Day 189: Donations to Children's Library

Hello! Bianca here. Today, on the way to my Friday library study shift, I noticed a sale at the Children's Library about a block away from my dorm. They were selling donated books, and all of the money was going to benefit the Children's Library. The library holds lots of functions throughout the year, including open circle readings open to the children of Philadelphia (another volunteer opportunity that I am considering!) I got several books out of the deal; hopefully I will have time to read them in the near future. And I am so glad to support the library kids- I see them walking in and out from time to time and they are too cute!

Day 188: Keeping the local Seniors smiling with Daddy's Cookies

Back, yet again by popular demand! The now infamous Daddy's Cookies went straight from the oven to our Sherborn Council on Aging friends who held their Drop In Luncheon today.

Day 187: Volunteering at the Salvation Army Kitchen

Patricia and Sophia here....with me as the scribe for our volunteer experience at the local Salvation Army kitchen, located in nearby Framingham. We had signed up to serve dinner tonight, through a project sponsored by St. Theresa's, but we really didn't know what to expect. When we arrived, we found the point person from our parish, who immediately had us working; there was lots to do as they were short on volunteers tonight. I barely had time to snap a picture!
Sophia was immediately asked to set up the cupcakes for dessert.The diner-in-waiting that was watching her asked "Are those special cupcakes?" Which of course, to the knowing meant, "Are they made with drugs?" So I quickly responded, "Yes, they are special, like all the food that was made for you tonight". But it didn't end there. He said to Sophia, "You know, special cupcakes are made with marijuana in them." Naturally, my daughter the recent D.A.R.E graduate knew to say, "None of that stuff here!" It was then that I knew I would not let Sophia out of my sight! So together we poured all the lemonades, tossed the salad, washed all the trays and helped clean up all the tables at the finish. It was a remarkable experience, really, for Sophia to be working amidst such diversity and "curiousity." We were surprised to learn that the diners are all asked to be silent and remove hats for prayer before the meal, and that everyone (regardless of their presentation or orientation) is enormously gracious and patient, and that most diners were very sweet in offering gratitude for our support. We both agreed that those individuals who organize and execute these meals are to be commended. Truly, it takes a village.
So we left, waving to all our new friends clustered outside the Salvation Army entry, only to discover that the van was not working properly and sounded like one of those way to loud mortorcycles, only letting us crawl out of town at 15 mph. Which we did, since breakfast with our new buddies was not the preferred option! So we are home and now off to the local Auto Repair shop for a new muffler. But at least we have a roof and warm meals every night, right?

Day 186: Donation to Food Pantry

On the way into church this morning, I was happy to drop two bags of non-perishable foods to be picked up tomorrow and taken from St. Jude's to a larger food bank at Sacred Heart. I didn't realize just which group of people in the parish took care of the delivery from our church to the other, but upon asking another parishioner was told the St. Vincent de Paul Society did this. Oddly enough, today was the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, so I felt good that I was helping the cause on this particular day. This group does a lot of charitable work anonymously especially at the coming holidays with complete Turkey dinners at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners along with gifts for each member of a family. With so many people out of work, they will be very busy this Fall.

Day 185: Supporting City Year in the name of very special people

Hello All....this entry is from the newest member of "Club 50", in honor of my dear brother and sister in law, Jim and Meredith, who were two of the very special people who made this occasion especially memorable. A full birthday weekend, which started on Friday with the surprise arrival of Bianca home from college, then continued with my wonderful parents coming to dinner, then went on with amazingly creative and sentimental gifts from my three incredible daughters.... plus thoughtful phone calls, emails, cards and presents from loving family and friends..... gosh, all this love made me think that this "event" was worth happening 10 years ago!
Well....only sort of.

