who have entrepreneur-ish ambitions in the way of lemonade stands and bake sales. On a day in late June, I bought my mom and I some lemonade to help a couple of girls have some spending money on an upcoming trip to Disneyland. They charged 25 cents for a large cup and I knew that my fifty cents wouldn't do much in the way of advancing their spending money (I'm pretty sure 50 cents would purchase them a piece of ice at Disneyland), so I tipped big.

Anytime you see kids selling stuff on the side of the road, you should stop and buy something. Even if you don't eat or drink what they're selling. I'm pretty sure that's in "Life's Little Instructions Book".

#21 Ellie's Run For Africa

This has been a long time coming and super late, but I wanted to do Ellie's Run some justice because I love it so much! Well, with moving and getting settled I realize that I need to just get caught up with my Thirty.

So I know I already did #18 on ERFA, but that was for raising money and being a Hero. Some of the pictures are more geared toward that, but this is more about being a part of the committee.

I got involved because I thought that maybe this was a type of charity I would like to take with me to Idaho. I knew how to run the 5k, but I had no idea of all the other behind the scenes stuff. Let me tell you, there is A LOT of stuff to organize and take into consideration when planning a charity run. I was placed on the Heroes Team because (I guess) of my "expertise" from last year of being the Hero winner when I won the Kindle Fire. As important as the runners are who pay the registration fee, Heroes is what brings in the money for New Dawn.

My group's job was to email or call schools and churches in the Nashville-area and try to get in flyers or potentially set up a time where one of the ERFA staffers can do a mini-presentation to bring awareness to the need for education in Kenya and hopefully intrigue people enough to sign up for the 5k and potentially sign up as a Hero. I'm not the most social person and I hate talking on the telephone, so this was a good challenge for me to step outside my comfort level.

Check out #18 to read more about my experience with Ellie's Run For Africa and, of course, go to www.elliesrun.org for more information about this charity and how you can make a difference. Keep your eyes open for next year!

#20 Red Cross

Looking for a way to help out with the tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma? Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10. It's fast and easy and legit. Donating $10 is a small amount to do, but if everyone did it, the help would be tremendous!

#19 Locks of Love

 

I go through a cycle every few years of growing my hair out and then chopping it off. The chop is always inevitable so I decided to use it for one of my Thirty's and donate it to Locks of Love.

I did this once years ago but haven't the last couple of big chops because I didn't think they took dyed hair. Since my hair is an ugly dishwater blonde naturally (yes, I'm naturally a blonde), I lighten it up a bit. When I was researching to see if I could donate, I found out some requirements that I did not know. For example, you CAN donate dyed hair. You CAN donate layered hair but the longest length needs to be at least ten inches. They sell off the shorter pieces to accommodate the pricing of the making of wigs.

Locks of Love takes the donated hair and makes wigs for cancer patients out of it. I think this is really cool so I'm glad I get to participate in this again.  If you would like more information or are interested in donating, check out their website at http://www.locksoflove.org/

My man, Mason, doing his thing

All gone!

Before and After shots.  I donated 13 inches!

Horrible lighting, but that is what was taken off

#18 Ellie's Run For Africa HERO

Today's post is something that is so near and dear to my heart and something that I have supported for the last couple of years.  It combines three of my favorite things:  education, running, and Africa.  Settle in, folks.  This will probably be a very wordy post...

I had lived in Nashville for about ten months when B and I went to Sweet CeCe's for some frozen yogurt.  This is something we do a lot, but because of that day, I am changed.  There is a bulletin board in there that always has upcoming events that I always take a few minutes to peruse.  On that particular day, I was instantly drawn to a picture of Africa (like always).  I read about Ellie's Run For Africa on the flier and I told B that we HAD to do that 5k!  A couple of weeks later, I was wearing my sarong and beaded bands from Nairobi at the run.  After being at that event, I knew I wanted to take a more active role in Ellie's Run.

My first Ellie's Run!

Ellie and I!

Last year I signed up to be a Hero where I raised money through donations from my amazing family and friends.  I had purposely set my goal amount low because I didn't think anyone would really want to donate money and I didn't think I would be that good at asking for money.  I've never been good at face to face confrontation so I took to Facebook and email to just throw out there this idea that I had to help these kids in Nairobi get an education and some food and to help pay a teacher's salary.  I had surpassed that goal within a couple of days!  I was shocked!  I even won the adult Hero prize of a Kindle Fire for the money I helped raise!  It was an honor to wear my Hero t-shirt on race day with my sarong and beaded bracelets...and I'm doing it again this year!

B was working last year so E had to run with me.  It was her two month birthday that day. :)

I love getting to wear my Kenyan stuff!!!

Normally, I don't post one of my Thirty's until it is completed but since this is a fundraiser and I want to raise awareness along with money, I'm going to jump the gun a bit.  Below I have posted the link to what I have written on my Hero page and what was recently posted on the ERFA Hero blog that I was featured in last week.  Please take a moment to read about my heart. 

The Heart of a Hero  <------click there to read my story!!!

 

If you want to help out by donating money, GREAT!  Go to my Hero Profile HERE to do that.  If you want to sign up for the 5k if you live in the Nashville area, go to the website and sign up HERE.  The cost is only $30 for an individual with couple and family deals if you need them.  If you want to sign up to be a Hero, PLEASE DO!!!  Not only will you get an extra shirt with your first, non-personal, donation but you will help change lives!  You don't even have to live in Nashville to be a Hero.  There is a 12 year old girl (see her video HERE) that lives in Belgium that is kicking butt at collecting donations for New Dawn School.  Please take a moment to watch her video; it is awesome!  I don't even care if you donate to her Hero page instead of mine. Ha!  If you want to sign up to be a Hero, go HERE.  If you don't have the money or the crazy-passionate-about-this heart that I do, then please send prayers.  That is a huge way that ANYONE can help out and is always appreciated.

I know that there are a lot of links on here, but they are all worth the few minutes it takes to look through them. :)

For more information, go to https://www.elliesrun.org/

#16 & #17 Country Music Half Marathon

 


Again, I'm using a race for one of my thirty's. this race actual went to benefit TWO things which is why it is #s 16 & 17.



First off, the race itself sponsors St. Jude. There is a St. Jude in Memphis and they do some great things for kids. However, being the wife of a physician at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital here IN NASHVILLE, I kind of wish they would support locally. Either way, kids are being helped out and in the end, that is all that matter. :)

 

The second thing I ran for today were the people of Boston and everyone touched by the devastating Boston Bombings. I donated some money per mile ran to wear the Boston Angel. This week leading up to the race, I read a lot of accounts on the Runner's World website and that really fueled me to RUN ON. We were even given commemorative bands to wear in honor of that tragic day.







 

 On the left was what I had planned to wear in honor of Boston. The right is what I ended up wearing because it was raining so hard. This wasn't a nice Northwest kind of raining. It was a good ol' southern down pour. If you've been in the south, you know what I mean. Flash flood warnings were happening and the whole bit! Ugh!

 

I found my friend among 35,000 people and she's in the running club I'm in. We ran together to hit PRs for both of us. :) She was who I ran with a lot of the time after I had Elie because I had to push myself to stay with her. I credit a drop in 26 minutes from my first half marathon to keeping up with this lady!

 

My watch doesn't show the hour, but that is 1:56:36. My goal for this race was 1:55:59 but because of the rain, I'm good with my time. Especially since it beat my best half time of 1:57-something, IN THE RAIN!

 

Overall, a successful day! A better run than I had hoped for in the rain and helping out two great organizations in the process. :)

****CORRECTION****I started my watch at the wrong time apparently! :) Goal accomplished!