Blogging for a Cause

I realize the term sporadic is an understatement when applied to this blog. So, what am I doing when I’m not posting here? Well.. I’m pretty much hanging out at www.relayforlife.org writing posts, answering questions, and pretty much creating havoc. I’m also writing for FiSpace.org again, after a loooooong hiatus. The good people at the ACS’s Futuring and Innovation Center have not kicked me off, so I’m assuming I’m welcome.

My birthday (39th, thank you for asking) was on the 4th and I sent out my annual, “It’s my birthday, please donate to the ACS” letter. So far I’ve brought in $450.00. Not too bad. If I have to grow another year older, it may as well do someone some good.

I got an email from Amanda today. She has some wonderful news. Take a look-see.

The National Marrow Donor Program, the same program that is used to find potentially life-saving tissue donations for leukemia patients,
is holding an online drive for members in honor of Mother’s Day.

The promotion, called “Thanks, Mom,” urges people to join the marrow
registry in honor of their mothers, thereby giving the gift of life to
others since your mom gave life to you. (My words-not theirs, I am
waaaaay too excited about this to be eloquent.)

The best part of the promotion is that you can join the registry from
7 May to 21 May FOR FREE. The NMDP has received funding to allow
people to register at no cost to them (the registration fee is usually
$52, to cover the cost of the tissue-typing kit and the associated lab
costs).

It’s super-easy—just go to www.marrow.org and click on the “Thanks,
Mom!” banner in the center of the page for more information. Go
through the online registration process. Then, the NMDP will send you
a tissue typing kit, which is essentially a cheek swab. You’ll take a
scraping of your cells from the inside of your cheek (like you
probably did in high school biology) and that’s it!

Please take a minute to consider joining the registry. Many people
who are eligible for marrow or stem cell donation aren’t registered in
the database, meaning that there could potentially be a
leukemia/lymphoma/auto-immune patient out there who will go without a
transplant because their match was registered.

Please forward this to as many people as you can. You won’t get rich,
get a free gift card, or see the name of your crush on your computer
screen if you press “Alt+5″ after you send it, but you might just save
a life, and that is way cooler.

Love,
Amanda

You all know what to do. You all know who to do it for. Now what are you still doing here?

My friend David sent me the following e-mail.

Do people say you have an eye for photography?

Or maybe your just a closet photo buff like I am. Either way our American Cancer Society volunteers have found quite the cool photo sharing place online. It’s called Flickr.

And on Flickr our Relay For Life volunteers have created their own little corner called the Relay For Life Photo Pool. So far this online photo pool has 89 members and over 2,000 photos from all over the country.

If you would like to contribute your photos to this pool it’s a simple process.

1. Visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/relay_for_life/
2. Sign in with your Flickr account or Join Flickr if your not a member (it’s free)
3. Upload your favorite RFL photos to your own account
4. Then visit http://www.flickr.com/groups/relay_for_life/ again and hit the join button
5. Then go to a photo you want to contribute and hit “Send to Group”

If you are interested, you can see some of the Relay Photos here.

And another fundraising effort to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Team Zoe! Zoe being the wonderful Debutaunt’s beautiful and brilliant daughter.

Looks like Deb is going national!

We have decided to go national. I’m pulling out the big guns this year. In a little over 3 days we have already raised over $1,000 just by word of mouth. I’m so stoked. Thank you all so much for spreading the word and donating. Keep it coming.

And Zoe wanted her own kid team. So the kids can show that they can make a difference for a cure. (aka Kicking Cancer’s “Bootie” Since 2005) I told her to pick her title. She says it is Head Kid in Charge. I’m Head Mommy in Charge and the Queen of the Universe.

I am going to meet with the fantastic folks at the local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society soon to make sure I have the details done the right way.

If you are interested in participating in your city, or helping in any way, please send me an email. I will even let you pick your own titles. I think this is a fantastic project for children and to get the schools involved. Well for anyone really.

Team Debutaunt / Team Debuma / Team Zoe will be national, baby. Raising funds for a cure in honor of the lovely Brenda D.

