Yesterday morning on Good Morning America, Robin Roberts revealed she has a rare bone disorder and will be needing to undergo a bone marrow procedure. Fortunately, her sister is as close to a perfect match as can be found.
This morning I went to www.bethematch.org to sign up to be a donor. If I am chosen as a match, I WOULD NOT have to have a huge needle stuck in my spine sucking out my bone marrow. From what was explained this morning on GMA, I would be given a medication that somehow would put what was needed into my blood stream, and then I would basically give blood for a few hours. I know I just explained it in a very simple basic way, but you get the idea of what I'm talking about.
There are so many people on waiting lists trying to find matches. If you take the four minutes needed to fill out the form, you could help save lives. What better feeling in the world is there than helping someone to live?
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Sparky for Cancer!
I would like to introduce all of you to an incredible young man. Dan Knapp is the kind of man we would all love to have as a son...or son-in-law.
I met Dan many many years ago at Ingersoll Scout Reservation while camping there with my Boy Scouts. He went by Sparky then, and believe me, he lived up to his name! Dan was only 12 (I think) at the time but already serving in a leadership role. I've had the honor of watching him grow up over the years, grow into a caring young man who isn't afraid to step way outside the box. Because of this, he relates well with young people, helping to spread a positive message to them.
You may be wondering why I am singing the praises of Dan today, well, let me tell you. He is once again stepping outside that box to help others. He is raising money for childhood cancer by agreeing to have his head shaved.
Here are a few pictures of Dan (Sparky) and some of his wild hair-do's.
In case you are wondering, no, he isn't some kind of weirdo. Well, not in a bad way anyway.
I met Dan many many years ago at Ingersoll Scout Reservation while camping there with my Boy Scouts. He went by Sparky then, and believe me, he lived up to his name! Dan was only 12 (I think) at the time but already serving in a leadership role. I've had the honor of watching him grow up over the years, grow into a caring young man who isn't afraid to step way outside the box. Because of this, he relates well with young people, helping to spread a positive message to them.
You may be wondering why I am singing the praises of Dan today, well, let me tell you. He is once again stepping outside that box to help others. He is raising money for childhood cancer by agreeing to have his head shaved.
Here are a few pictures of Dan (Sparky) and some of his wild hair-do's.
In case you are wondering, no, he isn't some kind of weirdo. Well, not in a bad way anyway.Dan in unselfishly giving each and every one of us an opportunity to help others. Please click on this link to help children with cancer.
Thank you so much for not only taking the time to read this blog post, but for also helping those who are unable to help themselves.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
I want to do SOMETHING!
To do good, you actually have to do SOMETHING!
When something tragic happens, we tend to react with our emotions and feel a need to do...something. We don't always know what we can do, we just want to do...something.
Saturday, the Boy Scouts conducted a Disaster Relief Drive for flood and tornado victims. We collected enough items for about 50 health kits. I'm sure those who receive these kits will be very graitful. The problem though is there is still such a need. I'm sure most everyone reading this today has seen the devestation on the news from the tornado that went through Joplin MO. last night.
This could happen to any one of our towns. This could be YOU with your child, or grandchild, or your neighbor's child. You have no home left. You have only the clothes on your back. No money, debit or credit cards. No cell phone.
There are 50 health kits to give away, how is it decided who gets one?
Are you looking at this with emotion and a need to do...something?
Wyanet Boy Scouts will be at the Wyanet Locker this coming Saturday from 10:00-1:00. We will be accepting items for health kits while we are there. This is an opportunity for you to do a very little something that will be a very BIG something to the person who receives the kit.
Here is a link to the items that are being collected
http://bearnecessities-mama.blogspot.com/2011/05/disaster-relief-drive.html
I know I sound like a broken record with all this disaster relief stuff, but if it was your town that was hit, wouldn't you want someone to reach out a helping hand?
When something tragic happens, we tend to react with our emotions and feel a need to do...something. We don't always know what we can do, we just want to do...something.
Saturday, the Boy Scouts conducted a Disaster Relief Drive for flood and tornado victims. We collected enough items for about 50 health kits. I'm sure those who receive these kits will be very graitful. The problem though is there is still such a need. I'm sure most everyone reading this today has seen the devestation on the news from the tornado that went through Joplin MO. last night.
This could happen to any one of our towns. This could be YOU with your child, or grandchild, or your neighbor's child. You have no home left. You have only the clothes on your back. No money, debit or credit cards. No cell phone.
There are 50 health kits to give away, how is it decided who gets one?
Are you looking at this with emotion and a need to do...something?
Wyanet Boy Scouts will be at the Wyanet Locker this coming Saturday from 10:00-1:00. We will be accepting items for health kits while we are there. This is an opportunity for you to do a very little something that will be a very BIG something to the person who receives the kit.
