Nigerian charity for the deaf

So on Friday I went to watch a movie and eat lunch with my boyfriend at the palms shopping complex. While there a man approached him with an envelope asking for donations for a charity he belonged to that helped deaf people. I was glad to see that he was so willing to make a donation, and that motivated me to do so too. I was rather surprised that the man only gave an envelope to my boyfriend and not the both of us. But I asked him for one and he was very grateful for the donations. Usually I am very skeptical about such charities because there really isn't a way to verify their legitimacy. I can only hope that our donations are used to better the conditions of deaf people in the nation and not for someone's selfish gain. Oh well, good night everyone!

Mr Biggs

Evening!
So on Thursday I had this longing for the meat pie from mr biggs restaurant and therefore drove right there to get myself as much as I could eat. Well after I got my snacks, on leaving the restaurant I noticed the door man looked sad and tired. So I gave him the change from my purchase that I was going to use to buy credit for my phone that night. I was very pleased to see his countenance change and he became immediately happy. I told him merry christmas and went on my way. While not being able to recharge my phone that didn't really affect me much, giving the money to him really made a difference to him and that made the sacrifice worthwhile. So please find someone this holiday period and make their day.

British airways charity

Merry Christmas everyone!
It feels like forever that I've blogged and I'm really happy I got this chance to. Well Nigeria has been fabulous So far and I'm having a ball. I've got to meet a lot of people and hang out with family. I haven't had access to a computer since, so I'm going to have to blog about my good deeds since I left on Tuesday.
On Wednesday I made a donation to the comedy for hope charity sponsored by British airways. The had a donation envelope in the travel pack they gave us and I thought it was a great cause to support. Most flights support charities and only ask for people to donate their loose change from the country they are travelling from because they accept all currencies. So I encourage all those travelling this holiday season to take advantage of this donation opportunity and help be someone's miracle.

Salvation Army

          Well now that I got that off my chest, its time to blog about my deed for today. I have been meaning to make a donation to the Salvation Army for a while now, so I finally did so today. I am sure that a lot of people living in the US are familiar with the organization and what they do. Most of us donate our clothes and furniture to them and put money in their donation kettles when we go grocery shopping (the individual ringing a bell for donations at almost every Giant supermarket). They are one of the most popular charitable organizations in the US and they have helped a lot of people both financially and emotionally. Apart from providing funiture and clothes to the less privileged, they offer other services that I was not aware of before.
          They have an anti pornography campaign to battle pornography because they are a christian organization. They also have a world wide service office that responds to natural disasters and international needs. They have additional programs like missing persons, recreation, community care reliefs, youth camps, adult rehabilitation,anti human trafficking, elderly services and sponsorship. They really do a lot more than just pick up our sometimes unwanted possessions and they are easily accessible. So I encourage everyone to do as much as they can to support them. There are a lot of ways to donate to the organization. United Airlines and Delta Airlines both have charity miles programs that allow you donate acquired miles to the salvation army. This has helped unite military families with their serving members and also helped salvation officers respond to the needs of those affected by natural disasters like the Haiti earthquake. They also accept automobile, furniture, clothing and household donations. Lastly they accept monetary donations and are in need of volunteers. So please donate and do the much you can to ensure that they help as many people as they can. Spread the love!!!!

 

To schedule a pick up of the items you want to donate (very convenient) please call 1-800-SA-TRUCK (1-800-728-7825)

Here is the link for their webiste
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-local/Home


Here is the link to make a donation to the organization. (secure paypal payments)
https://secure20.salvationarmy.org/

An honest moment...

Good evening everyone!
          I hope you all are enjoying the weekend, I know I am. I have had the most challenging weak of my life so far and I am just recovering from it. I had 6 final exams in 6 days and also had alot of personal issues I had to deal with. But like I knew he would, God intervened and ensured that I got through the week. So far I have gotten As on the exams I have gotten back and the issues have been resolved. So I am more than grateful to God. I have one more on monday and then I am off to Nigeria for about 3 weeks. I am so looking forward to the break, but the recent flight cancellations and terrible weather reports have got me really apprehensive about it. Hopefully, everything goes well and I have no delays or cancellations. Fingers crossed!
           So recent events have made me reconsider and change my initial plan for the blog. Originally, I hoped to perform a good deed everyday and blog about for the next year. Unfortunately I do not think I will be able to do exactly that for some reasons. First of all, my demanding school schedule and work load has made it increasingly difficult to plan and do these deeds everyday. That leaves me making a lot of online donations to organizations to make up for that. This has been the trend for the past few days and I am beginning to find it bothersome because continuing that trend might be financially difficult and unfulfilling. There is this joy I get from planing deeds and donating my time to them that is lacking with online donations. Don't get me wrong, they are an awesome way to help people. But I just wish I could do more. So I am deciding to blog about as many deeds as I can do, which might not happen everyday. I prefer to take the time to really give from my heart than just making donations because I feel obligated. Which is what the past few days have been feeling like.
           I am sad and really regret that my current situation (school schedule and student budget) has not afforded me the luxury to do these deeds everyday as planned. But I hope to do as much as I can and keep my giving as consistent as possible. I will still post all of my deeds, both completed and planned, and try my best to inspire others to get involved and give to others. Like I stated earlier, I will be traveling to Nigeria next week and therefore will not be able to blog for about 3 days  depending on when I get internet access. But I promise to keep you all posted on my deeds as soon as I can and also post planned events to try to get as many on board as possible. I really appreciate the words of encouragement, help and involvement I have gotten since I started blogging. Please this change is not an indication of decreasing commitment, rather it is me adjusting to my situation to ensure that I can continue. God willing, I will be able to get back to my initial intentions.

