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<div>If all I can give is hope…

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<div>This is my 14th year teaching, and it’s the first year both of my boys have been in school (9th grade and kindergarten). It’s been a new adventure, but illness has swept through our house since early September. I’ve had Covid, the flu, and some recent virus that has collectively had me sick and out of work for over three weeks so far this school year. Both my boys have been sick even more. 

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<div>Last year, we almost lost Micah in December due to the flu and severe pneumonia that struck him at the same time, which almost made me have to cancel the Christmas project I do every year, as we were in this children’s hospital for two weeks. 

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<div>So it’s been a long year since then. Now, just looking out in the world, things seem so uncertain, I feel a heaviness inside, and have watched my mental health suffer for months now. 

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<div>As a teacher, the weight of the world is so much more evident as we interact with the future every day when we work with our students. We have the remarkable privilege of cultivating potential and self-worth at such early ages, and being afforded a chance to inspire and encourage young people to discovery who they truly are and believe in their unique gifts for which they bring into the world. No one told me how to handle watching those little lights start to dim, as they feel nothing matters or don’t believe they can make a difference anymore. I got prepared on the job for picking up pieces of a child’s heart that society has broken, trying fill the gaps with all the love in my own heart, but lately, I just haven’t felt like it’ll ever be enough. 

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<div>Recently I’ve had kids cry to me, scared they’ll lose their family when they already left a country that was in civil unrest. I had a student mourning the lost of a cousin who was killed at only 17, and still trying to complete his English homework because he didn’t want his mom to worry about his grades on top of losing her nephew. I have a student who just lost her dad two weeks ago and comes to school because home hurts too bad right now. Two students who spent the first two weeks of school  in mental health facilities but now have straight A’s because decided they didn’t want to give up, yet are fighting every day to not be discouraged with the events in the world. I have a group of students who come see me everyday who are stressed juggling jobs to help their families with bills but still found time to make me cards for my birthday or to wish me well, when I’ve been out. Every day I carry all of this in my head and heart when I walk to through halls as a teacher. 

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<div>My closest friends are teachers too. And I watch them bring breakfast for kids who never eat, or remember their favorite candy and make them birthday goodie bags when we all know it’ll be the only celebration they may get. In elementary school I’ve heard stories of so many kids who don’t have the right size shoes or jackets, and seen teachers take off their shoes right in the hall, to see if they fit the child, offering to meet their needs with what they have right where they are. They wait them then for hours after school when the bus to the group home forgets them. Or advocate to DSS when neglect and abuse are suspected. We have students with terminal illnesses, who won’t live to the end of the school year, and some students who don’t have a permanent home to go to each day, and we just….carry it. Trying to fill spaces with love, and look kids in the eyes and tell them how amazing they are, when the world is conditioning them through circumstance to believe differently. If I’m being honest, it all felt so heavy this year I didn’t know if I could take on the task of Operation Santa Claus. 

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<div>But I sat with God for a few days, silently, and I realized that need isn’t going anywhere, and if all I can give is hope, then maybe right now, it’s enough. 

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<div>Operation Santa Claus is a project that gives a Christmas gift to over 2,500 children in low income schools; schools where the stories I just told come from. It touches elementary students and high school students, but it’s so much bigger than giving presents, because this huge community service project is really, a gift of hope. 

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<div>When the world seems so big, and through the eyes of a child, they are searching for a sign that there’s still goodness, still something to look forward to, to hope for, this project that comes every year, is just a small reminder of the promise that better days will come. I don’t have all the answers or resources to meet the full needs of these children, I’m just one teacher. But I CAN continue to create a memory for children that shows them they matter, that through giving we can find joy, and there’s always a reason to have HOPE. That we must never give up our belief in a better tomorrow, even if today is hard. 

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<div>The future  depends on what we decide is important today. For me, protecting the hope of children is a value of mine.  My own life’s testimony has shown the importance of that. 

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<div>Love is always the right answer, with light is the only way, and hope is the anchor we need for the journey. 

