....be a blessing
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“Prepare yourself, so that you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud...somebody who may not look like you, may not call God by the same name as you, may not eat the same dishes or dance your dances or speak your language...be a blessing to somebody.
~Maya Angelou
As many of you know, I have four beautiful children, each of them kind, safe and healthy. My oldest son Ehret is 23. He graduated from West Point in 2015 and is now a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Stowe, 21, is a sophomore at West Point. He also has a five year commitment to the Army upon his 2018 graduation. Grace, 14, and Luna, 3, are my awesome daughters. They are all looking at bright futures…we are so fortunate.
While I have always had a world view, my interest in existing or potential military conflict in the world has sharpened considerably since both of my sons volunteered to military service commitments.
While reading one night, I came across the heartbreaking story of Aylan Kurdi. Aylan, his mother and sister drowned in an attempt to flee the war in Syria. Unfortunately, their tragedy is not unique. It repeats itself over and over again. In January alone, 58,000 refugees traveled in smuggler’s boats from Turkey to Greece. Over 100 drowned. Most were children. Heartbreaking.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/aylan-kurdi-s-story-how-a-small-syrian-child-came-to-be-washed-up-on-a-beach-in-turkey-10484588.html
Soon after, I read about Cristal Logothetis, a California mom concerned about Syrian families like Aylan’s. Less than a year ago, she founded Carry the Future-CTF. Her organization and its inspiring volunteers collect used baby carriers and supplies that are delivered to refugee families who have been forced from their homes…families who have nothing but their arms to carry their children and remaining possessions to any possible safety. Wow, I thought, how cool is that? So, I “liked” the CTF FB page, left a comment of support and admiration, and that was it, or so I thought.
http://www.today.com/video/american-moms-mission-to-bring-help-to-syrian-refugee-mothers-557176899592
Around 11:00 p.m. on November 25, 2015, Thanksgiving Eve, I abruptly sat up in bed and messaged Cristal on FB to volunteer my help. She accepted my offer with enthusiasm. After going back to bed, I remember asking myself, did you really just agree to help a bunch of moms collect baby carriers for Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees? I can’t explain precisely why I felt compelled to contact Cristal at that late hour of the night. I just did
The next day, I read a FB post from the wife of a childhood friend…he and I had recently reconnected after 30 years. She shared breathtaking testimony about the loss of their child in utero which had occurred late on November 25, Thanksgiving Eve. Their beautiful, full term girl was delivered the following day, Thanksgiving. Her name is Carwyn. My friend shared in such a powerful way how he and his wife spoke to her, kissed her, loved on her and said goodbye to her.
I have no idea how to effectively put into words what I felt on that same day. Ultimately, while sitting in a warm safe place with my own safe, happy kids, they along with Aylan and Carwyn moved me deeply to fully commit to CTF’s cause. I had to do something, so I just started doing it.
Since that day, I have been all in with the baby carrier collections gang. I am now the Colorado State Coordinator for Carry the Future, and I have a guest room full of carriers and supplies that have been donated by caring Coloradans across the state. My daughters and I are hosting a packing party at my home in Denver on February 28th. I will be travelling to Greece with CTF team #5 on March 13th to deliver 1,400 pounds of carriers and other relief supplies to refugees (socks, mittens, protein bars and simple, handwritten notes of support and encouragement). We will also fit and teach families how to use these simple but invaluable carriers that most of us take for granted. Once fitted, the refugee families will continue their journey from the Port of Piraeus (Athens) to Germany or anywhere else in Europe or the world, whose people are compassionate enough to take them in. My simple prayer is that they all find a safe place to call home again.
I am asking for your support. $1,500 will help fund my trip to Athens. This includes flights, modest lodging and baggage expenses for the carriers and other relief supplies. Any remaining funds from this campaign will be donated to CTF to be used for supplies and similar volunteer trips to follow.
Thank you Ehret, Stowe, Grace, Luna, Aylan and Carwyn for inspiring me to use my free time to do something good for someone else. You have all moved me in ways I will never be able to put into words. Thank you FB friends for your support and taking the time to read to the end.
If you’d like become involved, donate your own used carriers, start a carrier drive in your community, or travel with a team delivering this important aid to refugees please visit:
www.carrythefuture.org
or
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1490076764631037/
Additional links on the crisis are below:
Why are the refugees leaving the safety of their homes?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/drone-footage-reveals-devastation-of-homs-in-syria-as-europes-stance-towards-refugees-hardens-a6849311.html
Unimagineable:
The latest on the Syrian crisis:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/11/opinions/syria-candidates-should-discuss-ghitis/index.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/05/syrian-refugee-numbers-continue-to-build-on-turkish-border
My inspiration to do something:
~Maya Angelou
As many of you know, I have four beautiful children, each of them kind, safe and healthy. My oldest son Ehret is 23. He graduated from West Point in 2015 and is now a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Stowe, 21, is a sophomore at West Point. He also has a five year commitment to the Army upon his 2018 graduation. Grace, 14, and Luna, 3, are my awesome daughters. They are all looking at bright futures…we are so fortunate.