Lots of love xxx.

Friends Forever TV

     Please pardon me, I only have 4 hours to sleep before my next exam and therefore can't post a lot. However I made a donation to Friends Forever TV in Jamaica today. I made a donation to the organization a few weeks back and really appreciated what they did, so I decided to support them again.

   For information about the organization please refer to day 14. Thanks!


*Like some of the previous posts, I will come back and revise this post over the weekend. Please bear with me*

McDonald's Charity Donation Box

Evening everyone!
             I haven't been this tired in a very long time. I had my third exam today, and honestly I am mentally drained. Having students take 6 final exams in one week is just pure torture. I am definitely going to be making a complaint about this after we are done. Well as you can imagine I am exhausted and tired, so I was really happy that I could do my good deed in a fast food drive through.
             I put some money into the Ronald McDonald House charity box at a McDonald's I went to this evening. Every McDonald's has one, and it is a great, convenient and fast way to give back. Just consider putting your change in the donation box every time you go to one. If everyone did that, I'm sure it would make a substantial difference to the charity and those they help. There are a million opportunities available to give back, we just have to be willing to.

Domestic Violence Center

Hey all!
       Second day of finals for me and I am already stumped. I have a genomics exam tomorrow and I am still battling with a swollen eye and now my body itches. I'm beginning to believe I am having an allergic reaction to something, but can't figure out what it is. I'm currently taking claritin (can't take benadryl because of the drowsiness) and using hydrocortisone cream for the itching but I dont think they are effective. Its going to be a tough week, but I know I can pull through. I just need to keep looking at the end of the tunnel.
        I made a donation today to support a cause that is dear to my heart, preventing domestic violence. There are a lot of people being victimized by their loved ones, who feel that they have no hope. They suffer in silence for fear of the abuser and the stigma that is associated with being abused. Therefore it is important to support organizations that help these people rebuild their lives and gain back their independence. The Domestic Violence Center is located in howard county and provides domestic violence/sexual assault services. They also cater to all members of the family that are affected or impacted by domestic violence. Being that the center is a private non profit organization, they rely on the donation of people and sponsors. So please consider supporting and donating to the center. You will be helping them give those who have been abused a second chance at life.

Here is the link for the Domestic Violence Center.
http://www.dvcenter.org/


Here is the link to make donations to the organization
https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/DomesticViolenceCenterofHo/OnlineDonation.html

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Evening everyone!
       Hope you all had a better day than I did. First of all I woke up this morning with a ridiculous boil on my right eye that hurts a whole lot. And I have an exam everyday this week and can't afford to let that get me down. However studying all day has made it worse and now all I want to do is take some pain killers and sleep. So I really can't blog for long.
       But I still did my good deed today. I made a donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for their thanks and giving campaign.

* I will revise all my shortened posts this weekend, please bare with me *


Here is the link to their website.
http://www.tg.stjude.org/index.shtml

Here is the link to make a donation
https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/donation.do?cID=13805&pID=19012&siteSrc=home_nav
      

Africa Fighting Malaria

12 days till Christmas!

Happy Sunday everyone!
          Hope you all had a wonderful day and weekend. Well the week is here again and its back to the school grind for me. I have 6 finals this week and all I can do is look to God for strength. I'm just happy that the semester is almost over and that I get to relax for a month. WooHoo!!!
           For my good deed today, I made a donation to the Africa Fighting Malaria organization. They work to ensure that no African child dies from malaria, by researching and advocating for effective, integrated, and country-driven malaria control in Africa and encouraging the use of high-quality anti-malarial drugs (taken from the website). Although Malaria is a preventable disease, it is the number one cause of death for African children under the age of 5. Children in under developed countries die from the disease daily because of limited medication available to treat it. I find this very alarming, because malaria is a disease that most people take for granted because it is so curable. I remember just taking anti malaria drugs whenever I had malaria, which happened often because I have an AA blood type, and feeling better within the week. Not realizing that some unfortunate child just died from it somewhere else in the continent. So I definitely will be making more donations to the organization in the future and I will try my best to raise awareness about it.
          I encourage everyone to make a donation. A donation of $1 can provide 1 child with an effective treatment for malaria. Just $1 or a bag of potato chips can help save a child's life. So I hope that you all will consider donating to this cause, and help eradicate this "preventable" disease.

 

Here is the link for the AFM website.

http://www.fightingmalaria.org/ 

Here is the link to make a donation to the organization. 

http://www.aidforafrica.org/member-charities/africa-fighting-malaria/?donate=true

          

Freedom from Hunger

Evening Everyone!
         Hope your day went very well. It's getting colder and colder in Maryland and my desire to leave the house is slowly diminishing lol. As a result, most of my good deeds have been done online. So for my good deed today, I made a donation to Freedom from Hunger. It is an organization that brings innovative and sustainable self-help solutions to the fight against chronic hunger and poverty. Together with local partners, they equip families with resources they need to build futures of health, hope and dignity (taken from the website). They enable women from rural areas feed and provide for their family. Please support the cause.


