This post isn't about us.
It's about them. Honor Flight and Golisano Children's Hospital for Children, the two charities that perform a wonderful service to so many.
Each year on the farm we sponsor two non-profits for notice. We try to draw people's attention to them, to give them a shout out during our busy weekends and for that short season, shine the spotlight on them. This year we're doing Golisano Children's Hospital in Rochester and Honor Flight.
Having a Children's Hospital close by is huge for the City of Rochester and Monroe County, but even more, this hospital is a beacon of hope for a huge rural area that spans from the Pennsylvania border (the Southern Tier of Northern Appalachia, where I've set many novels) to Lake Ontario and from Buffalo to Syracuse. That's a huge area... and because it services such a large area, we have two Ronald McDonald houses for families. One is off-site, a few blocks from the hospital and one is in-hospital, where parents can stay while their little ones are undergoing treatment. God bless Tom Golisano for putting his fortunes to good use for the community at large. He's done wonderful things for New York and Florida, for kids, schools, hospitals and so much more.
On a personal level we are doing this in memory of two babies gone home to heaven too soon. Our little nephew, Alan at six months of age and our newborn cousin Lacey. Despite best efforts, these little souls shine down on us from heaven because sometimes the disease defies the science.
But it's also in honor of 
our beautiful MacKenzie who was stricken with Kawasaki Disease several years ago and was successfully treated at Golisano after confusing her doctors for several days and worrying an entire family.... As you can see, IVs and Holt monitors don't deter Grandpas from grandkid snuggles!
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| This is Kenzie last year.... with little sister Morgan. Hale, hearty and healthy! |
And for the successful treatment of little Roman, a tiny cousin who was diagnosed with an aggressive leukemia at age two. Roman is now a busy young fellow, going to school and living life, a wonderful outcome!
Sometimes science prevails!
And Honor Flight is a wonderful program that offers veterans a chance to visit the nation's capitol. It is an all expenses paid opportunity and the program is designed to make sure that our aged vets, the men and women who served our country, have the chance to see the memorials in Washington D.C. Each veteran travels with a "guide", a person who accompanies them on the trip to ensure their comfort. Wheelchairs are available for each veteran so that they're not over-taxed by the long walks from place to place. It's an amazing opportunity and shows our veterans the love and respect they so richly deserve. These pics are from the Monroe County Airport when Paul Sr.'s group was deplaning a few years ago...
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| Waiting to greet the veterans! |
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| Bring on the RED, WHITE and BLUE! |
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| Folks gathering along the path the veterans will walk. |
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| Paul Sr. and Mandy (his guide) arriving in the parade of veterans! |
On weekends our Honor Flight table is set up and our friend Paul Tramonto Sr. is often there, a veteran of the Korean War, talking with people...
And by the donkey pen we have two FANCY coffee cans that explain what the "Donkey Area Fundraiser" is all about. In the past we've done hurricane relief and Haiti relief and the farm matches all money raised at the donkey area.
The joy of this is that we raise awareness and visibility and we help others while people have fun!
Jerry Lewis used to do a telethon for muscular dystrophy and he used to say that giving to help others is a selfish thing because it makes the giver feel so good! :) He was right.
The more we do for others, the more we set the example for being the eyes and hands of Christ right here on earth. Shining a light on these two organizations is just one way of putting a hand out in peace and justice and joy. There are no color or creed lines in honor and medicine... there's just love.
Multi-published author Ruth Logan Herne has published over 60 novels and novellas, she loves life, God, her family, her country and she's not afraid to bleed red, white and blue and to stand for life. She is blessed to own a pumpkin farm that welcomes folks in every fall and for eight weeks she laughs, bakes, serves, sells, sorts, displays and does all things pumpkin... before quiet reigns once more. Email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com, visit her website ruthloganherne.com or friend Ruthy on Facebook!
Ruthykins, you got me all teary-eyed. I love, love, LOVE this! You all have been able to do so much with the farm. Helping others, bringing joy to countless lives. I just want to move up there for September and October so I can help out.
ReplyDeleteCome on up! We'd have so much fun!!!!! BAKE OFF!!!! I would love that so much, Mind-O! :)
DeleteThat is a great way to let people know about these wonderful organizations! And your personal connection speaks volumes...you aren't asking people to help support a charity you can't vouch for.
ReplyDeletePraying for a successful season all through the fall. :-)
Thank you so much! And Jan, you struck on something that means a lot to me... knowing who's getting the money. We did hurricane relief for two years, and I found churches recommended by writing friends and sent them the money directly to be distributed to a family in need. Sometimes the middleman effect waters down the contribution and I don't like that. If folks are going to give their hard-earned money, the money should go directly to those in need, as much as possible. Great point, Jan!
DeleteThey look like great organizations! I hope you get a LOT of donations! Bless y'all for doing this.
ReplyDeleteThey are, Missy. I had no idea how cool Honor Flight was until Mandy took Paul Sr. to D.C. a few years ago. Thousands of people line the airport walkways all the way through baggage, cheering for the returning veterans. It's crazy emotional. Lots of tears, some from the veterans themselves. That's a chokehold moment!
DeleteI'm so thankful for fantastic children's hospitals. We have one in Salt Lake City that is excellent. Our granddaughter had Kawasaki disease also when she was only 6 months old. They immediately diagnosed it and started her on treatment. It was hard on my daughter as it was her first baby, and the baby had already had Strep B when she was born. Luckily, they caught that and started her on antibiotics quickly. So thankful for modern medicine and knowledge.
ReplyDeleteYou're amazing, Ruthy. What some great organizations to support! Hoping you get lots of donations!
Winnie, thank you! And wow, Kawasaki at 6 months, that's dreadful. I know how scary it was to see MacKenzie's symptoms skyrocket as her vascular system broke down. But once they realized it wasn't flu or an upper respiratory virus and tucked her in Golisano, the treatments only took a few days. But it was frightening to see an extremely healthy child go to fighting for her life in a week's time. What a wake-up call!!!!
DeleteMy daughter's PA was a little stumped on the symptoms, but she, thankfully, told her that it just crossed her mind that it could be Kawasaki. It's pretty rare around here, but in Salt Lake City at Primary Children's Hospital the doctor that examined it said she had classic symptoms. They see it much more often down there. So glad they got on it quickly and she recovered well. They just said to get her heart checked often, as it can cause bad heart problems. She hasn't had any problems and is now in college. Scary stuff, though. It sounds like MacKenzie had it much worse, or they didn't diagnose it quickly enough.
DeleteWonderful post, Ruthy! I'm surprised I haven't heard of Honor Flight. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWalt, it's amazing. It's totally centered on the Vets and their comfort and enjoyment and I'm so glad that Mandy discovered more about it for us and applied for Paul Sr. to go. I can't say enough good things about it!
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