Tuesday, December 3, 2019

When Giving is All We Have



I've been in a self-absorbed rut.

Today is Giving Tuesday.

I'm no philanthropist and have difficulty with the philanthropy model, so much so that I've long given up fund-raising for medical charities, etc.  But today, on Giving Tuesday, I'm pulling my head out of my navel and raising money for a non-profit foundation that is particularly dear to my heart. It's the place where Sophie goes each day that she is able, a community of disabled young people and their aides or "coaches," who help them to access the community, to work, to be a part of something bigger than themselves and their diagnoses. The staff of Creative Steps/Aurelia Foundation expands these young people's lives and sees beyond their limitations, and it's a beautiful thing. They run on a shoestring budget, partially reimbursed by the State of California, but I learned yesterday that they also run on a consistent $350 a month per client deficit. I'm reaching out to you today to donate whatever you can to The Aurelia Foundation -- even a tiny amount is a good thing!

Here's Sophie's and my page:

Aurelia Foundation/Creative Steps





Here's a poem:

When Giving Is All We Have
       One river gives
       Its journey to the next.
We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.
We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.
We have been better for it,
We have been wounded by it —
Giving has many faces: It is loud and quiet,
Big, though small, diamond in wood-nails.
Its story is old, the plot worn and the pages too,
But we read this book, anyway, over and again:
Giving is, first and every time, hand to hand,
Mine to yours, yours to mine.
You gave me blue and I gave you yellow.
Together we are simple green. You gave me
What you did not have, and I gave you
What I had to give — together, we made
Something greater from the difference. 
From “A Small Story about the Sky,” by Alberto Ríos (Copper Canyon Press, 2015). Reprinted with permission from Copper Canyon Press.

7 comments:

  1. Done. Thank you for giving us the opportunity. Hugs, my friend.

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  2. What Rosemarie said.
    Love you, darling. Sophie too.

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  3. Thank you dear brave heart.
    ❤️ 🧜‍♀️

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  4. I've been wondering where you've been lately, Elizabeth! I'll get over to Aurelia ASAP.

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  5. Sophie looks very alert and present in this photo, I'm sure what she's been receiving from this wonderful Foundation has enriched her Life and yours! So sad that the greatest of these Helpful Agencies has to run at a deficit per Client at all! I can understand sometimes needing to retreat to a self-absorbed state of Being to concentrate on personal things... but glad you could surface to the land of Blog for a moment. Givers always gain... always... and it feels so Good to Give, doesn't it?

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  6. I was on your FB page and ordered the calendar Carl has the cover of and may order another as an xmas present for my sister. A unique gift.

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  7. "All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we're giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That's one of the things that connects us as neighbors--in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver." Mr Rogers

    XXXX

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