* I must apologize for the shortness of the post, I promise to come back and revise it :-)*

Here is the link for the website
http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/

Here is the link to make a donation to the organization
https://www.freedomfromhunger.org/help/online.php?origin=2010gholidaydhp

U.S fund for UNICEF

15 days till Christmas!!!!!

Evening everyone!
          I've had a rather long day and that's why I'm blogging this late. I spent most of my day relaxing and recuperating from the crazy week I had. I found out that I got an A in all 3 of my exams so that started my day off good. Also I received my Christmas gift today and I am still smiling about it. It was exactly what I wanted and I already have plans for it lol.
         Well for my good deed today, I made a donation to the U.S fund for UNICEF. Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF is a global humanitarian relief organization providing children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's humanitarian relief work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States (taken from the website). It is estimated that about 22,000 children die each day from preventable causes. The statistics are heart breaking and the situation all too real. Therefore we need to do whatever we can to bring that number to zero. Please consider donating as much as you can to UNICEF to help support their efforts. 








Here is the link for the UNICEF website
http://www.unicefusa.org/


Here is the link to make a donation to UNICEF
https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=1621&1621.donation=form1
  

Global Medical Brigades

Evening world,
         I'm running on two hours of sleep right now, so unfortunately I can't leave a detailed post. But I will definitely come back afterward to revise it. For my good deed today, I supported Global Medical Brigades by making a donation to them. Students from the chapter at my school held a fund raising event to support their organization and I was all too happy to help. The organization partners with communities in Honduras and Panama to provide medical relief and supplies.



Here is the link for the Global Medical Brigades website.
http://globalbrigades.wikidot.com/gmb:about

Ronald McDonald House Toy Drive

Evening everyone!
         Hope your day is going/ went well (depending on your location). My day was very very cold, but still wonderful. I had my third exam today and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. So far it seems like I'm getting As in all three of them and I am ecstatic. Glad that the hard work is finally paying off, those countless hours were not in vain.
           I donated more toys to the Ronald McDonald House for my good deed today. And like I promised, I got toys for the boys. I got a Pinocchio puzzle, a toy bike and bubbles!!! The toy drive is still going on till friday, so I might get some more toys tomorrow :-).
       

Ronald McDonald House

Good evening!
         My day has been excruciatingly long. I had the 2nd of 10 exams for this final period today and although it was long (about 3 hours), I'm thankful it wasn't that bad. I kind of "over studied" for it and have only slept for 3 hours (two days in a row), so as you can imagine I am not the most alert person now lol. I have my next exam at 7.30am tomorrow morning and it is a killer. Hopefully I get to sleep for longer than 3 hours today because I really need it.
          Well for my good deed today, I donated more toys to the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore. The toy drive in my school is still going on till Friday, so I wanted to donate as many toys as I could before then. I got a Cinderella puzzle, Brats diary and a pack of highlighters (I know that's random but they make effective decorating tools lol) for the children in the house. I must confess that I am being a bit unfair to the boys (I always end up getting toys for girls) but I promise to make it up tomorrow. Being that it is the Christmas season, it is very important to spread love and cheer to as many people as we can. Gifts are such an effective way of doing that because they are so thoughtful and personal. Everyone loves receiving gifts, I know I do :-).

Here is the link for the Ronald McDonald House
http://www.rmhbaltimore.com/

Uyiosa Orphanage & Widows Ministry

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.

-Rabindranath Tagore

          There is a common African proverb that says it takes a village to raise a child. This is especially true when it comes to orphans and abandoned children. Some of them have experienced more hardship in their young lives than most adults ever will. They have suffered abandonment, rejection and humiliation. And with adoption rates declining, more of them are ending up on the streets or turning to a life of crime. And that is why it is of utmost importance that we support our local orphanages. Every family should "adopt" an orphanage and do the best they can to support them because they are in dire need of our resources, time and love. My mom and I started a foundation that caters to orphans and orphanages in my home country Nigeria about 3 years ago and it has truly been a blessing to them and us. It is just amazing to see how they cherish the little things that we don't really see as all that important. Just spending time with the children shows them that they are wanted and appreciated and they really love that. 

          Well my good deed for today was inspired by a friend of mine that left a comment on the blog a few days back. She told me about an orphanage she supported in Benin city Nigeria monthly, although she lives in Texas, and I knew I had to feature it here and make a donation. So that's exactly what I did. They have a paypal account, which makes it really easy to donate. The name of the orphanage is To God be The Glory International Ministry aka Uyiosa Orphanage & Widows Ministry and I just found out today that it was founded by her mother Mary Uyiosa Igunbor. They rescue aborted, abandoned and orphaned kids from the street and provide them with basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter. They also give academic scholarships to some of the children they save to ensure they get an education.