My big-birthday extravaganza ended with Jim and Meredith welcoming Paul and I to join them for dinner and theater in Boston last night, as their guests. We had such a terrific time appreciating the simplicity of just being together and enjoying each other's friendship. The fab food and awesome theater was an extremely close second to the delight in just treasuring time shared.
So that got me thinking...why not dedicate today's service blog to two wonderful people who clearly appreciate , and value, community service? Jim and Meredith's three children have all participated in the Boston-based City Year program, and like their parents, continue to live lives that support important global causes. We are happy to have made a donation to City Year in their name. Thank you, Jim and Meredith, for making a difference in this world and for making my big-birthday- "sans-Marie", more bearable. Luv Ya tons,
Patricia

http://www.cityyear.org/

Day 184: Food for St. Theresa's Food Pantry

Hello all, Sophia here. Ttoday was another easy Sunday where we donated a couple items to the food panty to the St. Theresa Parish. The basket was the fullest we have seen it yet which made us very happy to contribute. At the end of Mass, we also took a handout with all of the ways to participate with our church and information and volunteer opportunities at the Salvation Army dinner this week. We hope to look further into allof these opportunites to help our community!

Day 183: Children's Hospital Boston

Paul here.  We had a great time celebrating Patricia's 50th birthday last night, with the best present being Bianca came home for the weekend to surprise her Mum.  Bianca is working extremely hard, but is looking forward to her work study job at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia).  With that in mind, I thought it would be great to donate the money Roche Bros. gives you for each re-used bag, to the Children's Hospital of Boston.  It's a great program and the money goes to all sorts of programs, like helping people deal with having their children in extended hospital stays.  We have been so lucky with our kids, premature birth and occasional emergency room visits notwithstanding.  It's great to support a locally owned company (Roche Bros) and an organization that helps kids and their families deal with the misfortune of illness.

Day 182: Cents For Sight

Hello, it is Sophia!

The other day, unfortunately, when I went to the varsity football game at our high school, I lost my pair of glasses. We went back to the school several times and looked for them but with no luck. Anyway, since they never showed up in lost and found, today my mother ordered them during the school day and they were ready to be picked up by 3 o'clock. When we were there, there was a Cents for Sight donation box where I sat down to have the glasses fitted. Cents for Sight is through the program "One Sight" which Lens Crafters has been partnering with for the past 20 years. They try to hand deliver the gift of sight to the 284 million adults and children who are suffering from poor vision. Lens Crafters collects money donations and donated glasses. The website says, "By donating a pair of glasses that you no longer use, you can improve a child's ability to learn in school and give adults the independence needed to perform daily tasks."  Today I put money in the collectiton jar, but I'll be looking forward to donating my new glasses when they get to small for me or when my prescription changes.

Day 181: Cooking for Bristol Lodge

Here it is again, the 4th Thursday of the month and St. Jude's turn to feed the hungry. This month, my group had Au Gratin Potatoes. They certainly aren't hard to do, so I had them all ready to go in the oven at 2:40 (a little early, but I had a roasting chicken to put in for our supper). As almost always, it either rains, snows or is 95 degrees and today wasn't any different with the rain off and on. Many of the clients came out to bring in the food which we appreciated. Also, three parishioners came to serve, so we were sort of off the hook. The men on the staff were very grateful and even a couple of the customers told us how good it was as they came up for seconds--always a good sign!

Day 180: Sandwiches for the Soup Kitchen

Bianca here. Tonight, between my anatomy studying and nursing readings, I went to the first General Body Meeting of the Circle K Club. A community service club on campus, Circle K holds service events all year in locations all over Philadelphia and also hosts many philanthropic activities each month. I am so excited to join this club; there are so many great people interested in volunteering and it was fun to get to know them at the meeting. In the next month we are serving in soup kitchens, cooking for children and families in the "Gift of Life" center (a clinic that houses patients who are waiting for organ donations) next to campus, coloring with the children in CHOP, reading to underprivileged students in day cares, and several more. Our president believes that in every bi-monthly meeting we should do some sort of community service to take advantage of the time that the group is spending together. Today, we made hundreds of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for the local soup kitchen. We were split up into 4 groups, each one making a giant assembly line of bread. Some of us buttered, some of us jelleyed, some of us stacked the slices together, and the some of us put our finished products into little baggies! I went to the meeting with my two good friends Jessie and Chris, and we had a lot of laughs putting together these sandwiches. I was pretty speedy at it, too! Jessie was joking that it was my specialty since I have been making PBJs to take with me to class every day for the past week! All together, I would say we made at least 350 sandwiches. I am sure the soup kitchen is very appreciative of our work. A half hour of our time is feeding hundreds of people, and it was a good to be in an environment where everyone was in the spirit of giving.

