TND15 - Inspiration

Let me tell you a little story about an amazing young lady.  Her name is Emily.  She is 9 years old.  Before she was born, doctors told her Mommy that she wouldn't survive outside the womb.  Her Mommy prayed and prayed.  Emily had to have surgery when she was a tiny baby and only has one functioning lung today.  She is strong and smart and social and kind.  You would have never known she had any health issues.  She is a thriving, happy young lady. 

Emily has family in New Jersey and wanted to do something to help all those who were affected by the devastation caused by hurricane Sandy.  On her own, Emily did some major fundraising.  She wanted to make sure all of the funds went directly to the people, not to FEMA or Red Cross, where it may not be put to use immediately.  With the help of her Mommy, Emily began making phone calls to friends and family members asking for donations to help the victims of hurricane Sandy.  On her own, she was able to raise over $800 and that was in just 2 weeks time.  All of those funds have been donated to a local church in New Jersey and will be used to restock their food pantry, which helps feed those who don't have enough money to purchase groceries.  It will also provide food for their annual Thanksgiving dinner that they put on every year for those in need.  You see, they had already purchased their food for this dinner but it was all lost because of the power outages. 

Emily and her family have also sent several care packages with canned goods, non-perishables and other necessities.  Emily herself decided she wanted to include a gift card for $25 that she had just received for her birthday because she thought maybe another child could use it to replace some of the books they may have lost in the floods.

This amazing 9 year old who doctors thought would not survive is now impacting this world in a BIG way.  If she can do it, can't we all?

I was so very fortunate to get to hear this story face to face from Emily and her Mommy.  If you feel compelled to donate in some way, please contact a church in the disaster area and send a check or your care package directly to them.  There are so many people who are still without power and have lost so much.  Some time has past now and they are feeling forgotten.  I am planning to put together a package to send on my own.  If you have anything you'd like to contribute please comment here and we can get together.

Inspiration comes in many forms and for me this week it was in the form of a beautiful 9 year old girl.  Thank you, Emily.