I just made a donation to the Fisher House to support the great work they are doing. The Fisher House provides a home away from home for the families of America’s soldiers who often have to travel long distances to receive specialized medical care.
This is a great cause and your help is needed this holiday season to make sure the families of our wounded soldiers can be close to a loved one at these most stressful times.
Thank you, and Happy Holidays!
‘Skate for Sully’ is happening tomorrow at 2pm at Smithfield Municipal Hockey Rink.
I want to make a last minute push for more contributions. We have received $205 dollars in contributions (thanks so much!!) so far.
Here is a news article in the Valley Breeze that tells Shannon’s story. (Excerpt below):
SMITHFIELD – When 5-foot, 1-inch Shannon Sullivan became the first girl to play varsity hockey here, in 1991, she despaired of looking dainty – so before each game she would tuck her flowing, flame-red hair into her helmet.
Her opponents cut her no slack on the ice; she remembers once being checked so hard that “I had to crawl back to the bench – I could barely catch my breath.”
Now, the glory of two high school championships is long past, and at 32, she concedes with characteristic understatement that “I’m kind of in a pickle.”
A fighter by nature, Sullivan is confronting hard times. And once again on her mind are those trademark, shoulder-length curls.
She pauses for a moment in a conversation laced with humor and composure, and then confides, “The first time I cried was last Thursday, when my hair was falling out in my hands.”
That was the private Shannon Sullivan few see as she confronts her second bout with cancer in four years – but true to form that day, she quickly reached for the positive. Her tears dried, she says, and she took control.
“I told myself, ‘Get the razor and shave it all off’ – then I was fine.”
If you have the time and the inclination, please consider making a small donation using the ChipIn widget below.
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I am collecting contributions from my readers in order to send a laptop to a child in a developing country. For those not familiar with the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Program, you can read about it here.
If you are interested, please use the widget below to donate or by using this link. All donation will be sent to my PayPal account. When I reach my goal, I will donate all the funds collected to the OLPC program. Any contribution at all is appreciated.
Gifts in kind giving is a great way to give this holiday/New Year season. Often times there is a lot of overhead involved with your cash donations where gifts in kind have a more direct impact on the charity itself. Money aside, there is also the feeling that you have actually made a difference when you donate your time or materials.
Have a look at the websites of your favorite charities (here’s one, here’s another) to see what services or materials they are in need of. You may find services they need that you are expert in (a web developer for a charity in need of a website; a homeless shelter that needs their front stairs replaced, etc).