over $500 in 10 hours plus the life of a child

Last week (right before Christmas) I hit the wall.  An old friend had asked for my help.  She is the morning DJ for the local country music station, and the station was granting Christmas wishes to those in our community who were in need.  They got a letter from a Mom who simply wished for coats for her 3 kids.  My super-star-radio friend asked me to help. And I agreed.

It seemed easy enough.  I have contacts with large "big box" type stores, I thought I could make a few calls, send out some emails and have coats in a matter of hours.

Well, my plan was not coming together like I had hoped.  My goal was to at least get new coats...but also maybe hats and gloves too. The corporate contacts that I reached out to were not returning my calls, and I REFUSED to let my friend down...and I really wanted to be able to help this family. 

So, I reached out to you all on Facebook...and let me say, I was overwhelmed!  It was a last-ditch effort.  I didn't know what else to do - but I had to get the funds to buy the coats. 

At the 11th hour, literally, I posted a note on Facebook asking for donations. We were able to raise enough money for coats, hats and gloves for this family in need...but we also raised enough money to help another family and grant a second holiday wish through the radio station! 

I am honored to help with a third holiday wish - I will be helping a woman who has been searching for work for quite some time.  In partnership with the good people at Goodwill, we will be helping her with resume prep and getting her image PERFECT for interviews!

All of this giving was a great lesson to my 8 year old daughter.  I thought it was a good idea to take the spirit of giving one step further, and bring it right into our home. We talked a lot about who we would like to help and what we could do to help someone.  As a family, we decided to sponsor a child from India through World Vision. The little girl that we have decided to sponsor is the exact same age that our daughter is. 

What an amazing Christmas season this has been!  Thank you to my super-star-radio friend, Deb, for inspiring so much goodness.  And for allowing me to show my daughter what Christmas really means!

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank all of you who helped grant these Christmas wishes.  May the spirit of the season truly bless each and every one of you!   

Praying God's best for you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!