Day 179: This One's For Sally

Today's entry is all about yet one more bizarre twist of fate. 

A dear classmate from high school, Sally, who has just completed a HUGE move with her family from Connecticut to Maine, has now learned that her husband has cancer.  So awful.  And now they will be receiving treatments in Boston, at Dana Farber, effective tomorrow through January.  Such a long journey ahead, both physically and emotionally, for the entire family.

Sally is an amazing inividual...and has most recently been working as Sales Advisor/Manager for a jewelry company called Lia Sophia. Amidst all this personal turmoil, she is a consummate professional who is stressed about losing ground with her monthly, required sales expectations from the company.  As difficult as it is to ask for help, Sally did just that, and reached out to her inner circle for support.  Although I'm happy to promote sales through  friends of mine who might want to order a little bling for the upcoming holidays...I also wanted to offer something "outside the box" to help her situation. I decided that I would offer her a free MemoryWrap, to be marketed at her discretion, as an incentive to encourage sales.  She was very happy with the idea and will create a raffle for the quilt on her business website, where every purchase made enters the customer into the raffle.   I sure hope it works and inspires her customers to order more items. Certainly, I will consider designing  the winner's quilt to be a very special tribute to Sally and her husband.  But more importantly, I sure hope her husband is successful in battling this most horrific curse.  Thankfully, he is blessed with a loving and supportive family.

http://www.memorywrap.com/

Day 178: Hospitality Baker for Middle School Open House

Thank goodness for those recipes that I have been baking for so long that I could practically make them in my sleep!.  Today I was able to volunteer to make refreshments the 6th Grade Open House at the Middle School.  Same old story, same old treats from 42 Everett St......Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Daddy's Cookies.  Can't believe this town isn't sick of both items yet!

Day 177: Volunteer "Route Blazers" For Jimmy Fund Walk

Hello all, Sophia  here. Today Mum, Dad, my mother's friend Laura, and myself were "Route Blazers" for the annual Jimmy Fund walk. Mum went down there at 8:30 am with Laura and my dad and I met up with them a little later. We decorated signs with sayings like, "Keep going!, Walk off Cancer!, You can do it! and such. The walkers/runners really appreciated us being there as  they would say there were not a lot of other spectators/cheer-ers. I think we inspired people to keep going especially because we were at the halfway mark. A lot of them were taking pictures of us which was really fun. (and funny that they wanted pics of our signs!) Our "shift" ended at about 12:30 where the last walkers rolled in. The walkers ranged from all ages. It was cool to see even some kids doing it. We hope that next year more people will be apart of this cheering squad for this important event.

P.S...Patricia here now....just to say that amidst this wonderful day of support and inspiration, we were stunned to learn how few cheerleaders come out to support the Jimmy Fund Walk.  We realize that soooo many people support the cause by donating to the individual walkers' financial goals (which is AWESOME)...but really, as compared to the Boston Marathon, (where most participants aren't even running for a cause beyond a personal achievement)we asked ourselves"Why aren't there more supporting fans?"  Maybe it's lack of marketing from Dana Farber, or September schedule conflicts, or whatever....but it seems like it would not take much for the folks living in the neighborhoods along the route (same as Boston Marathon route), to come out and cheer.  Or for elementary school groups to make signs, or teens to form support squads.  Oddly, it was somewhat disheartening to hear such over-the-top gratitude for our simple support.  Something to think about for next year......

http://www.jimmyfund.org/

Day 176: Diane Geppi-Aikens 5K

Hi Everyone! Olivia here.

Nicole and I pre-race.

Diane Geppi-Aikens was a Loyola Grad, Coach, and wonderful supporter who passed away from breast cancer in 2003. She was a dedicated coach who instilled strong values in her girls lacrosse team. In memory of her, my suitemate Nicole and I ran in the 9th Annual Diane Geppi-Aikens Memorial 5K Run, where the proceeds benefitted "The Aikens Children Trust Fund". There were about a thousand participants in total. Some of the runners wore pink sweatpants to remember Diane. It was said by her daughter that Diane had an odd sense of fashion, often wearing these "obnoxious pink sweatpants that she wore tucked into cowboy boots sometimes". She seemed like such a great member of the Loyola Community. I learned that even when she got sick and had to coach in a wheelchair she kept the team motivated and cheered them on with all her might. Diane didn't want people want to feel bad for her; she got to go home every night and spend quality time with her family, and didn't take anything for granted. Nicole and I arrived this morning for

Post race--Exhausted!!

the 8:30am race start (top right picture) and were so surprised by the turnout. One of Diane's former players spoke of her experience with Diane as her coach and told us what a meaningful person she was to the team.

Kim, Me, Nicole

To the left is us after the finish. Unfortuately we started out too fast, but we met a lot of members on Loyola sports teams, including the curling team! The curling guys were very nice and invited us to see one of their matches in the future, which would definitely be cool to see. We also met Otis, a chocolate lab who was running with his owner who lived nearby. Otis kept us motivated and without him we probably would have gone a lot slower!! This final picture is of our friend Kim who lives on our floor; she had a great time as well! We were all so glad we were able to support Diane's family and we look forward to running in the race again next year.

Alright, it's homework time!!

-Olivia (and Nicole)

Day 175: Supporting Sherborn's "Grange Fair, 2011"

 Life in the country has it's benefits!!  And one of them is living in a town that is willing to put a weekend fair together to celebrate the beauty and bounty of Sherborn's local agriculture.  Here's how the still-in-town-Cutler's supported the event and participated in the fun:

Paul and I attended the opening night fundraiser this evening called "Plow to Plate Dinner", which combined all the locally grown produce/meats/cheeses with all the town-folks that can't get enough of them!  We had a terrific time enjoying the food, friendship and sense of family amongst the locals. Farming is truly underappreciated in America, and it felt terrific to support a cause whose proceeds will help restore/repair a local barn.  And happily, we chose this event to be a just-right event to celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary!  Why pay $$$ at a restaraunt when you can enjoy a great, fresh meal under a tent with friends and help a worthy cause????  

This is Sophia!! During the past week I have been preparing and making entries for the Grange Fair's competition categories. Today I finished my projects for the fair.  I made a "hand painted article" which was my decorated "Home On The Grange" rock for a garden (pictured on the left), a "veggie creature" called Mr. Squeaks, pictured on the bottom,  and I entered the "cupcake wars" category and made "Grange Chicks", pictured above.  My rock and cupcakes will be donated to a fundraiser auction after all the judging is done. But I would prefer to bring home Mr. Squeaks, so I did not donate him to the Auction. 

 It was really fun making these things because I love to use creative art and I can't wait to go back today to see the event!!! 

Day 174: Games for Franciscan Hospital

A few weeks ago, Buppa and I were trying to clean out a little space in the den closet. We put aside some games that none of the grandchildren gravitate towards and remembered that there were still some games in the cellar that weren't being used. We put them all together and that filled one of those wonderful telephone boxes that we have used for many different reasons (moving Marie and Ron, taking things back and forth to N.H. and storage). Well, today was the day to deliver them. We chose the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Brighton. We have heard of it and read about it and seen that different athletes, (Tim Wakefield and coaches (Bill Belichick) etc. donate their time and efforts there and over we went. Parking was at a premium, so I went in. The secretary made a phone call and within minutes Meaghan appeared and was more than grateful for the donation. Saw about 5 young patients in wheel chairs going off with young adults to their classes and was very grateful that we have had all healthy children and grandchildren.----------www.franciscanhospital.org

Day 173: First Relay for Life Meeting of Fall 2011

Hi everyone.

