I’m running Philadelphia this weekend, and I’m doing it to help a charity there, so I figured it would be great to run a guest blog from the founder of that charity. It’s a cause that hits close to home for me and I’m glad to be helping.
Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 7-year-old Jack, is severely autistic and I’m attempting to run 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. So far, I’m on track and through 54 of the 61.
Philadelphia is marathon No. 55 of the year, but it almost didn’t happen for me. I book my travel and race registrations fairly late in the process. I never know my schedule, so I don’t book my airfare until I’m certain of when I need to be where. At the same time, though, I don’t book a race until I have the airfare. I have to make sure I have both ends covered.
When it came time for me to lock down this race, it was sold out. I contacted the race staff and explained to them my situation — they usually hold some entries for special-circumstance exceptions, and I typically make it through that way. But I had no luck with Philadelphia. There are people I had been planning on meeting up with there, so I was pretty bummed. I wanted to find a way in.
I looked through the charity partners and found one that stood out to me — the Hearts and Smiles Foundation, which is an organization that helps the siblings of special-needs kids in low-income families. It’s pretty easy for me to relate to this — two of my kids are siblings of a special-needs child. We’re not a low-income family, but Jack’s needs make things pretty tough at times for Benjamin and Ava. There’s things we can’t do as a family and there’s things they miss out on. The siblings are the forgotten ones in these challenging situations, and I can only imagine what it’s like for those kids in low-income families.
Hearts and Smiles seemed like a great charity to partner with, so I contacted the founder, Melissa Scarcelli, and asked her if she had room for another runner. She did, and now I’m ready to run Philadelphia this weekend. I asked Melissa to write a guest blog about her organization for today, so with that, here’s a little bit about Hearts and Smiles, in her words.
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I founded the Hearts and Smiles Foundation almost 5 years ago, after my third child was born with severe heart defects. She spent a great deal of time in the hospital during her first year of life. When she was home, she endured a lot of therapies and doctors appointments. She had a feeding tube and an oxygen tank for breathing support. Her schedule included medications and tube feedings around the clock. Through all of this, my 3- and 5-year-old sons were forced to watch their sister get all of their parents’ time and attention. She received cards and gifts and visitors; they had to spend time with a babysitter while we tended to her every need.
I was fortunate to have a tremendous support network of friends and family to help us through those difficult days. We all made a conscious effort to give the boys special attention and time away from their sick sibling. I saw many families at the hospital who were not so fortunate. I saw mothers who were so poor they could not take their sick babies to the homeless shelter with them. I saw siblings who had to spend hours at the hospital with their parents because they had nowhere else to go.
I learned that it is not only the sick child who suffers as a result of illness or injury. It is very easy to feel sympathy for a child who is sick. But we must not forget about the healthy children who are equally as important and as deserving of our love and affection.
I started Hearts and Smiles because I wanted to help. I knew the feeling of powerlessness that comes with having a sick child. I wanted to help other mothers with the material things they needed so they could focus more attention on both the sick and the healthy children in their families.
Our programs have helped families all over the Philadelphia area. We do not have an income threshold or a specific diagnosis that qualifies a family for our help. We work with social workers and case managers at area hospitals and agencies, who refer families to us when those families really need our help. In our short existence, we have helped more than 2,100 children in many different ways. We provided acting lessons for the teenage sister of a child with cerebral palsy. We provided clothing and toys for countless families suffering through various disorders. We sponsored a birthday party for the sibling of an autistic child. We provided a grant so that the brothers and sisters of transplant recipients could attend a week of summer camp. We have purchased beds, diapers, cribs, strollers, soccer lessons, air conditioners, Christmas gifts, and laptop computers. The list is endless. We even helped defray the cost of a handicapped-access ramp. Each case is treated individually; each family is helped in the way it is needed most.
Sometimes our assistance seems so insignificant considering the family’s dire circumstances. Yet, the following quote from a thank you letter we received illustrates that is not the case. “…Sometimes it seems like only a little can be done to help a family; it is so rewarding to see that to the family, what we might consider ‘little’ actually has a profound impact upon their lives.”
We are proud to be a part of the Philadelphia Marathon as an official charity. Events like this one bring awareness to our important cause and help us to raise money so we can continue providing help to all those families who need us.
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So, I’m asking you for one of two easy things (or both, if you can). First, click here to my donation page if you have an extra $5 you can contribute to a great cause. They’ve helped 2,100 kids in need and they’ve also helped Operation Jack. If you have $5 that won’t hurt your quality of life, just know that it will help somebody else’s quality of life.
Or, can you spread the word about my blog today and bring in just one new reader? That would help this cause, too.
Of course, you’re welcome to do both!
That’s all I have for today. Have a great day!
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