It's been over a year since our first able2able fundraiser raised almost $700 and connected a family with the Starkey Hearing Foundation. We helped an Autistic boy with Cancer and chemo-induced hearing loss get hearing aids and pay for some medical expenses.
For the past few months I've been updating the Directory of Fun and Unusual Fundraisers and networking with local businesses interested in helping with Nashville area Special Needs fundraisers. I've got the fundraising itch again. I'm on fire to get into the action and raise funds for somebody instead of writing about it!
After much prayer and reflection, I've chosen to help my own daughter get an iPod Touch for communication, social, and educational support. There's also adaptive computer equipment she needs and the little problem we've had lately of canceling AAC therapy because of gas prices. It feels really weird to fundraise like this for us. The bottom line is that we are not going to get Clara-Bear what she needs without help.
Help would mean an agency, foundation, or family member would have to provide her with an iPod and accessories. Helping us means somebody, somewhere had to make a sacrifice. Either in the form of money and devices donated to a foundation, by giving Clara-Bear a very expensive gift, or by another child doing without. Clara-Bear's schedule doesn't let me work to earn money for extras, but I can use what free time I have to raise the money.
I'll be honest, there's a little more than sparing others behind wanting to raise the funds myself. The past 6 years has not mashed the need for a wee bit of control and independence out of me. I am still uncomfortable asking for help and still struggle with the chronic powerlessness of parenting a Special Needs child. Healthy Anara knows I'm just fooling myself by acting like I'm deciding where this hamster ball goes. We all know that a happy hamster rolls with the ball!
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| Photo by Pinzith on Photobucket.com |
I start feeling like a hamster on a wheel when Clara-Bear's schedule gets too busy. My acceptance of Clara-Bear's diagnosis is good and I love her and our life. But my personality has always needed a balance between structured and unstructured time. Our time is not ours and too much structure makes me nuts! I would have made a great hippie, despite the OCD.
The fact that I want to add the extra challenge of fundraising to an already overloaded schedule tells me it's time to step off the wheel and jump into the ball. I guess at the same time that I love living for others I still need affirmation that there is something left for me and some of me left. It doesn't exactly make sense, but this fundraiser excites me enough to feel that it's as much for me as it is for Clara-Bear.
Like all my "good" ideas, this one came together around midnight when the rest of the family was asleep. (I have a bad habit of staying up too late because it's the only time this mother of non-nappers and early risers gets some quiet time.) I was up all night with different fundraising ideas dancing through my head.
I think I want to try a used book sale and ask friends to donate books and movies. This idea means I have to pay for space or find a free location that works with Clara's summer school and therapy schedule. There's also the problem of display tables, set up time, and being able to leave items overnight for a two day sale.
The local library meets all of these requirements, but the librarian is off today. I'm going to go to a homeschool curriculum sale at the library tomorrow morning and try to catch the librarian there. My brain is spinning, adrenaline pumping, the kids are too active for me to start my GiveForward profile, and day 1 is already turning into hurry up and wait time. I use that energy to go through the kids' bookshelves and movies and load my first two boxes of items to sell. Patience is great in theory, but not much fun to practice. At least I'm in the hamster ball, and off the wheel!
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| Cartoon by the Pondermatic on Photobucket.com |