Tonight at 9:00 marked the first general body meeting of the Colleges Against Cancer and Relay for Life Committees. There were at least 60 people at the meeting, of which about two-thirds were interested freshman. After the co-presidents got up and explained the details, goals, and past success of the club, the chairs of each committee had to go up and present their powerpoint slide, explaining what their group does and encouraging the newcomers to apply into that committee. As the Recruitment Chair, I explained how my group is largely responsible for all of the participants in attendance at Relay. Though it may not be the most fun and social of the cancer committees, it is a very important and somewhat high pressure responsibility to be in this group. Without participants, there is no Relay for Life, never mind no money to reach our $115,000 goal. I explained some ideas that I had as a means of recruiting people (while trying to make my group sound as fun as possible), and also encouraged any creative and dedicated minds to join. I really look forward to seeing who applies into my committee! It was both exciting and inspiring to see so many students interested in fighting cancer. I really look forward to our activities for this year and can't wait to meet my committee members.

Day 172: Monthly Support Of Our Sponsored Child

September is here and today is the day to send our financial support to our sponsored child in Mexico, Signorita Claudia. It's hard to believe that we have belonged to this program for well over a decade.  Sophia is excited to send her first "Spanish-infused" letter to Claudia,...but she is still adjusting to the demands of Middle School and will wait until next month to habla espanol con Claudia!!  If only we could meet her.....

http://www.hopeforafamily.org/  

And here's why we love the program (as lifted from the website):

The sponsored child and family do their part—this is not a handout

The primary focus of our Hope for a Family program is creating opportunities for sponsored children and their families to develop their own capacity for personal and economic growth, rather than focusing solely on the distribution of material goods.
The children and their families have responsibilities. Children are expected to stay in school and develop their potential. They are required to write to their sponsors and participate in programs at the local level. Parents of sponsored children have responsibilities within the program as well, and offer support and encouragement to one another.

Day 171: The Jimmy Fund

It's hard to think of a more worthy charity than the Jimmy Fund.  Cancer is such a horrible disease, but even worse when it strikes children.  They work hard to make difficult days more tolerable, and they have contributed to many success stories.  This blog has made several contributions to the Jimmy Fund in the past, and will make some more in the future.  There are so many opportunities to contribute.  Today when buying gas there was a coffee can accepting donations.  I wonder what would happen if every person who saw it put in just $1.00.

Day 170: Remembrance of 9/11

 Hi!  It's Sophia and Mommy here.
Since today marks the 10th Anniversary of the horrible events of 9/11, we wanted to take time from our busy day to do something that acknowledges this tragedy. 

So Mom and I went to The Peace Abbey, a place in our town that promotes world peace, encourages religious freedom and animal rights and never uses violence to support their causes.  Today at the Peace Abbey there was a Commemorative Ceremony and Vigil to remember the victims of 9/11 and to salute the soldiers still fighting in the war against terror.  A recording of all the names of the victims lost on 9/11 was being played on the grounds.  It was a pretty long list!  We looked at the statue of Ghandi and read his quotes that were in plaques around the statue and then added some coins to the collection at his feet.  We watched the ceremony that dedicated a Memorial Stone in honor of the Unknown Civilian Soldiers who have been killed.  We also looked at the statue of Emily The Cow who represents that cows are sacred in the Hindu culture and should not be slaughtered for meat.  A lot of vegetarians know about this statue and its meaning.   
We were thinking that we just couldn't let today go by and not attend a community event that respected such a huge loss in our history.

Day 169: Celebrating Marie...10 Years Later

 Today was all about remembering a wonderful daughter, sister, mother, auntie, wife, niece, cousin, in-law, room mate, god-parent and friend. Celebrating Marie, 10 years after she left this world too early, was truly a night filled with all the joy and happiness that have become synnomous with "Marie". Several months ago, Nana and Buppa planned for a Mass at St. Judes to be dedicated to Marie's memory, and  then invited the immediate and extended family to attend the Mass, followed by a casual supper/dessert at their family home on Bruce Road.  It was all so lovely......