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<div>So if you’re willing and able, please donate to our project this year, and help us join together for something good, to be able to give these children a great Christmas memory that is a stark contrast to their challenges, and an opportunity for all of us to serve our community.  We don’t have to wait for better days to show kids they’re worth our love now, and we can work to make the day better now, with help and support and each other. 

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Operation Santa Claus 2024

Donnell Washington is best known as an activist in the black lives matter movement in Charlotte, North Carolina. He dedicates himself to making a change in his community. His heart has always been to help others, whether that is the teens he served at the YMCA and those present at ImaginON. If I had to use one word to describe Donnell, that would be a servant as he has put others before self and we are asking you to do the same. At this time, he is making progress in an intensive care unit (ICU) after suffering a traumatic brain head injury, resulting in two brain bleeds leaving him unconscious. Currently, as he recovers, the family still awaits COVID-testing before making any visitations and asking for prayers. The family is also asking for donations to cover all medical expenses incurred. Please donate as you are lead to do so. The family is expecting a miracle!

Donations for Donnell Washington

<p><strong>The future of our world is only as bright as our girls.</strong><br /><br />Right now, more than 98 million adolescent girls worldwide are not in school. That’s why the Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, is teaming up with GoFundMe to encourage people around the world to take action by helping to break down the barriers that keep girls from fulfilling their potential.<br /><br />Some of these barriers are child marriage or early pregnancy. But often they are attitudes and beliefs—the belief that girls simply aren’t worthy of an education; that women should have no role outside the home; and that their bodies aren’t their own, their minds don’t really matter, and their voices shouldn’t be heard.<br /><br />When we invest in girls’ education, it doesn’t just benefit them—it benefits all of us. An educated girl can lift up her family, her community, and her country. When girls get the opportunities they deserve, amazing things start to happen. Poverty goes down, economies grow, families get stronger, babies are born healthier, and the world, by all accounts, gets better.<br /><br /><strong>Working together, we can make a difference for these girls. </strong><br /><br />Your support can help begin to remove some of these obstacles by providing tools, resources, and support to organizations on the ground working to change the lives of girls around the world. Donations made to the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund will go toward projects ranging from mentoring girls in Uganda to hiring educators in India to covering school-related expenses for girls in Guatemala. The paths and techniques to support these girls may be different, but they all share a common goal: to ensure that adolescent girls are able to achieve an education and fulfill their potential.<br /><br />Stay tuned here for updates on the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund and how it is making an impact on girls education around the world. <br /><br />To learn more about the Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation that seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, head to <a href="https://www.obama.org/girlsopportunityalliance/">GirlsOpportunityAlliance.org</a>.
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<p>Funds generated by this Girls Opportunity Alliance General Fund campaign are being distributed to support girls' education, including but not limited to the project-specific Girls Opportunity Alliance campaigns hosted on this website.<br />______________________<br /><br /><em>Your donation to benefit this campaign/project will be allocated to the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund (“GOA Fund”),  a project of GoFundMe.org (a U.S. public charity). The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund may grant a refund in limited circumstances at its sole and absolute discretion, however, donations are not refundable after the GoFundMe  payment platform has transferred your donation to the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund. Transfers from GoFundMe  to Girls Opportunity Alliance fund typically occur once monthly.  All donations are subject to the variance power of GoFundMe.org, as stated in the applicable <a href="https://www.gofundme.org/policies/">GoFundMe.org policies.</a> Subject to applicable law, donations may be tax-deductible.<br /></em><br /><em>The GOA Fund is restricted to supporting girls' education and your donation is made for the support of the above described project. Notwithstanding that the campaign description may name a specific organization that is anticipated to engage in the projects, GoFundMe.org retains variance power, that is, discretion and control over how funds are disbursed within the purposes of the GOA Fund generally, and within the purpose of the project specifically. For example, if the project does not reach its minimum fundraising goal, GoFundMe.org  may re-assign money raised to another campaign within the GOA Fund.</em><br /><br /><br /><em>As of April 11, 2019, the Direct Impact Fund operates as GoFundMe.org.<br />______________________<br /><br />Thank you to the P&amp;G Fund with support from Always for matching the first $250,000 in donations to support the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund.<br /><br /></em>
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The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund

