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| Image From: http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/08/12/icebucketchallenge |
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. I knew I would be nominated eventually. Ice buckets have spread like wildfire in the social media sites. I understand what and why people are doing this for ALS and I respect it, I really do. I also must respectfully decline to participate. I am in no way trying to be a party pooper or unsupportive. Please allow me to explain.
I volunteer all year for causes close to my heart and my world. I help my family whenever I can. I volunteer at my childrens' schools and in the community as often as my life allows me to. I bake cookies for The Aliveness Project during their Holiday Basket Program, upwards of sixty dozen each year. I hold a food drive at my home each November. I have also recently taken on a project for an amazing local couple that I am friends with who just had their ten year old daughter diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Any money that I have to spare, which is not very much as a family of seven on one income, at this time will be focused on preparing meals for them as a family and organizing a fundraising charity event for them in the very near future. I am at my limit of what I can do.
If you or someone you know has or is battled/battling ALS, I am so very sorry and I wish you the best from the bottom of my heart. I am glad someone has shed more light in recent days on your struggles and that you are finally getting the attention you deserve. I just can't help you right now. My plate is full and I am tapped. I hope you understand.
I don't even know if anyone will read this but I have one more thing I would like to say. Look around your life, your community, your personal world. Not just today when a cause is thrust in your face and smothered across the interwebs. Look every single day. You may know someone or have a friend of a friend, a co-worker or even a neighbor that could use your help too. Not just at Christmas time or around other major holidays. There are people, families and organizations out there that could use a little help all year long. Find something or someone that truly means something to you and see how you can help. It doesn't take much and your efforts would really go a long way. I am not telling you all of the things that I do during the year to brag or to toot my own horn. I am purely giving you an example of how you too could make a real difference all year long. And it is so easy. I guarantee that someone out there is waiting for you. Just look. Don't wait for a challenge. Challenge yourself.
So, thank you for the nomination but I hope you understand why I must decline. Peace and Love to you and yours.
I understand completely because I feel the same way. I've told family, friends and coworkers not to nominate me because I won't do the challenge. My husband is unemployed and my hours were cut at work. I have my "regular" charities that I donate what money that I can spare to. My mother has breast cancer so I donate to our local Relay for Life. My nephew passed away from cancer the day before his 10th birthday and our community started a fund in his name for a baseball scholarship for a high school student and fixing up and adding things to the little league field where he loved playing baseball so I donate to that. I donate to a summer camp for children with cancer where they and one of their siblings can go for two weeks and I donate to the Ronald McDonald house. These are things that are close to my heart and if I start donating to each and every charity (I wish I could) then that would take money away from them. I agree that the ice bucket challenge is a great way to bring attention to ALS but no one should be obligated to do it if they don't wish to. Peace and love to you and yours also.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing, Karen. I was hoping I wasn't alone in my feelings. Even preparing myself to verbally attacked, ha! I appreciate this comment so much!
DeleteYou rock, Ginny! Agree on all points.
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks Bill!
DeleteI totally agree with your post! I declined when I was challenged as well. We donate to various charities in different ways throughout the year. I didn't feel like jumping on this band wagon just because everyone else did. We decide to who/what we will donate to as a family. We normally always choose charities that mean something to our family.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing! Love it! We can all make a difference all year long in our own ways :-)
DeleteVirginia,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I made a decision long before I received an ice bucket challenge that I would not participate if challenged. There seems to be this peer pressure associated with this challenge that I started not to appreciate. I have a friend who challenged me (I didn't even realize she did) and then called me to ask me why I didn't participate. I kept my response short and sweet. I can't justify dumping good viable water on me for just to have a video clip to post to Facebook while there are people all over the world fleeing from their homes into hiding for various reasons and have no access to clean, drinkable water. I cannot justify dumping ice water on my head when someone would literally KILL to drink what I just wasted. I can't justify wasting the water when I could just donate the $10 without doing anything but walking over to my computer and hitting the "donate" button on the ALS website. Furthermore, we should be responsible and informed about where we're sending our precious money. We shouldn't just donate or promote or endorse organizations just because someone challenged us to do so. Virginia, I'm sure you're a wonderful person with a huge heart, and it's sad that if we decide to do something contrary to the norm (even if it's an ice water challenge) that the need to show we're still good people and explain ourselves is amplified. You don't need to explain nothing girlie! Keep doing what you're doing and donating where you're donating. It's nobody's business. I enjoyed reading your post and hopefully I didn't come off like a crazy woman :) lol. I guess seeing people blindly follow and not do their research and have a thought for themselves really gets my goat.
Thank YOU for this. I agree with every last word. I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me. We must not wait to be challenged. We must challenge ourselves everyday <3
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