So I have decided what my lenten activity is going to be this year. The best one I actually saw (well the one I like the most) was, "donate an item you don't use every day for 40 days". Unfortunately as I am new here and with a skeleton crew of stuff I don't have anything to really donate. All my crap is back in my lock-up in Manchester!
Another good one was volunteering. But unfortunately with my hectic and ever changing schedule here in the US I didn't want to commit to something that I wouldn't be able to follow through. Once I get a bit more into a groove then I still intend to do that, but not right now.
I finally decided on two things.
1) I am going to donate a single item from my cupboard (or my weekly shop) each day. Then when Easter Sunday comes (and Katie is here) we are going to go to the local food bank and donate it. It's not much, but it is something.
2) Every day I am going to mention on my blog a charity which I think is worthwhile and deserving of your time and (hopefully) money. Some will be local here in BR, some in Houston, some local to Manchester and others very close to my heart. I will be donating to each and every one of them too. A small gesture I admit, but hopefully every little bit can help.
Today's charity is one that is very close to my heart and one that I had the privilege of being a trustee of for a short period of time, Friends of Serenity. They do have a website but I think they are most active on the Facebook page. A quick bit of history behind the charity - shamelessly stolen from said website as Jo is far more eloquent than I when talking about this:
Friends of Serenity is a non-profit organisation that was set up by Joanne Edwards at the end of May 2013 after she lost her son Luke, earlier that year, as a result of Trisomy 13. Friends of Serenity has a few main aims;
To preserve and protect the health of sick pregnant women and those who have suffered a miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death in particular but not exclusively by:
(i) providing and assisting in the provision of facilities and equipment at East Lancashire Women and New Born Centre not normally provided by the statutory authorities.
(ii) supporting newly bereaved parents by the provision of memory boxes.
(iii) providing qualified information by any means appropriate on the chromosome disorder Trisomy 13 for the public benefit.
I've no idea how much Jo, Mark and the others have raised in the nearly 7 years of tireless work, but it is a staggering amount - and a real testament to the power of positivity in the face of overwhelming pain and anguish. They continue to be an inspiration to me today and I am so proud to have been a part of everything they are continuing to do.
So please, if you have something spare, make a trip to their JustGiving page and give anything you can. Friends of Serenity really makes a difference to people's lives, they help families to take the positives from situations where there seems no hope and they have created a loving community which enriches all those involved daily.
If anyone has any charities close to their heart please let me know. I am hoping to promote as many as possible over the next few months. The world is a great place, and humans can show levels of kindness that are breathtaking. Let's bring some harmony and love back into a world which desperately needs it.
Till tomorrow, Tom
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