Here is a link to the items that are being collected
http://bearnecessities-mama.blogspot.com/2011/05/disaster-relief-drive.html
I know I sound like a broken record with all this disaster relief stuff, but if it was your town that was hit, wouldn't you want someone to reach out a helping hand?
Monday, May 9, 2011
Disaster Relief Drive
"...To help other people at all times."
"A Scout is helpful"
"Do a good turn daily"
Being helpful to others is just one area in which Boy Scouts are trained. Troop 1056 of Wyanet will be putting this into practise on Saturday, May 21st, 9:00am-2:00pm, outside Sullivan's Foods in Princeton. The Troop is sponsoring a disaster relief drive in conjunction with UMCOR for tornado and flood victims. Being collected are specific items for needed health kits.
*1 hand towel (15"x25" up to 17"x27", not kitchen towels)
*1 wash cloth
*1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket size)
*1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
*1 bath size bar of soap (3 oz. or larger in original wrapper)
*1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, no child size, no multiple packs, no dentist name or phone number)
*1 tube toothpaste (6.4 oz or larger.)
*6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages (regular size and wrapped in a rubberband)
ONLY these items are being collected. We are collecting in bulk so if you want to bring, let's say, a whole box of bandages instead of just 6 of them, we will gladly take your whole box. This goes for all the listed items.
Take a moment and consider what life would be like if you lost everything you own. Imagine not being able to brush your teeth for a week. Imagine how special something as a simple health kit would be.
Troop 1056 asks you to join us in:
"...To help other people at all times."
"A Scout is helpful"
"Do a good turn daily"
Mama Bear
"A Scout is helpful"
"Do a good turn daily"
Being helpful to others is just one area in which Boy Scouts are trained. Troop 1056 of Wyanet will be putting this into practise on Saturday, May 21st, 9:00am-2:00pm, outside Sullivan's Foods in Princeton. The Troop is sponsoring a disaster relief drive in conjunction with UMCOR for tornado and flood victims. Being collected are specific items for needed health kits.
*1 hand towel (15"x25" up to 17"x27", not kitchen towels)
*1 wash cloth
*1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket size)
*1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)
*1 bath size bar of soap (3 oz. or larger in original wrapper)
*1 toothbrush (single brushes only in original wrapper, no child size, no multiple packs, no dentist name or phone number)
*1 tube toothpaste (6.4 oz or larger.)
*6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages (regular size and wrapped in a rubberband)
ONLY these items are being collected. We are collecting in bulk so if you want to bring, let's say, a whole box of bandages instead of just 6 of them, we will gladly take your whole box. This goes for all the listed items.
Take a moment and consider what life would be like if you lost everything you own. Imagine not being able to brush your teeth for a week. Imagine how special something as a simple health kit would be.
Troop 1056 asks you to join us in:
"...To help other people at all times."
"A Scout is helpful"
"Do a good turn daily"
Mama Bear
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Freemasons
I've just come home from 3 days at Masonic Grand Lodge and I have 'Masonry brain' still going. I just read this article on the Illinois Masons website and thought I would share it with you.
Secret society? Not really
By BETSY DEMITROPOULOUS - editorial@kcchronicle.com
Comments (No comments posted) | Add Comments
Tom Grisham knows the location of the lost treasure.
He took his godson to see "National Treasure" some years back, and his godson asked him whether he knew where the mythical treasure on which the movie centered could be found.
Grisham, a Freemason, had to tell his godson, “Yes, I do, but I can’t tell you.”
Movies such as "National Treasure" and books written by novelist Dan Brown have inspired a renewed interest in Freemasonry and a renewed speculation about any such treasure.
“[They] are good for Masonry and stimulate peoples’ minds,” said Grisham, worshipful master of St. Charles’ Unity Masonic Lodge #48. He has been a lodge member for 28 years.
Brown’s newest novel, "The Lost Symbol," focuses on Freemasonry and is set in Washington, D.C. It’s Brown’s third novel to involve the character of Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon.
"The Lost Symbol" is being welcomed by Freemasons across the United States. Grisham said he hasn’t read the entire book, but said it’s an improvement compared to Brown’s earlier Masonic-related novels.
According to www.freemasonry.org, Freemasonry is the oldest and largest worldwide fraternity dedicated to the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of a Supreme Being. Although of a religious nature, Freemasonry is not a religion, the Web site said.
“Masonry doesn’t replace religion," Grisham said. "It supports it."
To be a Freemason, applicants must be men of good character who believe in God – no atheist can become a Mason – and be faithful and devoted to their own religious beliefs. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
The fraternity of Freemasonry is arranged into Grand Lodges, which preside over their own jurisdictions. These jurisdictions contain subordinate Lodges.
The fraternity also has related appendant bodies. Grisham said there are more than 30 appendant bodies, including the Shriners, DeMolay International and Job’s Daughters.
Every state has its own Grand Lodge, and Illinois’ Grand Lodge is located in Springfield. Grisham’s Unity Lodge is one of about 500 subordinate Lodges in Illinois.