          In addition, they cater to widows by advocating for their rights and providing small scale loans for them to support themselves and their children. Most widows in Nigeria are accused of killing their husbands and are therefore maltreated and abandoned by their in-laws. So the orphanage also provides counseling and a safe haven for these women to recover from their tragedies. I really admire and commend Mrs Igunbor and her family for the sacrifices and opportunities they make possible for these individuals. They really are an extension of God's hands on earth, and I pray that he continues to bless, strengthen and enable them.

Here is the link for their website 

http://www.godgloryorphanage.org/index.html

Here is the link to make a donation to the orphanage.

http://www.godgloryorphanage.org/contributions.html

Friends Forever TV

Happy Sunday!
        Hopefully you had a wonderful day free of stress and problems. Unfortunately for me, my Sunday hasn't been exactly stress free. Service was wonderful as always and I felt really refreshed afterward. However tomorrow starts the dreaded "finals" period so I have been studying none stop. I barely managed to squeeze in 30 minutes to do my deed for today and blog about it. Let me just apologize in advance because my posts for the next two weeks might not be as detailed as previous ones. But I promise to edit them with more information as soon as finals are over.
      So my deed for today, like most of my Sunday deeds, was inspired by a pastor that came to my church. My pastor is very involved with missions giving and always invites guest speakers from various charities to our church to come minister. Pastor Mark Muirhead and his wife were the guests for today. He is the founder and host of the Friends Forever TV (FFTV) channel airing in Jamaica. His vision and courage has lead him to start 8 channels in Jamaica, mostly in cities were there were no christian channels existing. His wife is a very talented harpist (a slowly dying art), and together they run the channels with the help of the locals. Being that they started this mission all on their own, they rely a lot on the donations of companies and individuals like us. A minute of airtime cost them $0.20 which doesn't seem like much, but the cost adds up considering that they air 24/7 on 8 different channels. So I decided to support his ministry by making a donation on his website. I really admire his dedication to spreading the gospel and appreciate the sacrifices that he and his family makes daily. Please consider supporting his ministry and giving someone the gift of the gospel this christmas season.



**** Happy 2 weeks anniversary by the way, 50 more weeks to go!!!! (Please don't laugh at me, I just can't help but be excited lol.) I really appreciate everyone that has encouraged me, commented on the blog and given me feedback since I started. Your support really gives me the added momentum I need to continue. Lots of love xxx ****

Here is the link for the FFTV website
http://friendsforevertv.com/


 Here is the link to make donations to FFTV through paypal
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=w24jLwUzXpEBubemWD-4TV4Z_Cy__WqHNngL4kmngArNL89GSGp0Un2EASm&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8d9384d85353843a619606282818e091d0

Ronald McDonald House Wishlist

Good evening everyone!
          Hope you all are enjoying the weekend, I know I am :-). Today has been a rather mellow one. Did my good deed in the morning and then just enjoyed some quiet time at home before I started studying. I have 3 exams next week so I really need to be on my study grind.
         Well my good deed for today was a lot of fun for two reasons. The first being that I got to go shopping for the families at the Ronald McDonald House and secondly my boyfriend joined in on the goodwill. We went to the Family dollar store in the morning to get some items from their wish list. I chose to go there because of their very good deals, which meant that we could get more. We ended up getting the following items;

• Paper towels

• Toilet paper

• Plastic plates and cups

• Lysol cleaning detergent

• Swiffer mop with the dry and wet cloths

• Washing detergent

            We got them for a rather reasonable price and I am glad about that because supporting charities can get pretty expensive. We dropped the items off at the house afterward and got to meet some of the personnel there. They were really grateful for the items we bought and we were both really happy to give them. Raising awareness and involving other people in this project was one of things I hoped to get out of it, so I am really thankful for and appreciate his help. The more, the merrier!!!!

Picture of our shopping cart :-)

Here is the link for the Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore wish list. The items listed are basic necessities and are always needed. So please give as much as you can. 
http://www.rmhbaltimore.com/how-to-help/wish-list/

Maryland Food Bank

TGIF!!!! 

          Haven't been this happy to see a Friday in a long time. I finally get to relax and catch some much needed sleep. Well school was rather interesting today (for a pharmacy school). It was the last day of the Maryland Food Bank can drive. So for my good deed today, I gave some money to the students in my class that were making last minute runs to the grocery store. A can castle competition between three of our classes was also part of the drive, so we didn't want to lose. Each class was given about 3 hours to build their castles and the winning class got $100. The competition was definitely a good idea because our classes collectively bought more than $1,000 worth of food and supplies for the MFB. Well the class of 2012 won the competition and my class (class of 2014) and the class of 2013 tied for 2nd place (just because they were very creative lol). As you can imagine, pharmacy school isn't the most interesting or fun place, so this was a welcomed distraction. That aside, I'm really proud of our efforts and hope we can do better next year.

   

 

 Our castle (class of 2014)

 The castle for the class of 2012

  The STADIUM of the class of 2013 (This was done by only 4 people, so I must commend them for their efforts and creativity.)

