shadow heart

I know that every Monday we do Mouthwatering Mondays and I share a recipe with y’all and y’all in turn, share your recipes with me and each other.

However, this week’s recipe is a recipe of a different kind.  Something special that is near and dear to my heart.  So, Mouthwatering Monday is on pause until next week and after you read this post I hope that you’ll understand why and that you’ll be inspired to create a ‘recipe’ of your own and share it with others.

Cancer.

It’s an ugly, scary word.  It’s even uglier and scarier when it’s combined with the words kids, pediatric, children…

I’ve always known that kids get cancer, I see the commercials and the donation jars at the local Dairy Queen.  However, it wasn’t until stumbling across Hope4Peyton and reading about Peyton and Anissa and Peter and Rachael and Nathaniel that it started to really touch me.  Then, I met Anissa and became friends with her.  It was then, listening to my friend’s fears and triumphs that Childhood Cancer became real for me.  It had a name.  A face.  A person.  It was real.

So, when I was contacted about working with Glad to get the word out about their partnership with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, I couldn’t say Yes fast enough.  The campaign, called Glad to Give, is committed to raising money to support pediatric cancer research through bake sales.

Glad is spreading information about Childhood Cancer, sharing knowledge and opening eyes:

For example, did you know:

  • Pediatric Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children in the U.S.
  • Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with Cancer
  • 3 in 5 kids suffer long-term effects from Cancer treatments
  • 1 in 5 children diagnosed with Cancer dies

Those are painful for me to write and even more painful to read when you realize those facts are about children.

So, today as part of my partnership with Glad to Give Campaign (yes, this is a sponsored post.  But, the passion, the emotion, the feeling, the sentiment, the heart, the opinions.. those are 100% mine.  Y’all know me.  You know this)   I am sharing my family’s recipe for caring, sharing and donating; not just money, but time.

There is nothing more valuable than your time.

In college, my sorority’s philanthropy was the Ronald McDonald House and I remember visiting there to put in our *hours* and being moved to my very core.  I was a teenager and I remember walking in the house and being shocked.  I’d expected a place full of sadness and despair and instead, I walked into a house full of hope and laughter and love.  Strength the likes of which I had never even imagined, smiles where I couldn’t have believed smiles possible.

My children are still small, young and while our volunteering with them hasn’t gone as far as I envision it going, we’ve done/we do small things.  Last year Princess went with my family to serve Thanksgiving to the homeless at the local shelter (Monkey and I stayed back because he was too young to take).  There was a passion in their eyes when they returned along with a humility that we could all benefit from experiencing.

My children earn money for small tasks, they divide it into spend, save and donate.  They get to choose where their money is donated.  Every few months we go through their clothes (holy cow do these kids grow like weeds!), their toys, shoes etc…  and they choose things to donate; they then decide where those items go.. the children’s shelter, Goodwill, Salvation Army etc…

I want my children to grow up caring, seeing beyond themselves and realizing that what may seem a small gesture to them, is actually the recipe to changing the world.

For more ideas on how to get involved like how to host your own bake sale, donate to the cause, or to enter your family’s recipe for volunteering, visit Glad To Give

In fact, if you visit and tell how your family gives back, you’ll be entered to win $1000; which you can keep, or donate to a good cause, like Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.

I’d love for you to share with me how y’all give back and how you teach (or plan to teach) your kids about giving and sharing and caring.

I'm a deep-fried Southern belle, married to a cowboy boot wearin', Harley ridin’ Texan Prince Charming. I am the always proud and frequently exhausted mom to two 8th generation Texans My childhood was spent at my Granny's side learning to cook with cast iron, butter and that special southern ingredient -- love Today, I share my passion for food, family and photography with thousands of monthly readers on my blog, A Southern Fairytale. I love cute boots, my Canon camera, belly laughs with friends, the beach, my family and ellipses..."

22 Comments

    2. My grand-daughter Lenzie Butland has traveled the Cancer Journey. I have wrote to numerous Companies trying to get more awareness for Childhood Cancer out there like it has for Breast Cancer. People have no ideal what a Gold Ribbon stands for. September is the Month for Gold Ribbons and bringing awareness to Chiildhood Cancer, but people think Gold Ribbons are for our Troops. Our Troops Ribbons are yellow. Our kids are our future and we need to find a cure. I do believe once we find a cure for one Cancer the rest will follow.

