Thursday, November 7, 2013

Lasting Impressions

I'm home for the second day with a sick little one, and it has given me some time to think about a conversation I had the other day with some co-workers.  We were talking about the importance of connecting with the kids we work with on a daily basis. It brought me back to my job as a direct care worker at a very special place.

Years ago, when I worked at Divine Providence (a residential institution for girls & women with disabilities) I was struck by a message shared with us by a priest during a community mass.  It was a story that described how every single interaction with a human being, child or adult, disabled or not, created an impression.  

Imagine the child as a ball of clay.  Every person who has contact with the clay, creates an impression.  Even if it seemed trivial, or fleeting,  even a minor interaction would  leave a fingerprint.  Regardless of how little it seemed, it still mattered.  It still left something lasting, tied to the person who held it in their hand.  Over time, the clay gets handled frequently, but HOW it is handled matters.  If it's treated gently, it remains in it's shape, pliable.  If it is roughed up, or forcibly handled, over time it becomes less pliable, hardens, dries up and crumbles.  It's kind of what happens to children who can't catch a break.  The kids who don't have someone looking out for them.

Maybe in that child's life, that ball of clay, gets tossed around, no one noticing how it is roughed up, disfigured, drying up, hardening....then what do we end up with?  A child lost.  The kids we see on the news.  The kids who end up hating their life, and everything around them.  


Teachers have an important role in this story...we interact with so many children throughout the day.  I saw this TED talk video today, and it seemed to make perfect sense.  It's worth watching.  Focus on the good.  Focus on the relationship.  Build kids up, and they won't let us down.

Have a great day~
{Jenn}


Friday, November 1, 2013

March On...

As parents, we would do anything for our kids, right?

Imagine that your child wanted a bike, but there was nothing available for them that would suit their special considerations.  I'm pretty sure I would be frustrated...and annoyed...


But let's say you were a really positive person who doesn't give up easily, and instead of complaining, your wheels started turning.  After some diligent research, you find the perfect bike, only it doesn't cost $99 from your local Walmart.....it costs $2300.00.  Oh, and you're going to have to build it yourself.  Sure!  No problem!  


I recently met Deb Buenaga, Supermom and Executive Director of Preston's March for Energy.  That situation wasn't a hypothetical for Deb, it was reality when she tried to find a bike for her son Preston.


Deb is an amazing mom who has turned her own difficult situation into a machine that now grinds it's wheels to produce and gift bikes to children with special needs all over the country.  I met her during the vendor show at the Garden for Hope unveiling at the Herman Holloway Campus in New Castle County.

While my kids sat and read to the therapy dogs on site at the Garden Fair, (who they already knew from their own AI duPont Hospital visits) I talked with Deb, her son Preston (who sat on his awesome adapted bike) and her friends who are board members for their organization, Preston's March for Energy.  I looked through the photos of bikes they gifted to children with special needs, and could see that their mission was very clear~to make other kids as happy as Deb's own son.  I asked her how they got started, and why it was so important to keep paying it forward:



Preston loves to go outside and be outside but he used to just sit because there wasn't much he could do. When he was smaller we had small trikes, big wheels etc... When he got bigger there were less opportunities to adapt to his needs with less expensive options. When I saw the bike on FB I knew it was what he needed, but it was too expensive to buy. That night my friend set up a fundraising page on FB and in 5 days raised $2300 for the bike. All of our bikes are bought from either Triaid, which is based in Scotland, or from Top End, which is based in Rhode Island. The bikes are shipped to Brandywine Cyclery, which is located in N. Wilmington and they build the bikes for us. Then we deliver them!


Could that be any more awesome?  After those Facebook friends extended a kindness to her son, she instantly knew she wanted to pay it forward.  Now Deb and her husband go all over the country gifting bikes to children who would be sitting on the sidelines otherwise.

Even though I was a special education teacher before having my own kids, I had not had experience with Mitochondrial Disease, and really didn't know anything about it.  So I came home and jumped on their website to understand it better.  Click here for the nutshell explanation of Mitochondrial Disease.


Or just listen to Jack Black...who doesn't love Jack Black?







Preston's March has a fundraiser coming up, and if you are moved to do so, consider coming out to the event below, or make a donation to help a child experience the freedom of riding a bike!

Deb, you are an inspiration, and I'm so glad I got to meet you that day and make a new friend :)


Click below for event information on their upcoming event:


Corks and Cookies

November 8, 2013

Arsht Hall, University of Delaware

2800 Pennsylvania Ave. Wilmington, DE 



Have a great day!


{Jenn}