Here's the link for the MARYLAND FOOD BANK. Please donate as much and as often as you can.
http://www.mdfoodbank.org/site/c.mgLPIYOzGlF/b.5551677/k.BF32/Home.htm

Keep A Child Alive

Hey everyone!
            Today has been such an emotional roller coaster for me. Like I mentioned earlier, today was my friends funeral and honestly I am spent. First of all, a lot of glitches had to be straightened out at the last minute (4am this morning) and I ended up having about only 3 hours of sleep. So I was physically drained already, but that did not compare to the emotional toll the service took on me. Everything finally seemed so real to me, I could no longer pretend that he was hiding somewhere waiting to surprise us. I tried hard not to question God but his death is so painful and unexpected. However the day got a little better after the service. Family and friends came to the house and we tried our best not to mourn but celebrate his life instead. He was such a happy person, that that only seemed befitting.I just pray that laughter and love continue to exist in their home. Amen!
           For my good deed today, I made a donation to KEEP A CHILD ALIVE charity. I found out about it from twitter of all places because of their "digitally dead celebrity" campaign. While I must say I really didn't care too much for the concept of the campaign ( the celebrities can't tweet or update their facebook pages until their "digital lives" are bought back), I support the cause and hope more people do too. They aim to raise one million dollars to help save the lives of millions of children affected by HIV/AIDS  in Africa and India. Their statistics show that 15.2 million children have lost their parents to AIDS, so they provide treatment and care/support for those affected by the disease. They also support the children's extended family or caregivers and build orphanages for the them. Yesterday was world AIDS day, but it should not be the only day we think about the disease or try to help those affected by it. So I encourage everyone to get tested ( ignorance is not bliss in this case), not segregate those who are HIV positive or have AIDS and finally support charities and organizations that help alleviate the problem.

Here is the link for the Keep A Child Alive charity
http://keepachildalive.org/


There are two ways to make a donation to the charity

1. Here is the link to make donations to the charity
https://secure3.convio.net/kca/site/Donation2?idb=758261402&df_id=1325&1325.donation=form1&JServSessionIdr004=0o5e2p1nh2.app306a

2. Text "BUYLIFE" to 90999 to give $10 to the charity through their digitally dead campaign. They currently have $182,180 and their aim to raise $1,000,000.
   Here is the link for the campaign http://buylife.org/

Day 10 - Ronald McDonald House

Happy 1st of December everyone!

          So Christmas is 24 days away and I am particularly excited about this one. First of all, I get to go home to be with my family and also I have a lot of interesting things planned for this trip (most involving charity).  I was going to wait till the week before Christmas to go shopping for the loved ones, but I decided to do a few yesterday. My list is rather long (Lord help me). Alright, back to business! The students at my school are always organizing drives for charities which makes it easy to give back and be involved with the community. Yesterday, I noticed that there was a toy drive for the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore. So of course I had to get involved :-)

       

            The Ronald McDonald House (RMH) provides a “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay close by their hospitalized child at little or no cost.  Their Houses are built on the simple idea that nothing else should matter when a family is focused on healing their child – not where they can afford to stay, where they will get their next meal or where they will lay their head at night to rest (taken from their website). They provided housing for six major hospitals in Baltimore city; University of Maryland Medical Center, R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Rubin Institute at Sinai Hospital, Kennedy Krieger Institute and Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital. And surprisingly they are the ONLY RMH in Maryland. They house as many as 36 families every night and only charge the families $15 a might if they can afford it. This is an amazing feat considering that they are an independent nonprofit organization, and as a result they are responsible for 100 percent of their $1,200,000 annual operating budget. Therefore they rely on the help of corporations and individuals. Christmas season is here and the children need gifts to brighten their spirits. Most families have been away from home for months and would really appreciate it. Also consider volunteering your time to help with events at the house. I will! 

My gifts (the teddy says a prayer when you press its hands which I thought was just adorable and perfect).

LINKS

Here is the link to the RMH website, please get involved with at least one (click on the "How you can help" tab).

http://rmhc.org/ 

Here is the link for the RMH in Baltimore (remember that it's the only one in Maryland).

http://www.rmhbaltimore.com/index.html

Here is the link for the WISHLIST for the RMH in Baltimore. (Their needs are very basic and relatively inexpensive). Please do the best you can...

http://www.rmhbaltimore.com/partners/wishlist.html

In memory of a loving heart....

Good morning world!
         It's really weird to be blogging this early in the morning but I know if I didn't do it in between classes I would be hard to do it today. I am so overwhelmed because I have so much going on right now, all I can do is pray to God for the strength. I lost a good friend on the 19th of Nov and till today it seems so unreal. He (Akin Alabi) was such a sweet, kind and lovable person. So much so that he was helping someone the day he tragically got killed. I find it really hard to come to terms with the lost but I'm sure that God has a plan for him and his family. I can only pray for the strength to be there for them and for the right words to say to comfort them. I will be going to their house to join them for a prayer session later on today and then attend his service of songs and funeral tomorrow. As unpleasant as this experience has been for me, it has taught me to live life with no regrets and to make a difference in this world while I can.

