Today I am volunteering to count and collect money for the JDRF Kids Walk at Forest North. I always have so much fun being a part of this program. This is the 3rd school I have counted for- Old Town, Live Oak, and now Forest North. I will be counting for Purple Sage (my old Elementary school) next month, as well as Kaci and Bailey's school, also in February.
It is so nice to see the kids come in with their collection folders. Some are filled with checks, some with cash, and lots and lots of them are filled with coins. I hear stories of grandparents and cousins who are affected by diabetes. I hear stories of how they walked around their neighborhoods asking for donations. I also hear the stories of how they have donated their own money after watching the video of the little girl with diabetes during the presentation. So sweet! I get excited about every penny! EVERY PENNY!
It is my hope that soon - I will be able to be in charge of the presentation and not just the counting. I recently watched Christina present at the kids schools. She was AWESOME! She only had 25 minutes to fill the kids with all of the knowledge of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. She sang a beautiful song that her own daughter has written about what it feels like to have diabetes. I cried. She danced- she told jokes.....I laughed! She was AWESOME!
There is a brief video that she shares with the students mid-way through the presentation. It is a 6 year old girl talking about how diabetes has affected her life. I cried EVERY time the video came on. (I watched about 6 presentations) I cried in my car on the way home.I continue to cry...I continue to HOPE! If you would like to make a donation...Kaci and Bailey are collecting now through February 11th. Sometimes I am such a mess!
**ON A SIDE NOTE: I also met a really nice man while at the school. At first I thought he was a student teacher. He was in the gym helping the PE Coach. A really nice VOLUNTEER. Come to find out he was not a student teacher- just a dad who volunteers at the school ALL day EVERY Friday to help the PE teacher. (she has multiple classes on Friday and that makes for lots more kids!) I talked to him for a bit and discovered that he is a professional soccer player with 3 children of his own at the school. He saw the PE teacher struggling and decided to help. Said he feels it is important to give back. Said the students had no interest in soccer before he started coming- but now they can't get enough. So, if you have been thinking about volunteering- or if the opportunity arises- just do it! It often gives you so much more!**
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