Unity Lodge was formed in 1846 and is the 48th lodge to be established in Illinois and the first to be established in Kane County. The lodge is the second-oldest active lodge in the Chicago area and has about 80 members. Grisham said there are 75,000 Masons statewide.
In its early years, Unity Lodge assisted in the formation of new lodges in Kane County.Naperville’s lodge was established in 1848, Batavia in 1849, Sycamore in 1851, Geneva in 1853, and Elgin in 1852, according to Unity Lodge’s Web site.
The fraternity of Freemasonry is extensively involved in numerous charity and community service activities. Grisham said Masonic philanthropies contribute $2.5 million a day to charities. One of the most well-known philanthropies is the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Despite the belief of many people, Grisham said Masonry isn’t a secret society, explaining that secret handshakes and secret words are used to “recognize fellow members.”
According to the Grand Lodge of Illinois, any purported Masonic “secrets” were made public several centuries ago in London newspapers and today can be found in the Library of Congress and in other sources.
One famous Freemason, Benjamin Franklin, might have said it best: “The great secret of Freemasonry is that there is no secret at all.”
What are Masonic principles?
• Faith must be the center of our lives.
• All men and women are the children of God.
• No one person has the right to tell another person what he or she must think or believe.
• Each person has the responsibility to be a good citizen, obeying the law.
• It is important to work to make the world a better place for all.
• Honor and integrity are keys to meaningful life.
Secret society? Not really
By BETSY DEMITROPOULOUS - editorial@kcchronicle.com
Comments (No comments posted) | Add Comments
Tom Grisham knows the location of the lost treasure.
He took his godson to see "National Treasure" some years back, and his godson asked him whether he knew where the mythical treasure on which the movie centered could be found.
Grisham, a Freemason, had to tell his godson, “Yes, I do, but I can’t tell you.”
Movies such as "National Treasure" and books written by novelist Dan Brown have inspired a renewed interest in Freemasonry and a renewed speculation about any such treasure.
“[They] are good for Masonry and stimulate peoples’ minds,” said Grisham, worshipful master of St. Charles’ Unity Masonic Lodge #48. He has been a lodge member for 28 years.
Brown’s newest novel, "The Lost Symbol," focuses on Freemasonry and is set in Washington, D.C. It’s Brown’s third novel to involve the character of Harvard University symbologist Robert Langdon.
"The Lost Symbol" is being welcomed by Freemasons across the United States. Grisham said he hasn’t read the entire book, but said it’s an improvement compared to Brown’s earlier Masonic-related novels.
According to www.freemasonry.org, Freemasonry is the oldest and largest worldwide fraternity dedicated to the Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of a Supreme Being. Although of a religious nature, Freemasonry is not a religion, the Web site said.
“Masonry doesn’t replace religion," Grisham said. "It supports it."
To be a Freemason, applicants must be men of good character who believe in God – no atheist can become a Mason – and be faithful and devoted to their own religious beliefs. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
The fraternity of Freemasonry is arranged into Grand Lodges, which preside over their own jurisdictions. These jurisdictions contain subordinate Lodges.
The fraternity also has related appendant bodies. Grisham said there are more than 30 appendant bodies, including the Shriners, DeMolay International and Job’s Daughters.
Every state has its own Grand Lodge, and Illinois’ Grand Lodge is located in Springfield. Grisham’s Unity Lodge is one of about 500 subordinate Lodges in Illinois.
Unity Lodge was formed in 1846 and is the 48th lodge to be established in Illinois and the first to be established in Kane County. The lodge is the second-oldest active lodge in the Chicago area and has about 80 members. Grisham said there are 75,000 Masons statewide.
In its early years, Unity Lodge assisted in the formation of new lodges in Kane County.Naperville’s lodge was established in 1848, Batavia in 1849, Sycamore in 1851, Geneva in 1853, and Elgin in 1852, according to Unity Lodge’s Web site.
The fraternity of Freemasonry is extensively involved in numerous charity and community service activities. Grisham said Masonic philanthropies contribute $2.5 million a day to charities. One of the most well-known philanthropies is the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Despite the belief of many people, Grisham said Masonry isn’t a secret society, explaining that secret handshakes and secret words are used to “recognize fellow members.”
According to the Grand Lodge of Illinois, any purported Masonic “secrets” were made public several centuries ago in London newspapers and today can be found in the Library of Congress and in other sources.
One famous Freemason, Benjamin Franklin, might have said it best: “The great secret of Freemasonry is that there is no secret at all.”
What are Masonic principles?
• Faith must be the center of our lives.
• All men and women are the children of God.
• No one person has the right to tell another person what he or she must think or believe.
• Each person has the responsibility to be a good citizen, obeying the law.
• It is important to work to make the world a better place for all.
• Honor and integrity are keys to meaningful life.
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