Looks like the outcome of an episode of Hoarders, right? It's actually a bottle drive for an amazing cause: Baby Molly Campbell and her family. If you don't know who Baby Molly is, you need to take the time to read her story. Go ahead, please read it and then come back to this post if you like.
As soon as I heard about this fundraising event, I knew I would be taking any and all of our empties and contributing to the cause. The girls and I spent the last couple of days in Mill Bay and came back this morning. After getting home and bringing everything in from the car and getting snacks together, etc, I wasn't sure if we would be able to make it to the bottle drive before nap time.
I was ready to skip the event altogether and then I shook my head and knew that was silliness; I would deeply regret not going. But I also knew that Sonja would resist leaving the house again after the long car ride from Mill Bay, so I sat down with her and explained that there was a small baby, smaller than Haven, named Molly who was very sick and in the hospital. I told her that lots of people were getting together to help Molly and her family and I asked if she would like to help too. Sonja knows about hospitals and she was quick to say yes, so I packed up both girls and what few bottles we had and drove across town to the bottle drive. And I was taken aback by the response from the community.
These photos only show the yard. You should have seen the dozens of cars packed onto this tiny street and all of the people unpacking stuffed garbage bags and massive boxes of empty bottles. And not only that, you should have seen the bustling crew of hard-working volunteers, sorting bottles in the cold, barely looking up from their task. Seriously, these people were focused. And they had to be: the bottles were coming in by the truckload. Our meagre basket of bottles felt woefully inadequate.
And in the centre of this hive of activity stood a small table with two dangling posters, a donation jar and some tiny orange ribbons on a clip with the words "cherish" and "love". When I saw the jar, I knew what to do. We got back in the car, went to a bank machine and came back with a cash donation. I only wish we could have given more.
What an inspired and inspiring event. I don't mind saying I was truly overcome. I stood by the table at the front of the yard, Sonja standing at my right hand and Haven held in my left and I started to tear up just watching all these fine people coming together to help a family who need and deserve the support. There really is love all around us.
Sonja had lots of questions about what was happening and I did my best to explain to her that when you learn that someone is hurting or sick and needs help, you do what you can to help them, even if you don't know them personally. Because we are all the same and we all need to look after each other. And what I loved about that conversation with Sonja is that when I explained it that way, she stopped asking questions (which is unlike her) because she understood it immediately and completely; she got it. If only everyone could see things as simply and easily as children can.
There are so many stories similar to that of Baby Molly and her family. So many charities, so many good and worthy causes, close to home and across the world. I often feel paralyzed by the staggering amount of suffering in the world and when I think of donating to a cause, I am beyond overwhelmed at the thought of narrowing it down to only one.
Today was a remarkable day, because not only did we get to donate and feel part of a good cause, we got to witness love, empathy and compassion in action. And they were really, really busy.
If you are moved by Baby Molly's story and want to donate,
do it now before you lose your momentum.
Don't think about it, just do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment