I hope you all know by now that I really like to help others. It’s very important to me! Here are a few things I’d like to share with you and maybe you’d like to help bring smiles to people’s faces by helping out!
First, I’d like to tell you that a friend I went to high school with is the father of 4 and has been diagnosed with stage 4 terminal Esophogeal Cancer. Lewis was always a great guy, and the true testament of who is was/is can be found when 3 friends who he has known for as long as I have known him or longer took time from their lives to go visit him in Maine – one friend driving up from Florida! If you would like to help Lewis and his family while he is undergoing any possible treatment and unable to work, you can make a donation of any size (nothing is too small or too big) by going to Lewis’ GoFundMe page which was set up by his family.
Next, unfortunately I have a few prescriptions I take each day and with that comes a landfill full of empty prescription pill bottles. Yes, they are recyclable, but there are so many of them just cluttering up the place! I recently came across a blog post where they mentioned that they collect these prescription bottles to use for those in Malawi who are currently receiving medicine wrapped in torn pieces of paper. Because these people live in a very poor area of the world the resources we have in the U.S. are simply not available to them. We can all help by sending our empty bottles to them! Not only will you avoid so much waste going into landfills, you will be helping someone in need! Check out the blog post “Medicine Bottles for Malawi” for more information. They offer instructions for easily removing the labels and an address where you can ship the ones you have saved up!
Also, remember last year when I participated in the Elfster gift for the Butterfly Fund helping children with a very rare skin condition called Epidermolysis Bullosa. Well, I came across an incredibly touching video not long ago and it tugged at my heart strings so much I immediately reached out to Meghan who had put that gift exchange together. I let her know that I absolutely wanted to be a part of it again this year. As of right now they are not sure if they will do another exchange this year for that same group, but she is hosting one right now (deadline is May 15, 2015 to sign up) that will help get gifts for children in foster care. It is in conjunction with the group First Place For Youth and all gifts will help to brighten the day of a foster child who is transitioning out of the system and into independent living. If you want to participate in the Elfster gift buying fun, you can register on Elfster.
Bosley…the little guy who started it all!
Last, but not least, my friend Jennifer has been so busy working on a terrific worthy cause these days! Not long after she lost her beloved 4-legged boy, she visited a shelter to volunteer. After completing the required forms, she was on her way out the door when she encountered a little puppy for which the staff were ferociously trying to find a foster. He was in dire straights as most, if not all animal shelters, are not equipped to intake puppies under 8 weeks of age; this little guy was only 2 weeks old. It was the end of the work week, and if Jennifer had not stepped in it is likely that little peanut would have been euthanized and would not have been able to grow to be a healthy dog who was able to go on to be a wonderful pet!
That experience led Jennifer to start Bosley’s Place to care for the tiniest of tiny babies who need extra special care (all of the puppies she saves are neonatal and require bottle-feeding) and nurturing in their early days in order to grow and lead full lives! There are many ways you can help Bosley’s Place – including shopping and simply taking your dog for a walk! Visit Bosley’s Place website and see how you can Help Now. Also, if you purchase one of my doggy bandanas and I will donate $1.00-2.00 per bandana (depending on size) to Bosley’s Place. They are a registered 501(c)3 licensed animal rescue organization in the State of Georgia so all donations are 100% tax deductible (EIN 47-2484218). If your employer offers matching donations don’t forget to submit paperwork to grant Bosley’s Place even more money! 
What ways do you help others? Do you have any favorite organizations you help out?
Trackbacks/Pingbacks