except that we missed Bianca, Olivia (thanks for the gorgeous flowers pictured here!) and Connor, who were away at school, as well as Britt who is working in Virginia.  A few other special people in our lives were unable to attend, but overall, it was a remarkable show of love and support.  We were so happy to have most of the Keefe's join us, as well as so many other dear friends who knew Marie through the Rincks or Bettanos.  A very special bonus was her dearest friend from childhood and her  room mates from Providence College also traveled to attend the event and were able to see Marie's beautiful daughter Meaghan grown into a lovely young lady. In fact, Nana and Buppa made a darling keepsake photo magnet of a picture of Marie and Meaghan.
Of course, we missed many of Nana's Waltham neighbors who were a part of Marie's life but are also no longer with us.....but funny enough, Nana did see the grandchild of one of those missing friends who dropped by to solicit donations to the Lymphoma Society (for which Nana was happy to contribute), which gave a peripheral presence to a dearly missed  neighbor, Dottie.

The outpouring of love and remembrance during this simple tribute was incredible.  And I really can't think of anything more significant to enter into this "Marie-inspired Service Blog" than to collectively honor an amazing and courageous woman whose memory continues to remind us all to try and give of ourselves to find, and celebrate, the best in each other.   The heartfelt and cheerful emotional and spiritual support offered in tonight's gathering is truly the stuff fairytales are made of. 

Day 168: Books for Nursing

Here at Penn there are always a number of book drives, but one that grabbed my attention was taking place today in the nursing school. The Nursing Students for Global Health are raising money and collecting textbooks for the creation of the Daeyeng Nursing College in Malawi. This school in Lilongwe, Malawi is starting a nursing bachelor's program. Since nursing textbooks are very expensive and would be quite a taxing cost for a new school trying to get up and running, many nursing students have been happy to donate their nursing and science books. I donated my chemistry and microbiology textbooks; which at the time of purchase had cost me about $150. I was hoping to make about half of my money back reselling them, but since they are older editions I knew that it would be harder to find people who were interested. And, since today marks the 10th anniversary of dear Auntie Marie's passing, I thought that it was a worthwhile cause if these books were going to help educate nurses across the world who would someday help fight cancer. Because someday, those nurses will be taking care of a sick cancer patient and recalling on everything they learned in nursing school to help the patient fight his disease.

Auntie Marie, we are all thinking of you on this day, the 10th Anniversary of the day we lost you,  and we are remembering and cherishingall of the happy times we spent together. You have inspired us all to participate in this Service Challenge and be mindful of others who need our support.You will be in our hearts forever.

Day 167: Smile Train

Today was my regular dental check up which, at my age, is always a good news/ bad news visit!

My good news today is that I have no cavities.  The bad news is that I need two crowns.  Oh joy....but of course...things could always be worse.

Clearly, no matter how painful and expensive my oral situation is, it certainly pales by comparison to those chldren suffering from the horrific birth deformity; a cleft palate or lip.  Each year, over #170,000 children are born with this problem.  Something I didn't know:  According to the Smile Train website, "Being born with a cleft in a developing country is truly a curse. Every baby born in Uganda with a cleft is given the name Ajok which means literally, “cursed by God.” Some newborns are killed or abandoned right after birth."  How tragic.  The Smile Train website is remarkable and worth researching.

A contibution that felt way to small for this huge problem, definitely puts my crown issue in proper perspective.  

http://www.smiletrain.org/

Day 166: Clothing Donation

With the back-to-school season upon us....we were all able to edit our closets and fill yet another bag of gently worn clothing to contribute to those in need.

Day 165: Time to Count the Money!

Today started my volunteer groups' month to count the Mass-collection money at St. Jude's. When there is a holiday on a Monday, it always causes a question whether we count on Tuesday or Wednesday. After 3 phone calls as to the day and one for the time, 4 of us showed up--each in a hurry for their own reason. Not too much talking, and we finished in an hour!! Lorraine (the Secretary) was very surprised to see us all finished. I said to her---people away, not much money; ladies in a hurry, done quickly!

