Don’t you just love that story? I think it sets the perfect backdrop to help kick off September which is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Like saving all the starfish, curing cancer may appear to be an endless task. There are many miles to cover and the distance is daunting. But the beautiful thing is this…there’s always HOPE! Little changes have great impact. Big or small, young or old, rich or poor, each and every one of us can make a difference. No, we are not going to have the cure by tomorrow. Nor will we be able to provide help to every family who needs it. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference! Day by day (starfish by starfish) we can make life better for kids who are fighting cancer.

To help get you started, I’ve put together a little list of ways that YOU can make a difference in the fight against childhood cancer. Pick one. Pick 10. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you DO SOMETHING! If we each pick up even one starfish, together, we can clear that beach lickety-split!

• Join our email list so you can stay involved in the fight. (You can sign up at the bottom of this page)
• Commit to giving your next birthday. Ask for donations to AFF in lieu of gifts.
• Tell a friend about Addi’s Faith Foundation and our mission of funding research and helping families.
• Like us on Facebook. More importantly…click “See First” found under the like/following button. That way you’ll actually see what we post. ?
• Register for the 7th Annual Walk by Faith. Ask 5 friends to join you.
• Wear gold and tell people why it’s important to “go gold”. Need a shirt?
• Ask Congress to take action.
• Start a FUNdrasier. Have a bake sale, organize a casual day at work, hold a pizza eating contest…the skies the limit. Have fun with it!
• Donate
• Replace the lace. Change your shoestrings to gold this month.
• Educate yourself on childhood cancer.
• Pray…for the kids, for their families, for a cure. (You have your very own hyperlink 24/7!)
• Join AFF at the Astros vs. Rangers game and help Strike Out Childhood Cancer. More Info
• Understand why childhood cancer is different from adult and how it needs it’s own research. Video
• Follow us on Twitter
• Take a closer look at childhood cancer. Video
• Link your Kroger Plus Card and Randalls Remarkable Card to AFF. Here’s How
• Add a gold ribbon to your profile picture.
• Join in the Mothers Against Cancer run.
• Volunteer
• Find us on Instagram Post pics of you “going gold”.
• Make AFF your Reason 2 Race! Donate your next 5k, marathon, hike, bike, mudrun, color run, or any event to AFF. Here’s how.
• Join our Sunshine Circle and shine rays of HOPE to kids fighting cancer. This dedicated group gives a monthly gift (of any amount) that is automatically charged to their credit card. Just click “monthly” under donation frequency.
• Come to one of our spirit nights at Bahama Buck’s. 3 different nights – 3 different locations. 9/9 in Spring — 9/23 in Cypress — 10/14 in Atascocita.
• Purchase our pencils to give to trick-or-treaters at Halloween.

Well, that should certainly be enough to get ya started. Again, I ask you to please take this opportunity to DO SOMETHING to fight childhood cancer. Together, we can make a difference!

Go Gold!

Amber

Ugggg y’all! It’s a hot (and I mean, Texas-in-August hot!) day and I’m going through my mounds of mail.

Sitting before me, are 10 new applications requesting help from Addi’s Faith Foundation. TEN! And those are all from a 2 week time span. I’m reading things like:

• I’m off work until the end of the year without pay to take care of my daughter.
• We live far from the hospital so it is hard to get back and forth from home, hospital, and work.
• I have gotten behind in my bills and my car is in repo status. I am a single mother and I am having a hard time juggling everything.
• This has definitely been a struggle for our entire family but we have a strong little 4 year old who is going to fight this leukemia!

The struggle is real people. Caring for a child with cancer is a full time job and a drain on your resources. It’s not easy to put your sick child on the back burner so you can go to work. On the other hand, it’s equally difficult to not work and be without the money necessary to care for your child. It is a vicious cycle with no real winner.

I understand this better than most, and that is why we started Addi’s Faith Foundation. Luckily, I no longer have the struggles of caring for a sick child. (Truly people, poisoning your child with chemo is just flat our horrific). Now I have a different struggle…keeping up with the demand for help. AFF is receiving far more requests than we have the resources for and it is tugging on my heart. I do realize that we can’t help everyone (childhood cancer is not quite as rare as people would like to think!) But I’m finding it difficult to say, “I know your kid has cancer and is literally fighting for his life. I understand that you want to be by his side but also need to work. I sympathize with you, knowing that this is more than a parent can bear and I realize that you need help. But so sorry. Too bad. Can’t help ya.” Uggggg y’all! That just sucks!

I need your help and my appeal to you is this. Please consider a monthly donation to Addi’s Faith Foundation. Whether you give $10 a month or $100, your monthly gift will allow us to say, “Yes! We can help!”

It’s so easy to do! Simply donate online and check the ‘monthly’ box under ‘donation frequency’. Your card will be charged monthly and you won’t have to do anything else. Cancelling or changing your donation amount is as easy as contacting me.

I know that there are lots of worthy causes out there vying for your donations. I am also fully aware that I sound like Sally Struthers when I say that you can make a true difference for less than your monthly Starbucks fix. (Just because it sounds corny doesn’t mean it isn’t true!) But I do hope you will consider my plea and take the next step in becoming a monthly donor to Addi’s Faith Foundation.

Thanks in advance!

Amber