We interrupt the giveaways for a very special request!
Back in 1980 my youngest sister Jackie was born.
When we went to visit her in the hospital her eyes weren’t open yet.
My parents told us that babies didn’t open their eyes for a few days.
Although they knew Jackie was blind they didn’t know very much yet so they didn’t want to tell us until they knew more.
Well almost 30 years later that little baby girl Jackie has blossomed into an amazing, intelligent and inspiring young woman that I am proud to call my sister.
Jackie has done so much with her life so far, more than a lot of “sighted” people.
She is currently attending graduate school and getting two Masters.
She has traveled to Taiwan, Europe and even lived in South Africa for a year and a half where she and her best friend Emma STARTED a successful camp for children with special needs…
something that is very rare in that country.
She has pretty much devoted her life to helping children like herself reach their full potential.
As I write this post I sit here at Camp Tuhsmeheta or “Camp T”.
When my family and I set out to come to this camp, I thought it would be a great experience for my kids, myself and Brian, and we would just help out as needed.
Well meeting these kids, canoeing, playing games, and eating with them, they have helped me, not the other way around.
These kids are amazing and this is one of the only places they can go were they aren’t “the blind kid”, they are just one of the gang.
Some of the kids were born blind like my little sister, some have had brain tumors and it is a miracle they are still here but the tumors made them lose their vision.
Some were premature, or had detached retinas.
They come from all kinds of backgrounds and all have different stories.
But they are just normal kids that love to swim, play, canoe, sing and learn.
I feel so blessed to have a sister with a disability. It has taught me so much. I truly am thankful for the experiences that it has brought to my family. Don’t ever doubt people with special needs, they are just like you, they just want to fit in and enjoy their lives. And I beg you to teach your children to do the same.
Now all this being said you know I don’t share much of my personal life on this blog. But I felt moved to share this with you all so that I might be able to give back to this camp :). Which is funded solely by private donation and barely squeaks by each year on the brink of not being able to operate. I want to donate to help Camp T so that kids can continue to come back here every summer and just be one of the gang. Sadly I don’t have a big bag of money, so instead…I will donate the $5 I make from each virtual outfit I sell AND 25% of any Stella and Dot jewelry that I sell through the 31st of this month. So if you have been considering purchasing either please do so this week and help Camp T in the process. I also had a request for a link to just donate straight to Camp T so here you go 🙂
Thanks for your consideration.
Links to Camp T
