Help fund Maya's Rest
Spende geschützt
On the 2nd of December 2011, a beautiful baby girl was born. Her name was Maya Ashlyn Maguire, and she was the second child of Natasha & Mark, a little sister to Amelia. After a perfect pregnancy and birth, a lump was found on baby Maya, and so began the toughest 2 years of their life.
Maya was born with a rare form of soft tissue cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma. Her short 2 year life was full of doctors, tests, chemo, radiation, MRI’s, and so many things a child and parent should not have to endure.
Maya was granted her angel wings on the 27th of November 2013, just 5 days shy of her 2nd birthday.
Maya met and inspired so many people in her short life – her smile could light up a room, and her strength and determination was like no other. A family friend wrote the below poem about Maya:
'Maya, I never heard a laugh so great
A light surrounding someone so brightly
Looked at someone so small
And had no wisdom to impart
Only lessons to be learned.'
- Marie McGregor-Wenman
Three months before Maya passed, her amazing mum Natasha started Warming Beautiful Souls, an organisation that puts smiles on the faces of sick children by distributing donated gifts to families during hospitalisation. In 2 years WBS has managed to distribute thousands of gifts to children in 8 hospitals throughout Australia.
But this wasn’t enough for Mark & Natasha. They wanted to do more, and they wanted to help other families who were in the same situation that they had been.
Whilst Maya was sick, the family had spent a lot of time at Bear Cottage, a children’s hospice centre in Manly, NSW. Maya had loved Bear Cottage; it was a place that helped take away the pain, and a place that helped Maya feel like Maya again.
Respite centres for families are few and far between, so Mark, Natasha & Amelia set out to build “Maya’s Rest”, a purpose built home, offering non medically assisted respite for families of children who are undergoing active treatment for life threatening illnesses.
Maya’s Rest is a peaceful place families can escape to, where they will be given a comfortable place to stay, provided with meals and optional activities to allow them to concentrate on spending time together and making precious memories. Families will be invited into the home of a family who knows first hand how hard the journey they are on can be. This service will be offered free of charge to approved families, like a B&B but with no costs involved and all meals provided.
Maya’s Rest is due to open in January 2016. The house has been completed and work has commenced on landscaping, gardens, play areas and a reflection area.
I have known Natasha since high school and one thing I remember about her is her amazing smile – just like Maya, she could light up a room with her smile. Her face is always a glowing light of positivity and happiness, and she has never been one to dwell or feel sorry for herself. We have kept in touch via Facebook and I have followed Maya’s story from the beginning.
Mark & Natasha have financed this project all themselves, and I for one, am blown away by their generosity, kindness and humility in what has been the hardest 4 years of their lives. Throughout the grief of Maya’s illness and death, they have always been thinking of others and how they can help them.
I am putting the word out – The Ten Dollar project wants to raise $5,000 for Maya’s Rest by finding 500 people to donate just $10. Maya’s Rest needs mobility equipment for the house and play equipment for the children’s play area. To fund this equipment would be a massive financial boost to Mark & Natasha and will really put them in good stead to open in January 2016.
The funds will go towards purchasing the following equipment: (prices approximate)
* Paediatric cot & Mattress - $3,000
* Mobility Ramps x 3 - $650
* Shower chair and accessories - $200
* Toilet Chair - $150
* Equipment for playground - $1,000
Can you help? Please donate $10 today!
**Please note that Maya’s Rest is not a registered charity with the ATO so donations are not tax deductible.
For more information on Maya’s Rest, visit:
http://www.mayasrest.com
https://www.facebook.com/respiteatmayasrest
To read Maya’s Journey, visit:
http://www.mayasrest.com/meet-maya.php
To donate to Warming Beautiful Souls, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/warmingbeautifulsouls
To follow our fundraising progress, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/thetendollarproject
Maya was born with a rare form of soft tissue cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma. Her short 2 year life was full of doctors, tests, chemo, radiation, MRI’s, and so many things a child and parent should not have to endure.
Maya was granted her angel wings on the 27th of November 2013, just 5 days shy of her 2nd birthday.
Maya met and inspired so many people in her short life – her smile could light up a room, and her strength and determination was like no other. A family friend wrote the below poem about Maya:
'Maya, I never heard a laugh so great
A light surrounding someone so brightly
Looked at someone so small
And had no wisdom to impart
Only lessons to be learned.'
- Marie McGregor-Wenman
Three months before Maya passed, her amazing mum Natasha started Warming Beautiful Souls, an organisation that puts smiles on the faces of sick children by distributing donated gifts to families during hospitalisation. In 2 years WBS has managed to distribute thousands of gifts to children in 8 hospitals throughout Australia.
But this wasn’t enough for Mark & Natasha. They wanted to do more, and they wanted to help other families who were in the same situation that they had been.
Whilst Maya was sick, the family had spent a lot of time at Bear Cottage, a children’s hospice centre in Manly, NSW. Maya had loved Bear Cottage; it was a place that helped take away the pain, and a place that helped Maya feel like Maya again.
Respite centres for families are few and far between, so Mark, Natasha & Amelia set out to build “Maya’s Rest”, a purpose built home, offering non medically assisted respite for families of children who are undergoing active treatment for life threatening illnesses.
Maya’s Rest is a peaceful place families can escape to, where they will be given a comfortable place to stay, provided with meals and optional activities to allow them to concentrate on spending time together and making precious memories. Families will be invited into the home of a family who knows first hand how hard the journey they are on can be. This service will be offered free of charge to approved families, like a B&B but with no costs involved and all meals provided.
Maya’s Rest is due to open in January 2016. The house has been completed and work has commenced on landscaping, gardens, play areas and a reflection area.
I have known Natasha since high school and one thing I remember about her is her amazing smile – just like Maya, she could light up a room with her smile. Her face is always a glowing light of positivity and happiness, and she has never been one to dwell or feel sorry for herself. We have kept in touch via Facebook and I have followed Maya’s story from the beginning.
Mark & Natasha have financed this project all themselves, and I for one, am blown away by their generosity, kindness and humility in what has been the hardest 4 years of their lives. Throughout the grief of Maya’s illness and death, they have always been thinking of others and how they can help them.
I am putting the word out – The Ten Dollar project wants to raise $5,000 for Maya’s Rest by finding 500 people to donate just $10. Maya’s Rest needs mobility equipment for the house and play equipment for the children’s play area. To fund this equipment would be a massive financial boost to Mark & Natasha and will really put them in good stead to open in January 2016.
The funds will go towards purchasing the following equipment: (prices approximate)
* Paediatric cot & Mattress - $3,000
* Mobility Ramps x 3 - $650
* Shower chair and accessories - $200
* Toilet Chair - $150
* Equipment for playground - $1,000
Can you help? Please donate $10 today!
**Please note that Maya’s Rest is not a registered charity with the ATO so donations are not tax deductible.
For more information on Maya’s Rest, visit:
http://www.mayasrest.com
https://www.facebook.com/respiteatmayasrest
To read Maya’s Journey, visit:
http://www.mayasrest.com/meet-maya.php
To donate to Warming Beautiful Souls, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/warmingbeautifulsouls
To follow our fundraising progress, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/thetendollarproject
Organisator
Rachel Muraca
Organisator
Balwyn North VIC