Akin, you will be terribly missed. Rest in Peace love xxx 

Maryland Food Bank

Good evening everyone!
         Hope your day wasn't as cold and rainy as mine was. I really dont like it when it rains although I totally understand that rain is essential for life and I should be thankful for it. I  just get so sleepy and tired whenever it rains and I feel like I have half the energy I usually do. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep all day (a luxury that I can't afford). Anyway apart from the weather, my day was good and pretty productive. Finals are almost here, so I have been on study overload. My study habits have definitely changed to accommodate the crazy amount of information we are expected to learn. Used to be that person that studied 2 or 3 days before an exam, but reality quickly set in when I got into grad school. So for the next 2 weeks I will be hiding in my apartment or in the library buried in books. Wish me luck!
        For my deed today, I donate cans and boxes of food to the Maryland Food Bank (MFB). There were donation boxes in my school's atrium so donating was very convenient and easy. I donated some cans of spaghettiOs, sweet corn and boxes of Mac and cheese. There are a lot of people, especially children, in Maryland that go to bed hungry every night. So the MFB has really been a blessing to the state by trying to reduce that number and it is mostly due to the individuals that volunteer their time and resources. There are food drives happening all over the state and their locations can be found on their website. If there isn't one close to you, then YOU can start a drive yourself. All you have to do is fill the participation form on the website. They also opened a community kitchen this year, to prepare meals for families and soup kitchens creating  a lot of ways  for people to contribute and get involved. They have seen a 30% - 50% increase in demand for their service, many of whom were considered middle class before the economic recession took hold. This is really unfortunate, and I feel that giving back to those that dont have is a good way to show our appreciation for the blessings we have. Please donate as much and as often as you can to the MFB because they really need our help.

 Picture of the donation boxes in the atrium .

Please take a minute to look at the MFB Fact Sheet to get a better understanding of the need.
http://www.mdfoodbank.org/atf/cf/%7BD63BA49B-D699-407E-A9CE-AA4293E06A68%7D/MFB%20Fact%20Sheet%20FY%2011%20-%20dg.pdf


Here is the link to their website for donations and information on food drive locations.
http://www.mdfoodbank.org/site/c.mgLPIYOzGlF/b.5551677/k.BF32/Home.htm




  

Hygiene kits

          It was back to school for me today and believe me I was definitely out of wack. Struggled to keep my concentration through the first 2 lectures but gradually got back into the flow of things. Thank God for mediasite (lectures are recorded online). Well my school is having an HIV/AIDS week and there are alot of interesting things happening on campus. An organisation I belong to, SWAP, decided to make hygiene kits to give to the community during that week. The kit will have basic stuff like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo etc.
         So for my good deed for today I donated items for the kit. I gave some soap bars, shampoo, conditioner and mouthwash (all miniature sizes). Giant supermarket has a lot of them in the travel isle and they were pretty cheap. I think the kits are a great idea because the items provided are such an overlooked necessity. I live in Baltimore, and trust me when you drive or walk in the city you will understand why. Don't get me wrong, its a beautiful city, but there are a lot of homeless people on the street. And it just breaks my heart to see them. Hopefully we can reach out and help as many of them as we can that week.

 *** On a side note, when I started this project I thought it would be hard for me to constantly find things to do. But I'm so glad that these wonderful opportunities keep presenting themselves and that I can afford to do them. When there's a will, there's a way! ***


Goodnight world xxx

Convoy of Hope

Happy Sunday everyone!
          Hope you all got to rest a little bit this weekend, I know I did. Sundays are always bitter sweet for me. I look forward to it because I get to go to church and visit my family but then its the last day of the weekend so it reminds me of how hectic my week is about to be. But hey that's life, bittersweet.
          My good deed for today was actually inspired by my pastor. About 2 months ago, as we were leaving the service he handed us all $10 to be used towards missions. He challenged us to get creative with the money we got and donate whatever proceeds we could get from it to a charity in Kenya. People really embraced the challenge and thought up a lot of great ideas. Some people sold water bottles, others food, ice cream and a group of people combined their money and actually made a praise book. However I baked some brownies and a cake, sold them for $1 each and I was able to double the money. The charity benefiting from our donations is CONVOY OF HOPE. They build homes in Nairobi Kenya for the children on the street and orphans. Their new project involves building a home in Mathare valley in Nairobi that can house approximately 100 children. They need $40,000 to build the home, which will be self sustaining, and plan to begin the project in January 2011. So I encourage everyone to donate as much as they can to help them meet their goal. Any investment made to saving a life is never a waste, so please do the best you can.

Love xxx

To make donations to this charity please visit

http://www.potomacag.org/kenya.asp

Or you can mail a check payable to Potomac District Council-KENYA  
And send it to - Potomac District Council-KENYA PO box 690 Gainesville, VA 20156.

    

Angel Tree

27 days till Christmas!!!!!  