Day 164: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

The runner in me can't resist donating to a cause that acknowledges the contribution with a sneaker cut-out picture posted in the store!!  So today, while at Marshalls, (that's Marshaaaalls, to the Cutler gals!), I was asked to contribute to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Supporting this cause is an easy "yes" for me, as one of my dear friends from college has a son who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was just in elementary school.  Hearing of his experience is when I first learned about how challenging and overwhelming this disease can be for an entire family.  I am happy to report that my friend's son is thriving in high school and has successfully learned to cope with this all consuming, life altering and so far, uncurable disease.  May the research team continue to raise the bar to new heights for children suffering from the many related complications of diabetes.  http://www.jdrf.org/

Day 163: Nothing But Nets

Back in May 2006, I faithfully turned to the back page of my Sports Illustrated to read Rick Reilly's column.  He is a sports journalist and writes extremely well with wit and humor, and he usually writes about some under publicized issue or event.  On this day he wrote about Africa's tragic battle with malaria. Sometimes, we forget how lucky we are in our part of the world, but many millions of people, mostly children, die from mosquito transmitted malaria.  I consider myself a human mosquito magnet, and can attract a swarm on a sunny, windy or rainy day.  But my worst mosquito day pales in comparison to the desperation and tragedy the people of Africa face each day.  I urge anyone who reads this blog to check out Reilly's article.  If the link below does not work, or you can't copy and paste it onto your  address bar, then google Rick Reilly and Nothing but Nets.  My efforts to inform anyone would not come close (or be as entertaining) as Reilly's article.
I have given to the organization several times, but today seemed to make sense to give again as I was covered by the little buggers while assessing my tree damage from Irene.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/04/25/reilly0501/index.html

Day 162: Thoughts of the Paulist Fathers

Nana  here.

Many moons ago when I was in high school, we had a mission (a week of prayer for women and 2nd week for men) at St. Theresa's Parish. Two Paulist priests conducted the mission and one of them (Fr. Finley) asked a group of us who counted the money to write to him. I did and the friendship lasted for nearly 50 years. Father would always come out to visit us when he was in the Boston area and more often graced our table and blessed our children at family events while he was stationed in Boston for a few years. Recently, I came across a book he had written for the "older set" which I had tucked away and realized I guess I am" there" now and will read his words. He died on Sept. 7th ,1996 so for the fifteenth Anniversary of his passing, we sent a monetary donation to the Paulist Fathers in his memory.

Day 161: Birthday Wishes to Homeless Children

Today, I went to iPARTY to look over and choose the paper goods for our gathering next weekend in memory of Marie. On the way out, the young cashier asked me if I would like to contribute to "Birthday Wishes." I had never heard of it so he explained it all to me. "Birthday Wishes" has one mission: to bring birthday parties to homeless children. He elaborated a bit more and I agreed to donate a small donation to what seems to me to be a worthy cause. If you would like to learn more about how you can help, go to their website which is http://www.birthdaywishes.org/

Day 160: Cupcakes for Cancer

Hello from UPenn! I have finally settled in and am enjoying my week of meeting up with all of my friends. Though just recovering from a major ankle sprain, I still have many meetings and a very long "to do" list before the start of classes! One especially important responsibility includes the Colleges Against Cancer Committee duties. The Committee wants to start advocating for Relay for Life as early as possible. Tonight, the committee is hosting a "decorate your own cupcake" bar. Whether a student wants to take a break from unpacking, explore the campus, or find an alternative to late night partying, they can come to the cupcake bar (which will also have a live band!!). Each color frosting will represent a different type of cancer (ex: pink will be breast cancer). Not only will this spread awareness, but this is also a way to obtain data about which cancers people are most passionate about curing so we can advocate fundraising for the most popular "colors" around campus and raise the most money possible.

We set up shop in one of the committee member's apartments. We made about 200 funfetti and plain vanilla cupcakes. (Don't worry, not from scratch! All were from box mixes). Only 4 people showed up to bake, but since I am not able to supervise the cupcake table tonight from 11-1 a.m., I figured I would at least help with the baking. I can now say I am an experienced batter scooper! I look forward to hearing how successful our event is, and how much the students like our baking-from-a-box!