<p>Please help my friend and her two children, age 1 and 12, get to safety. She is in an aggressive situation with her husband and he has cut off her bank accounts, phone, and taken her car keys. She needs to get out of the house, find somewhere to stay, get food and transportation to court, etc. Thank you in advance for your support. <br /><br />xoxo,<br />Melinda
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Get Mother To Safety

This is the official and only GoFundMe account for Pastor Leroy K. Dunlap. Hi, my family and I are raising funds for my father Pastor Leroy K. Dunlap(or Pop as we his children refer to him). He is senior Pastor at Redemption Christian Ministries located in Charlotte, NC. He is a four year Navy veteran. Pop's an entreprenuer of a budding home repair business (MD Construction) with his wife of one year. Pop is a father of seven children, and grandfather of ten granchildren, and a granddog. He is known for his quiet but determined persistance to be an advocate for those in need. On Thursday, November 5th at 6:32pm, Pastor Dunlap was helping a stranded motortist on the side of the highway and instantly became a victim of a hit and run accident, which amputated his right leg upon contact as well as breaking his left in various places. As a family we are asking for any financial support from family, friends and those who just feel the need to give. Every donation will be used for medical expenses, recurring bills, physical therapy and other expenses as we aid our father in his recovery from this life altering accident.<br /><img class="not-resizeable" src="https://2dbdd5116ffa30a49aa8-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/6742039_1446941818.9152_funddescription.jpg" width="100%" alt="6742039_1446941818.9152_funddescription." />

Pastor Helping Others Needs Help

It’s been a week and I’ve been completely avoiding the internet and all social media, for some reasons more obvious than others. I thought I had been through the worst after enduring a funeral that only referred to him by birth name, used incorrect pronouns, and refused to acknowledge his accomplishments.<br /><br />Yet here I am, seething and bewildered by how horrible people can be. Especially those who want to cling to their title of “family.”<br /><br />These are the people who cried on me pleading to know “why he didn’t reach out to them,” misgendering him throughout their questions. The first person I called once I arrived at the scene and identified him was his nephew. Not his father or aunts/uncles who actually live in the area because I knew how they'd be. His father even lunged at me when I corrected him on pronouns when he got to the scene. These people weren’t even able to provide any accurate or concrete identifying marks or tattoos so that the police could verify that they were his family and that it was him. They weren’t even able to describe his hair. And once it was time to make arrangements, I shared pictures of his handwritten will with them. They barely had interest in complying. He wanted to be cremated and have his ashes spread on Folly Beach, and they gave their word that they would. But considering how they’ve been, I’m honestly terrified that they actually won’t but told me they would just to appease me.<br /><br />And this morning, after thinking that the worst has been over, I got a call from one of his cousins. She asked me if I would take down his facebook at the family’s request. Absolutely not! How dare they attempt to erase him like this?! Because his identity and accomplishments make them uncomfortable? Because it forces them to look at themselves? Reminds them of the consequences of their abusive nature?<br /><br />No, I have absolutely no intention of taking down anything. Or giving up his possessions to them. He even put it in his will that it’ll all go to his best friend, and to leave it up to him. The cousin I talked to said they planned on fighting us (Blair [his best friend], AJ [his roommate and arrived at the scene as I did], and I) legally on this. We are ready to confront this with all of our resources. I am filled with a rage strong enough to keep me going despite having slept less than 25hrs this week. I am ready to do whatever is in my power to ensure that Blake’s memory lives on, that he is remembered for him, and his identity is not something that can be ignored.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Please help get the word out.

Remember Me For Me Or Not At All

Autumn Alston

Autumn Alston

Autumn Alston

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