         Today I officially started my Christmas countdown and I'm so looking forward to it. Apart from the gifts I get and parties I get to go to, the holiday really brings a sense of joy and goodwill. I also get to take the time to reflect on the passing year and start making new year resolutions (which I try very very very hard to keep). But the most important part of Christmas for me is that I get to spend time with family (who are back home).
           Thinking about all that today made me decide to make a donation to a charity called ANGEL TREE. It's a prisoner fellowship that give gifts to children of inmates. They deliver the gifts in the name of the child's parent and help to keep the family love going through the season. About 1.7 million children have a parent serving time in a state or federal prison but every year the organization strive to deliver gifts to about 400,000 of these children. This is a huge undertaking that the organization, with the support of churches and people, have been able to make for the past 3 decades. Hopefully with more exposure and our help or donations they will be able to reach more children this year. And right now they have a matching grant that doubles every gift received up to $100,000. So for every gift you sponsor, you help to send a gift to another child as well. They ask for a donation of $11.44 to enable them send a gift to a child, and with the matching grant they can send a gift to two children. So for $12 you get to spread Christmas cheer to two wonderful kids in need of love. I really hope you all do so, because it is definitely worth it.



Here is the link to make donations to the ANGEL TREE charity
https://www.angeltree.org/donate-today-drm-at



For more information about ANGEL TREE, please visit their website
https://www.angeltree.org/helpangeltree

Feed the Children

Hello world!
        I hope everyone's day is going peaceful and well. My body is still trying to recover from the thanksgiving festivities yesterday, but I am so grateful for the break. Sadly its back to the school grind for me because I have two exams next week, God is my strength though. Its been an exciting first semester for me and I am actually looking forward to the craziness of next semester. 18 credits, fewer hours of sleep and countless coffee runs.... So excited!!! lol
         Anyway, for my deed for today I made a donation to FEED THE CHILDREN organization. It is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty, or natural disaster (taken from the website). They have been in existence for 30 years and have grown into one of the world's largest private organizations dedicated to helping hungry and hurting people. "Last year, Feed The Children shipped 133 million pounds of food and other essentials to children and families in all 50 states and in 34 foreign countries, supplementing more than 760,000 meals a day worldwide. Since our founding in 1979, Feed The Children has reached out to help children and families in 119 countries around the globe" (taken from the website).
         I must confess that I am guilty of ignoring the mails, asking for a donation, from them in the past. And even when I dont ignore them, I either misplace the letter or forget to mail them (really sad). So since I stayed indoors all day, I decided to finally go online and make a donation. It literally takes less than 5 minutes and they accept donations as little as $5. Most people complain that they are not able to donate money to charities because of their financial situation, and I understand that. However $5 a month does not seem like such an inconvenience to me. Think of it as sacrificing a fast food meal for a day to save a child's life. The organization also sends you updates on the children/child you are helping and that really helps put things in perspectives. It is also a good way to keep track of their progress and see exactly where your money is going to. I just hope that more people will consider donating money to them so that they can continue the great work that they do. They really are an extension/manifestation of God's kindness on earth.
      

Here is the link to make donations to the organization:

 https://secure2.convio.net/ftc/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=285784&s_src=TopRightAlone20090424&mboxSession=1290812456133-84513&JServSessionIdr004=horer7bqm2.app220a

And for more information about FEED THE CHILDREN please visit their website 

http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dotorg_homepage

   

The Alamo

Happy thanksgiving everyone!!!
            I hope you all found the time to bond with your family and friends and also thank God for his many blessings in your life. I am totally exhasuted from cooking thanksgiving dinner and I am just looking forward to eating it all :-) (not looking forward to the extra pounds though). I am definitely very thankful this year. I am in good health, have a wonderful family/friends and I am pursuing my dreams. I've had a few ups and downs along the way, including losing an uncle in October and a dear friend on the 19th of Nov. But through it all I know that there is still so much to be thankful for and I choose to dwell on that.
           Well for my good deed today, I volunteered at a neighborhood restaurant that was giving out free lunch to the less privileged. The restaurant is THE ALAMO in Riverdale MD, and they have been doing these lunches every thanksgiving for the past 9 years. It is a Mexican restaurant with a lot of character, history and might I add really good food. The restaurant owners have collaborated with various churches over the years and my church happened to be one of them this year. The lunch was served from 12am to 3pm, but the volunteers got there at 11am to get ready and set up the serving stations. I went with one of my very good friends and we both had a good time and I am sure others did to. The people were kind, the portions very generous and the atmosphere was just filled with cheer and love. They served both Mexican and American meals but I was working at the Mexican station and got to learn a few Spanish words lol.
          In addition to the lunches, coats, gloves/scarves and bread were also given out. I have to commend the owners of the Alamo for the wonderful job they did. They did not spare on cost and were very organized and welcoming. One of the owners said that one year they served lunch to about 900 people. Wow! I really admire their giving hearts and appreciate all the volunteers that came out to support today because they couldn't have done it by themselves. This a classic example of the great things that can be done when people come together for a good cause. I am just thankful that I was able to be a part of this and I pray that God continues to reward their efforts, and provide for many more meals in the future.

 

Trinity Assembly of God

Hey world!
        Today was totally awesome for me. I got to sleep till about 11am and just watch TV afterwards. I know that might not seem like such an exciting thing, but for a grad student its bliss. We don't get alot of sleep, so when we do we tend to overdo it lol.
       Well for my good deed today, I donated some of my scarves, gloves and hats to the homeless. My church is having a coat drive and asked the members to bring any extra winter clothing to donate to the homeless. There are collection centers all over and it is definitely a good way to spread love this season. So please look for one and donate whatever you can......
       