While I have always had a world view, my interest in existing or potential military conflict in the world has sharpened considerably since both of my sons volunteered to military service commitments.
While reading one night, I came across the heartbreaking story of Aylan Kurdi. Aylan, his mother and sister drowned in an attempt to flee the war in Syria. Unfortunately, their tragedy is not unique. It repeats itself over and over again. In January alone, 58,000 refugees traveled in smuggler’s boats from Turkey to Greece. Over 100 drowned. Most were children. Heartbreaking.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/aylan-kurdi-s-story-how-a-small-syrian-child-came-to-be-washed-up-on-a-beach-in-turkey-10484588.html
Soon after, I read about Cristal Logothetis, a California mom concerned about Syrian families like Aylan’s. Less than a year ago, she founded Carry the Future-CTF. Her organization and its inspiring volunteers collect used baby carriers and supplies that are delivered to refugee families who have been forced from their homes…families who have nothing but their arms to carry their children and remaining possessions to any possible safety. Wow, I thought, how cool is that? So, I “liked” the CTF FB page, left a comment of support and admiration, and that was it, or so I thought.
http://www.today.com/video/american-moms-mission-to-bring-help-to-syrian-refugee-mothers-557176899592
Around 11:00 p.m. on November 25, 2015, Thanksgiving Eve, I abruptly sat up in bed and messaged Cristal on FB to volunteer my help. She accepted my offer with enthusiasm. After going back to bed, I remember asking myself, did you really just agree to help a bunch of moms collect baby carriers for Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees? I can’t explain precisely why I felt compelled to contact Cristal at that late hour of the night. I just did
The next day, I read a FB post from the wife of a childhood friend…he and I had recently reconnected after 30 years. She shared breathtaking testimony about the loss of their child in utero which had occurred late on November 25, Thanksgiving Eve. Their beautiful, full term girl was delivered the following day, Thanksgiving. Her name is Carwyn. My friend shared in such a powerful way how he and his wife spoke to her, kissed her, loved on her and said goodbye to her.
I have no idea how to effectively put into words what I felt on that same day. Ultimately, while sitting in a warm safe place with my own safe, happy kids, they along with Aylan and Carwyn moved me deeply to fully commit to CTF’s cause. I had to do something, so I just started doing it.
Since that day, I have been all in with the baby carrier collections gang. I am now the Colorado State Coordinator for Carry the Future, and I have a guest room full of carriers and supplies that have been donated by caring Coloradans across the state. My daughters and I are hosting a packing party at my home in Denver on February 28th. I will be travelling to Greece with CTF team #5 on March 13th to deliver 1,400 pounds of carriers and other relief supplies to refugees (socks, mittens, protein bars and simple, handwritten notes of support and encouragement). We will also fit and teach families how to use these simple but invaluable carriers that most of us take for granted. Once fitted, the refugee families will continue their journey from the Port of Piraeus (Athens) to Germany or anywhere else in Europe or the world, whose people are compassionate enough to take them in. My simple prayer is that they all find a safe place to call home again.
I am asking for your support. $1,500 will help fund my trip to Athens. This includes flights, modest lodging and baggage expenses for the carriers and other relief supplies. Any remaining funds from this campaign will be donated to CTF to be used for supplies and similar volunteer trips to follow.
Thank you Ehret, Stowe, Grace, Luna, Aylan and Carwyn for inspiring me to use my free time to do something good for someone else. You have all moved me in ways I will never be able to put into words. Thank you FB friends for your support and taking the time to read to the end.
If you’d like become involved, donate your own used carriers, start a carrier drive in your community, or travel with a team delivering this important aid to refugees please visit:
www.carrythefuture.org
or
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1490076764631037/
Additional links on the crisis are below:
Why are the refugees leaving the safety of their homes?
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/drone-footage-reveals-devastation-of-homs-in-syria-as-europes-stance-towards-refugees-hardens-a6849311.html
Unimagineable:
The latest on the Syrian crisis:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/11/opinions/syria-candidates-should-discuss-ghitis/index.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/05/syrian-refugee-numbers-continue-to-build-on-turkish-border
My inspiration to do something:
Organizer
Woody Faircloth
Organizer
Denver, CO
