Sunday, July 25, 2010

Volunteer work that supports a family member

Mary first became involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International 7 years ago when her then 8 year old nephew was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  Since then, her husband, son and herself have participated in Walk for a Cure to raise money to support JDRF work.  Until 2009, the walk was held locally and, while the events were local, Mary continued to take on more responsibility by working the silent auction during the walk ensuring that the tables were set up and merchandised, accepting item bids and collecting money after the event.  She also worked a second silent auction event held at a local church.  Mary’s family also supported fundraisers at local restaurants each year where a portion of the sales went toward JDRF.  While her goal has not been to take on a leadership role, she has been happy being a “worker bee” for this cause.

Before becoming involved Mary researched the organization in order to see that it was reputable.  She liked the fact that JDRF focuses on type 1 diabetes alone rather than supporting type 2 diabetes.  The positive outcomes of her participation have been meeting new people and the good feeling of giving back to society.

When asked if she has agreed with the morals of the organization, Mary responded that she did not feel that one needs to have the same morals.  While she is not as emotionally involved as much as a parent would be with finding a cure for type 1 diabetes, she feels that one should just find out if the organization is doing good work.  If one does not agree with everything it is OK.  Just as with friends, you may not agree with everything they do, but you still keep them as a friend.  This organization has helped a lot of people and that is good enough for her to continue supporting them with her efforts. 

Mary’s nephew has benefited from her participation as well.  At the charity walks, vendors for diabetic supply companies are set up to tell people about their products and give away stuff to help the type 1 person in your life.  Therefore, she has received a glucose monitor for when her nephew is at her house and also supplies to keep with her (glucose tablets) just in case her nephew goes high or low while he is with her.

A review of the JDRF website provides interesting reading. 
  • The causes of type 1 diabetes is not known, however, scientists believe that it is a malfunction of the pancreas whereby the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells.
  • Common myths about type 1 diabetes include that it is caused by excessive sugar intake or obesity. 
  • Genes account for less than half of the risk for this disease so other factors influence the development of type 1 diabetes. 
  • Research is one of the major goals of JDRF.
A reading of the 2009 annual report for JDRF enlightens us more.  82 percent of their expenditures ($142 million) go toward research and education programs.  Their research programs are driven by patients, priorities, partnerships, and pipeline.  The annual report describes further how research funds are chosen:
First, we judge the “patient benefit,” the quality of improvement that research would deliver, and the percentage of people with type 1 diabetes who would benefit. Then we look at the “time to benefit,” or how long it will take to deliver a drug or treatment. Next is the “scientific impact,” or the potential of the researchto advance science. Finally, we consider the “funding gap,” so that we are only funding science that otherwise wouldn’t be able to move forward.
JDRF has chosen a strategy of cure, treat, and prevent.  This allows them to focus dollars on research at every stage of the disease.  They also fund a mix of short term and long term projects.

If you are interested in learning more or becoming involved in this cause, visit the JDRF website.  The website contains information on living with diabetes type 1, advocacy actions that you could take to work toward a cure for this disease, and information on current research related to this condition.  You can also search for a local chapter to become involved personally with this organization.  All donations to chapters and branches are tax deductible.



Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Cup of cold water society

A relative by marriage (whom I see too infrequently) and I were talking. It was one of the few times we ever chatted, and, indeed, one of the first times that I had ever talked to S. in-depth before. When I say ‘in-depth’, I’m referring to the philosophical, the moral, the spiritual as opposed to, say, the weather. Anyway, he was telling a great story about his Medieval fighting practices and the strange and humorous ways they have affected him, his life, and his marriage. As a result of this lively account of his Templar costume and resulting wounds, we landed squarely in the realm of chivalry as it related (and relates) to the Templars, and in modern days, to those strange, moony, dreamy people (of which I am one) who yearn for the days when a handshake meant something, when honor played out as a matter of course, and deals were fair and square.
 
S. told me about his idea: wouldn’t it be great to just go around helping people? It was a great idea. He elaborated. Just help people who need help. Don’t explain anything, or ask for anything in return. Don’t expect a thank you. Just do it. After some thought, S. told me that he had performed some of these random acts of kindness, and had loosely banded several people together to help him accomplish his brand of giving, but distance, time and money had derailed the project somewhat. He told me that he came to the conclusion that the ‘group’ should ‘select’ the person requiring help, rather than just ‘doing it’, as he was concerned that a line would form with people with hands extended, saying ‘where’s mine?’. This should be avoided, if possible, S. told me, and I agreed. But how, without knowing the extent of the person’s ‘need’ would one accomplish this ‘judging’ of need?

It was a great idea. I told him that I would like to be involved in some way, but as I lived 500 miles away from S., and didn’t want to ‘help’ by providing only financial assistance (which I cannot provide much of, anyway) wondered how this was all going to work out. We left it at that, more or less. That was in early July of 2010.

On the 14th of July, what would have been my grandfather’s 100th birthday, I read in the ’Forward Day by Day’ devotional booklet from our church, a passage that outlined the Cup of Cold Water Society. It was uncanny the way it mirrored S.’s plans for a society of helpers. The rules of the society, which began after a church member offered to tend the grave of an elderly lady’s husband and who couldn’t attend the grave herself (due to some very odd circumstances), are simple. I quote from the passage in the Forward Day by Day: “There are no dues, no officers, no meetings---a thoroughly satisfactory organization. The rules are that when you know someone is in need, maybe for something so simple as a cup of cold water, you help and then tell no one you did it.” I think this states succinctly what S. was trying to tell me, and irons out some of the problems he was struggling with. Don’t worry about how you can give to everyone, and don’t worry about giving to those who don’t ‘deserve’ it. One should just help where one can, and give as one can. The devotional goes on to say that God will know. Amen.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Origins

Over the two past years, I have spent time researching several medical conditions, and identifying agencies that can aid a young child with a disabling condition.  At the same time, my desire to aid others in my immediate community and those in foreign lands that are less fortunate than my family has grown, yet my personal circumstances (as indicated above) prevent me from dedicating much time in aiding others nor does it allow for large contributions to any particular cause.

The desire to increase aid evolved from several sources.  First, we started attending a church with very active community members two years ago.  During this time, I attended a program called Just Neighbors, which personalized the challenges of poverty and gave participants not only a chance to discuss issues, but also allowed us to experience balancing a budget when income never covers basic necessities, losing our job when we were not trained to do any other type of work and had no family support system, and experience the prejudice that comes with not being able to support your family. I wanted to get more involved, but my immediate family needed to take precedence, which means that my free time for volunteering comes only after my young child goes to bed at night and my financial responsibility to support my family takes precedence over donations.   This does not make a good combination when it comes to charity work.  However, a blog posting on hospitality toward others really hit home to me and made me realize that I could possibly make an impact by blogging myself about charitable organizations and ideas for serving others.

My goal is to start by identifying organizations or programs that allow us to be hospitable to those perceived to be 'less fortuate' financially, healthwise, mentally, or spiritually.  I am not an expert in any of these areas, but I am a trained librarian (and thus have research skills) and  have paired with a professional writer to aid in the crafting of interviews and documentation process.  Together we aim to provide informative and throught provoking posts that we hope will lead to many people demonstrating hospitality toward others.