SYL: Heifer International Youth Volunteerism Projects

Alwar in northwest Rajasthan, India is an area that holds some of the poorest women in India. These women have dealt with poverty, little to no education, no health services, etc. Heifer International, along with BLT Helps, is working to empower and help these women, so that not only their lives can be phenomenally changed, but the lives of their children and communities can, as well.Women are provided goats, but with the goats come education, nutrition, financial empowerment, etc. The women whose lives are forever changed are now wanting to pay it forward to other women who are struggling/trying to survive.

Recently two teenage girls, Paris and Paloma, traveled over to India to work with Heifer. They had the opportunity to see, up close and personal, the devastation that poverty and oppression have wrought….but they also had the opportunity to hand out goats to women in India and to see the positive outcomes and possibilities this creates for these women and their villages. Heifer International provides goats, educates the women on how to care for their goats and milk them, and in turn, women are empowered to help their communities. Women are also now learning how to read and write; they now have opportunities that they’ve only been able to dream of.Imagine being a woman in Rajasthan….imagine not being able to choose what you can wear….on a bigger scale, imagine never being able to read a book….imagine not being able to give your children the education that you so long for them to have….imagine not being able to feed your children….as a blogger, imagine not being able to have a voice.

Heifer International provides community service opportunities to young people, so that they can go and work and experience things that many teens can’t even imagine. I’m excited about these opportunities….I’m excited not only for the women in India whose lives are forever changed when they are handed the ropes to their very own goats….but I’m excited for the youth volunteers who get to experience the power of handing those reins over, to experience the life changing force that Heifer International brings.

Support Heifer International today….read the stories, and educate your children as to the difference that even they can make, the impact they can make on lives. Shine your light!(Photographs used with permission of BLT Helps. Some photographs taken by Brigitte Lacombe; other photographs taken by volunteers/team members.)

SYL: Ronald McDonald House & Make Family Time Happy Time

As parents there are, God forbid, times when our children are sick and need more attention than what they can get at home. Sometimes children have to be hospitalized, and when they do, Ronald McDonald House is a great resource and support for families going through an illness with a child, especially when it comes to finding a place to stay so far away from home. My nephew Trey stays at a Ronald McDonald House in Manhattan every time he goes back for scans. I know it’s been a wonderful way for their family to connect with other parents and families going through similar things and to participate in different projects and events with the kids, just to help get their minds off of the illness, even if just for a little bit.

Ronald McDonald House Charities are one way that you can shine your light to other families who just need all of the encouragement and support that they can get, particularly when going through a dark valley in their lives, such as a diagnosis of neuroblastoma or leukemia. There are ways to volunteer at your local Ronald McDonald House or even donate.

McDonald’s sent me the following information on a way that you and your family can help, as well….

Right now McDonald’s U.S. restaurants are donating proceeds from Happy Meal and Mighty Kids Meal sales to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). This ongoing donation will help benefit more than 11,000 sick and critically ill children and their families each day. As part of the fundraiser, McDonald’s has brought the new RMHC fundraiser to life online through a sharable “Make Family Time Happy Time” online application, where families are encouraged to pledge minutes of “happy time” together and share their own creative activities with other families via McDonald’s Facebook page or their personal blogs. Here’s how to get involved:

  • Visit McDonald’s Facebook page to download the application and participate in the campaign.
  • You can select from an existing family time activity provided on the application, or you can submit your own tip and pledge to help RMHC.
  • McDonald’s will donate one penny to RMHC for each minute pledged, with a goal of reaching 1 million minutes and $10,000 to use towards family time activities for RMHC guests.

This is a fun, interactive way to get involved, especially if you have young children….I know that it’s not as easy to actually volunteer somewhere when you have littles, but that’s ok. There are plenty of other ways that you can help and encourage others. One more way that you can help, is to vote for RMHC on their Members Project. This could help them to win $200,000 towards helping even more families who are in need. You can follow RMHC on Facebook and @RMHC on Twitter.

Don’t forget to shine your light!

(Note: I am working towards making Shine Your Light focused more heavily on the fight against human trafficking. If you know of organizations or links that might be helpful, I would love to know about them. Thanks for reading!)

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