To learn more and to donate, please visit Zoe’s donation page.

I was extremely exited this morning to receive an email from Amanda. Through the email I learned that Eric’s uncle Mark is attempting to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. During the hike Mark is accepting pledges and donations to the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society in Eric’s memory. His goal is to raise $20.00 for every mile hiked.

For more information and to donate please visit the site.

As I believe I’ve mentioned previously, I’m attempting to put together a portfolio of images to sell in order to raise money for the American Cancer Society. This week I attempted to capture smoke from an incense stick. I’ve heard it was very difficult to do and I was joyously surprised when I was able to capture the smoke on my first attempt. You can see my growing smoke portfolio here.

I’ve included a couple of teasers below. Note: this is probably the ONLY time smoke is pretty!

Just received this e-mail.

Share your Relay For Life story

If you participate in Relay For Life®, you are one of millions of people across the country and around the world who help support the American Cancer Society and its lifesaving mission. With more than 4,800 community events and Relays taking place in 23 countries, there are so many stories, ideas, and tips to share.

And there is one place where every Relayer can go to connect with others taking part in this moving and powerful event – RelayForLife.org.

Thousands have been trading ideas on the Relay For Life e-community for several months, but now Relay’s “virtual” home has been expanded to offer tools and resources that can help you make your Relay experience the best it can be. With updated tools like a Relay library and training room, as well as opportunities to connect with others through blogs, groups, and forums, this new site brings the whole world of Relay right to your door.

Click here to visit the updated RelayForLife.org and register today

If you haven’t checked it out yet, go!

Taking another gulp of air to announce a really cool find. Breast Cancer survivor Adriene Hughes has published a book of photography detailing her struggle with cancer. It’s a wonderful use of the photographic arts to raise awareness. In addition, the proceeds of this book go to the American Cancer Society.

Of the book she writes:

I was diagnosed with breast cancer on November 19, 2004, six days before Thanksgiving. Two weeks later I had my breast removed and immediately reconstructed with a temporary implant. At the time I wasn’t sure what those two weeks represented but I began to document each and every appointment: the barium drink, the chest x-ray, the bone scan, the cancer surgeon, the oncologist, the plastic surgeon, and even the signing of the surgery papers. This book is about the documentation and the process of my breast cancer survivorship. It is the end of a beginning, and the beginning of a new me—survivor and reconstructed self—who shares these images and words so that my history can be more than a personal reminder. Thank you for being a part of my process and purchasing this book for either yourself or someone you know. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the American Cancer Society.

You can purchase the book here.

I am temporarily surfacing to announce that Relayforlife.org has grown up and had a face lift. The site looks wonderful. Erin did such a good job. I believe there will be a media push coming soon. I’m just not sure when. When you get a chance, check it out.

Oh… as to what I’m up to… I’m still doing the photography thing. I’m planning on selling some 5X7 matted prints (8X10 mats) for $25.00 each to raise money for the ACS. I’m experimenting with smoke photography (have a look here — unfortunately, this isn’t my work). I think this type of photography is unusual enough that I can make a few sales. I have another photography project in mind to generate fundage for the ACS, but it’s months (and months) away from fruition. When/if it comes to pass, I’ll let y’all know.

Trish

From the Relay for Life eCommunity website:

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Meets Relay
ABC- Sunday, November 12th, 8/7c

In thousands of communities across the nation, Relay For Life is the event of the year… On November 12th, the eyes of more than 22 million Americans will be on one very special Relay For Life event in southern Indiana, and you’re invited to join the fun!

The cast and crew of ABC’s popular reality series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, recently returned from a week in St. Meinrad, Indiana, where they rebuilt the home of Shawna Farina, a young cancer survivor who is passionate about Relay For Life. During the course of the home build, 18 communities came together to host a five-day Relay For Life event that highlighted the efforts of the American Cancer Society in the community, and served as a backdrop to construction.

Join hundreds of communities and thousands of teams who will host Relay “Watch Parties” to see the Power of Purple shared with millions of viewers.