My church is TRINITY ASSEMBLY OF GOD and it is located on 7800 Goodluck rd lanham, MD 20706.

                            ***Feel free to stop by and bring whatever you can***

The Children's Home

***The mind is a terrible thing to waste***

        Hey guys! Hope you all had a productive day, I know I did. I had one of those 7.30am killer exams but totally squashed it so that was one highlight of my day. The other highlight was the countdown I started for thanksgiving. Usually Thanksgiving isn't one of the holidays I look forward to, but having a 4 days weekend definitely changed that. I finally get to relax, hang out with friends and family and donate more of my time to spreading goodwill. 

        So my good deed for today was done for a set of people that hold a special place in my heart, kids. They are loving, honest and so unintentionally inspiring. I donated a couple of my textbooks to The Children's Home located in catonsville and also signed up to volunteer as a tutor once a week. The home was established in 1863 and is a residential care facility that provides long and short term services to youth 13 to 21. They also have a diagnosis center that is an emergency placement center for girls 13 to 19, and a treatment foster care program that provides specialized care to youth with behavioral and social/emotional problems. 

        I must say I was very impressed when I visited the home. The personnel there were very kind and receptive and made the trip worthwhile. I didn't get to meet any of the children because they required people have a background check done before they can interact with them which I think is very good. But I got to see the facility and get a general feel for the daily activities and how things were run. I am really thankful for the founders of the home, because they have impacted the community and given so many abandoned, abused and neglected children a second chance. So I encourage everyone to find a home and support it. It could be with your time, money or other resources. Nothing is too small and no effort is ever unappreciated. 

     

http://www.thechildrenshome.net/

Car meter

           As you can imagine I am uber excited about this project. I have 365 opportunities to impact somebody's life positively and also better myself in the process. I really dont know how I intend to complete it, but there's so much good in this world and so many wonderful people to draw inspiration from that I know I'll be fine.
            That being said, the first day was very intimidating for me. My competitive/overachieving side wanted to immediately save the world, but i quickly came to realization that that might not happen today lol. So as I was walking to the school's car garage, still contemplating on what to do, I noticed a parking meter that had expired but still had a car parked. Usually I would have walked right past it, but my brain being on help mode quickly noticed it. So I stopped and filled it up to an hour because I only had 4 quarters and continued on my way. I got into my car and was still deep in thought about what to do when it hit me. I had just performed an act of kindness and didn't even pay attention to it because no one was there to thank me/it seemed so little. There was no applause, no thanks, no smile, no prayers nothing. I was the only one that knew about what I just did and the owner of the car would probably drive off not noticing it either.
           For a moment that was pretty hard for me to come to terms with, but I quickly realized that that is life. You will not receive a "thank you" for every good deed you do. There are tons of people who do extraordinary things everyday that go unnoticed and never stop. So why should this deter me? There has to be something else that motivates you apart from the gratitude, and it's up to you to find out what it is. For me it is the feeling I get and my wanting to always leave a place better than I met it. There is such a sense of pride and improved self worth that wells up inside of you that words really can't describe. All I can say is that I was smiling a whole lot afterward and probably looked a bit crazy. I could have saved the person some money, made them feel good knowing that someone took the time to be nice or had no profound effect on them.Who knows.....
           So today I learned two things.  I learned that not every good deed has to be elaborate, expensive or big and that I will not get thanked for everything I do along the way. I'm actually content with that because the feeling I had today was PRICELESS! I have no clue what I'm going to do tomorrow but I'm looking forward to it. Hmmmm I really have no idea, scary lol... Goodnight World!
        
       

How it all started...

       There is just something about that smile of gratitude, look of appreciation and sense of relief that makes helping people worthwhile. I get such a sense of pride and a feeling of fulfillment that is almost addictive. Before I'm done with one project, I already have 5 lined up in my head waiting to be executed. The problem is that I always think up big and elaborate plans that take considerable effort and time to complete. And as a result I tend to obsess about them till they are completed and do not really take the time to enjoy the spirit of giving because I'm on to the next project. It has almost turned into a competition within myself to do better each time, which is I realize has got to stop.
       However, being in pharmacy school has made it hard for me to be consistent because I devote at least 60 hours a week to it, and still try to maintain a decent personal and social life. I have turn down a lot of volunteer opportunities because of my crazy schedule and feel really bad about it. So I decided to do something about it and that was how the 365 days of goodwill blog was born.
        It's pretty simple, I intend to do a kind act for a stranger everyday for the next 365 days. I decided to blog about it for 2 reasons;
1. To ensure I do not get lazy or "too busy" and forget to stay on track (I was kinda inspired by the movie Julie and Julia lol).
2. To encourage others through my experiences to do the same.
I know the timing is pretty random, but I am a chronic procrastinator (this has been on my mind for about 4 months) and I need not wait any longer. I am not blogging to get praised by or seek the approval of others, rather I want to be a catalyst or a spark of sorts to get people to start thinking about others more. Hopefully I make a bigger impact than I expected by the end of next year. But if not hey, at least I made someone smile each day and that's good enough for me....

***I encourage everyone to join in be it for a day, week, month or a year. And please share your experiences with me and others . Together we can be the change we hope to see in the world***