Week 24 - Spa Day for a Deserving Friend

In my year of giving so far, I've realized that giving to a friend in person is so much more fun than sending money away to the abyss. Although I research my organizations, and am positive that they are worthy causes, its just not the same as the personal touch of giving directly to a friend.

This week, I am hoping to ease the stress for only a day for a close friend. She has been subjected to more tribulations in a short period of time than any one person should have to endure. A painful divorce, followed by  the drastic up and down of a rebound relationship. Next her mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. Amidst doctors appointments and keeping up with her mother's health, she suffered the devastating loss of her dear older old dog. Then last year, her father was diagnosed with serious sarcomatoid mesothelioma, which is the most aggressive type.

The loss of a pet is one of the most heart wrenching life experiences.

My friend has held her head up and taken on the majority of the care, medical and emotional needs of both of her parents. She is taking FMLA leave from work to care for them and shuttle them to and from appointments with specialists long distances from home. The love and dedication she has shown to her family is an inspiration.

I believe people come into your life for a reason and she came into mine for a very specific reason many years ago. She has been my confidante when I needed a shoulder and helped me to learn how to talk about the hard stuff and be honest with myself. We have spent many tearful and joyful hours on the phone over the years since we don't get to see each other nearly enough in person.

So this week I'm giving her a spa gift certificate that I hope she will use to take a day off from her life. It is well deserved. Love you girl! (you know who you are)

Week 23 - American Heart Association

Week 23 is in support of a friend who is walking with her daughter in an American Heart Walk event in Rocky Neck, Connecticut. My donation will help her achieve her fundraising goals and will also be matched 100% by my company.

The American Heart Association has a simple mission, "Building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke." They do so through 6 areas of focus: Improving patient care, advocating for better health, reaching out to populations at risk, raising awareness, protecting the future and education Americans.

The focus on protecting the future is the most meaningful to me. Currently 1 in 3 children in this country are overweight or obese which leads directly to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. This is a staggering statistic which is so preventable. It is our job as a responsible society to protect our children and help them grow up to be healthy functioning adults. Right now, we are failing one third of our children and that is unacceptable.

We are being immersed in a culture where entertainment and food are inseparable. Our kids are being raised on prepackaged, long shelf life, food substitutes. They are being trained on words like flavor burst, power punch, taste explosion and normal healthy food cannot compete with the flavor scientists who are striving to get them addicted to Doritos and Mountain Dew.

And this is a HARD habit to break. My husband and I try very hard to avoid most processed foods in our household. And yet they are a prevailing force especially when grandparents are involved. Believe me, kids deprived of packaged cookies are like ravenous panthers when a bag appears secretly at the hands of a grandparent!

We are led to believe that we aren't good parents if we don't spoil our kids with food. I believe exactly the opposite. We as parents need to do everything in our power to raise kids who understand the difference between food and food substitutes like Capri Sun, gummy fruit snacks and yogurt snacks all of which are different forms of high fructose corn syrup. Not a food.

So jumping down from my soap box, I do appreciate the mission of the American Heart Association and am pleased to support my friend and the fun day she and her daughter will have together on the walk.

For more information, check out her fundraising page here.

Happy Thursday!

Week 22 - Studio Desmeen New Studio Fund

Performance at the Franklin Farmer's Market

I've been learning the art of belly dance since 2009 when my husband was deployed to Iraq. I needed an outlet from a very stressful home life with a newborn, a 3 year old, a master's degree in the works and a corporate career. I was overwhelmed and drowning in responsibilities.

I heard about an adult education class in belly dance and was intrigued. None of my friends would sign up with me, so I registered for the class and went by myself. After the first 15 minutes I was hooked. The music, the laughter, the beauty, and the camaraderie of a handful of moms brave enough to try something new was intoxicating. After the six week class was over, I wanted more. But I didn't want to just learn the basics, I wanted to really learn the craft.

That's when I found Studio Desmeen. The first time I called, I was daunted to learn there was no beginner class available and I would have to join a group of girls who had been dancing together for 7 years. I am NOT a dancer. I had flashbacks to floundering through an aerobics classes always doing the exact opposite of everyone else while the veterans of the class lost patience with me. But something inside of me wasn't ready to give up, so I showed up to the first class with all the bravery I could muster.

And it was HARD. And I was terrible at it. But these women welcomed me with open arms. We laughed together, they empathized with me and they accepted me as is, lack of rhythm and all. The second class they invited me to jump in and try the choreography with them. And it was then that I decided I was going to learn it, no matter what.

Fast forward 2 years to April of this year. Our Desmeen came to class and announced calmly that the Studio was closing, she needed some time off and she couldn't promise she would ever be back. We were devastated. The next several weeks, we danced without our hearts. We could all go elsewhere to other studios, but it wouldn't be the same and we would lose each other as dance sisters.

Our Farewell Party to Studio Desmeen in it's original location

We decided to try to maintain the studio rent on our own for the next few months. Some of the most experienced girls taught the classes and collected the money to keep the studio going, but the lease was over for good at the end of July. Desmeen came back to rehearse for a performance we had scheduled and told us that she was negotiating a lease on a new studio just blocks from the current one!

There is nothing that makes me happier than helping to support the new studio. Dancing with Desmeen and my sisters in dance have given me so much joy over the past few years. Currently, we are raising funds to replace the carpet in the new space with something friendlier to dancing feet.

Find Studio Desmeen on Facebook.