      Like Tara I also save the soda tabs for Ronald McDonald house. So many families depend on Ronald McDonald houses. Hearing the words your child/grand-child has cancer is the worst ever. We just broke down and cried right there in front of the doctors that day. Our Lenzie is a Cancer Survivior, but so many do not make it. I applaud everyone who helps this cause and bringing awareness to childhood cancer. Thanks so much…

      Sue J

      Reply

  2. Tragically I believe that everyone has been touched by cancer in someway, either personally or through a loved one or friend. For a child to be struck with this terrible disease is unimaginable.

    For years our family has been collecting soda tabs to raise money for Ronald McDonald House. It’s an easy way to help a very worthy cause.

    http://ifmomsaysok.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/tmt-soda-tab-collection-explained/
    .-= Tara R.´s most recent blog ..Weekly Winners ~ brick and wood =-.

    Reply

  3. My cousin was diagnosed witha particularly brutal type of cancer when she was 9 or 10 or so. The survival rate was typically 5 % – I had done a lot of research trying to figure things out when she received her diagnosis.

    She celebrated her 21st birthday in January.

    Cancer has touched my life in so many ways – and charities that devote money and time to the researching of cures for cancer or funding programs to benefit those who have cancer and their families – those are the ones that truly touch my heart and receive my support.

    GLAD you’re doing this, Rach. (That wasn’t really intentional, and as I was typing I realized what I said, and *snort*, I’m a goofball). Love you.
    .-= sarah´s most recent blog ..Weekly Winners, Middle of April Edition =-.

    Reply

  5. “I want my children to grow up caring, seeing beyond themselves and realizing that what may seem a small gesture to them, is actually the recipe to changing the world.”

    Me too!

    We work on this everyday, even if all we do is talk about how much we’ve been blessed with. We clean out closets and bless others with what we’ve out grown. We recently adopted a little girl thru compassion. We always have someone on our family prayer list who’s got cancer. Most recently our beloved tutor’s husband.

    I believe every bit we do changes their perspective and THAT changes the world they will inherit…

    Great post.

    Reply

  6. My goal is to be honest to my kids about everything they face.
    .-= Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing]´s most recent blog ..I think of all of you while I’m naked. =-.

    Reply

  7. It’s my honest belief that bake sales are the gateway “drug” for compassion. It’s so important that kids grow up understanding that there is yucky stuff in the world, but that we also have to show them how we can contribute.

    Very cool, darlin’!
    .-= Sugar Jones´s most recent blog ..Social Media Gurus, Zombies, and Giant Peekachus… Oh My! =-.

    Reply

    1. I totally agree! WE’re going to do a bake sale but, it’s going to have to wait until Kickball is over. That takes up about 4 nights a week and then there’s girl scouts and weekend games and such, too!

      Bake sales are AWESOME.

      Thank you xoxoxo

      Reply

  8. Cancer is a very very sad illness. My aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer about a month ago and every time i remember her and her plight, i feel sad and get tears in my eyes. Thank you for sharing!
    .-= Doll Clothes Gal Pal´s most recent blog ..Emily Rose TV – Argentina! =-.

    Reply

  9. our kids are still very young, so they don’t participate much in the giving yet. although i do include them in weeding through their (way too many) christmas gifts each year to send some(okay most… but don’t tell my mom) to charity.

    also, though it was never intended to be for charity (just for helping with my bills), a large portion of the proceeds from my Etsy shop are donated to various causes. sometimes large like the breast cancer society or red cross and sometimes small like when i see a cry for help from a fellow blogger.

    i’m kind of a sucker for a cause… although, my accountant gets mad because i never remember to keep receipts. LOL
    .-= MommyNamedApril´s most recent blog ..So We Took Another (mini) Vacation. =-.

    Reply

    1. I love that you give so much. That’s a GOOD thing to have your accountant upset with you for! It will be gifted back to you in big ways, I fully believe that!

      xoxoxo

      Reply

  11. Cancer is such an ugly thing. I wish I could say I didn’t know anyone who has fought it. Fortunately most I know have won the fight. Thanks for shedding light on a good cause
    .-= Michelle Smiles´s most recent blog ..Why? =-.

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  12. I am in school for Infant Nuclear Medicine and do my clinicals at our local Children’s hospital which is actually one of the top in the nation– it’s so very hard to see the kids suffer but so rewarding to spend time with them; their attitude is much better than many adults I know. What a great cause you’re supporting!
    .-= Heather´s most recent blog ..weekly winners: springtime edition =-.

    Reply

  13. Cancer has definitely touched my life. I’ve had two cousins that have passed away from childhood cancer, so I know.

    We are just now really at a stage of understanding that money has value. Our kids know and see that we give and we will soon start teaching them to do the same.
    .-= Krystyn´s most recent blog ..Mommy and Me Monday-The 9th Edition =-.

    Reply

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