Having a child is obviously a wonderful thing. It brings my wife and I so much happiness, and we look forward to seeing my daughter grow everyday and seeing what new things she learns, does and hopefully soon, says. One thing that I didn't expect when my daughter was born was that on top of all of the joy and happiness that she brought us, I would also experience fear like I never have before. Fear that she may not be protected and safe at all times. Fear that something may happen to her. I don't live my life constantly fearful, but every so often, I see a news story or read something online that sickens me and brings fear to the forefront. Yesterday as I walked in the Chicago Loop, I had some of these fears after learning some shocking statistics, and today for my random act, I want to do something about it.
It is estimated that 3,000 cases of childhood sexual abuse go unreported in the Chicagoland area every year. These children have to live in silence and fear that if they speak up, they will be harmed or injured, all while the abuse continues. The Chicago Children's Advocacy Center's mission is to eliminate the suffering of abused children in Chicago by uniting public, private and community partners to ensure their well-being. Yesterday, the group took over Chicago's Daley Plaza for a program called Voices for 3000. They asked people to pledge their "voice" for the voiceless children who, due to fear, can not speak out about their own abuse. It is a way to stand up for these children and raise awareness for this serious problem. So today, for my random act of kindness, I visited their website and pledged my voice. Please visit Voices For 3000 and pledge your voice to help eliminate childhood sexual abuse.
This post is probably the best one yet.. it really hits home for me.. I think I'll go pledge my voice as well! Thank you so much.. for all that you do. May you be so blessed.. you and your family!
ReplyDeletewhat you've done is something that cannot be appreciated enough. greatness of humanity lies in selflessness and this act of kindness serves a very noble cause. will surely pledge my voice as well.
ReplyDeleteI follow this blog because I LOVE the idea that you have about doing a random act of kindness everyday for one whole year! I have a suggestion, maybe you could do this one soon, but a teenage boy that I know (he is actually a very good friend of mine) was born with brittle bone disease. He wasn't even supposed to live 'till he was two, but he is now 16. He has had over 500 broken bones and he is only 16 years old! Last year we had a fund raiser for a big "tub" or pool so he could exercise his muscles. Swimming is one thing he could do because other than that he is wheelchair bond. Also last spring he had a huge surgery to put a rod in his spine because his spine was crooked. So after all this progress in his body, guess what happened just a month ago. He got in a car accident, rolled into a ditch, and bent the rods in his legs, arms and messed up his back. It's a miracle that he didn't die in the accident because if the air bag came out, it would've killed him. Yesterday he had a surgery to fix his back in Montreal, and it's worse than they thought and the surgeon who does his arms and legs is in Europe for a family emergency there. So now his back is paralyzed (well he can't bend over at all) and he is in a ton of pain. Another thing is that the doctors are worried about fixing the rods in his arm and leg because there is almost no bone to attach it to. His name is Tim Bosch and if you could just pray for him or something that would be great!
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, sorry I'm loading you up :), is that I know a five year old boy that has had leukemia since 2010 and is very sick right now. My grandpa had leukemia and passed away last year. It was very hard watching my grandpa go through that and is even harder to watch a little boy with so much life ahead of him, suffer. Maybe you and your family could have a "wear orange day" sometime because orange is the color of leukemia. His family is having fund raisers for him (medical bills) and also to fundraise, his kindergarten class is all running a 5k run in his honor. So maybe, as I mentioned, you could tell every one you know to wear orange on a planned date to support those who have or have had leukemia.
I hope you can do at least one of these things! It would mean a lot to me if you did both because they are both on my heart right now. Keep up the good work!
A very kind thing to do! I'm going to pledge my voice as well... Keep the kindness going, I am inspired by your acts!
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