Going Global for the Holidays

“Give the man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, TEACH the man to
fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

When Mom & Dad first mentioned this project I knew that I wanted to find an organization that would make my donation have a lasting effect, so my researching began.

It was definitely tough to narrow it down to one since there are SO many organizations that are doing amazing things out there, then I came across the One Acre Fund. The program was started last year by a Northwestern grad student and helps poor Kenyan farm families learn how to grow their own way out of hunger. They do this by providing the farmers, majority of who are women, a small amount of seed and fertilizer on credit, they provide weekly farm training in the farmers’ own fields, and market access to sell their crops.

As you guys know, Kenya holds a special place in my heart from the time I spent there with NOLS. During my time there I saw first hand how difficult it is for people to provide for their families, not only because they don’t have the means, but because they just don’t have the knowledge. Hunger is the number one reason that one in six of African children die before age five, and the number one reason that nearly half of the remaining children are physically stunted.

With the $500, we’ve started two families of six on the One Acre program, which will give them the knowledge and the resources to grow an estimated 20,000 meals and create permanent change in their lives. I will receive monthly profiles of the different farm families that work with One Acre, and a six-monthly report on their measurable results. Here's a link to the most recent update and I'll be sure to include updates to this post for those of you that are interested.

http://www.oneacrefund.org/OneAcreFund_InterimReport_10-31-06.pdf

It’s pretty cool to think that we played a part in helping two African families find a permanent solution to end hunger and build a future for themselves.

Asante (thank you) for the opportunity Mom & Dad!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

That's really all I can think of to say you guys. The process of birth is so intense it's hard to describe. I've never felt so damn lucky in my entire life though and I really felt like I had everyone in our corner pulling for us. Fiona is absolutely perfect - she kept us up all night and put us through our paces trying everything we've learned on how to soothe her and all of that. We're learning already that is for sure, but she is absolutely everything we could have asked for.

I also think I know where Dad gets the crying thing though, at home from the hospital, after you guys all left, I went through the mail and was just reading cheesy Christmas cards and just started sobbing. It just hit me - and hard. Things will never be the same.

Thank you guys so much again for all the calls and all of that. Even though we're way out here, having half of you guys in town and the rest of you checking in really made it feel like we were surrounded by everyone and this is just crazy, it really is.

You guys probably won't believe me but I was at Ariel's side from the moment we checked-in to the hospital and I didn't faint, or freak out about any of the needles or blood. Ariel was being so incredible through it all that I couldn't blink. As soon as Fiona made it out and I saw her in Ariel's hands I practically fell to the floor though. Mom, I have NO IDEA how you did that as many times as you did.

well, Merry Christmas, and here we go!

Little Miss Fiona is Finally Here!

In true Malia fashion, Fiona J. Adelaide was born on Saturaday, December 23rd, 8 days past her due date. She may have taken her sweet time to make her grand enterance, but it was well worth the wait. Born with a full head of dark hair, Fiona is absoulutely beautiful and Mom & Dad are doing great!

Welcome to the family Fiona!

For more pics, click on Ariel.

Merry Christmas Mom & Dad!

In the spirit of this year’s holiday mission, the Malia kids have made a donation of $550 to the Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association (NISRA) in Mom & Dad’s name. NISRA is a charity that offers a wide range of services to enrich the lives of people with disabilities in Northern Illinois through participation in recreational activities.

As you guys know, Mom and Dad have been involved with this charity for quite some time now after being introduced to this organization through Dad’s motorcycle group, the Top Cats. This summer Dad actually headed up the planning of the TopCats annual charity bike ride benefiting NISRA, which even through less than optimal weather conditions, was a great success! So we wanted to show further support on their behalf for a great organization.

With seven beyond active kids, 3 grandkids, and 2 more on the way, Mom & Dad have always felt blessed that we’re all healthy and active. They’ve also seen first hand how participating in sports has played a pretty major role in each of our lives growing up, whether it was running, skiing, hiking, biking or playing lacrosse and hockey. It’s been exposure to these sports that has helped each of us flourish and have become a major part of our lives to this day: running marathons, participating in triathlons, going on back country ski trips, and passing on the opportunity to others through coaching lacrosse, hockey or baseball. We know that we’ve been lucky to have been given the opportunity to play!

NISRA’s programs are designed with a close staff-to-participant ratio to assist people with disabilities in achieving success by showing them how to meet challenges head on, foster independence and of course have fun!

Merry Christmas Mom & Dad!

Love-

Your Ever Expanding Clan

http://www.nisra.org/index.html

Holiday Contribution

With this great opportunity presented to us, we wanted to make every effort to seek out an appropriate local person or group for our holiday contribution.

As you know, Cristen has worked at one of the local elementary schools for many years. Unfortunately, a fellow employee was unable to return to school this year for health reasons.

Barb has been a custodian, in addition to other jobs, for 15 years. She is a single mother in her mid-50's who raised two children now in their twenties while commuting from Oak Creek to Steamboat Springs. In 1998, Barb was diagnosed with cancer. Over the years, Barb has undergone numerous treatments and lifestyle changes to combat her illness and been in and out of remission.

In 2006, Barb's cancer took a turn for the worse. Due to increased treatments Barb's strength diminished over the summer and she became too weak to work. As a result, Barb was unable to return for the 2006-2007 school year. Because Barb was no longer an active employee of the school district, she was no longer eligible for medical coverage. Due to her pre-existing condition her only option for coverage was purchasing a very expensive Cobra policy.

Since the start of the school year, many school district employees (including Cristen) have voluntarily contributed a portion of their paycheck to a fund established at a local bank to help Barb with her growing medical bills and living expenses. In addition, a recent newsletter sent to parents requested that instead of giving holiday gifts to teachers that a contribution is made to Barb's fund.

The local school district is made up of some amazing people. There is a very strong bond between the teachers and other employees. During Cristen's brief stay in the hospital last year for an appendectomy we were overwhelmed with offers to help from fellow teachers and employees. It is truly an extended family that takes care of each other.

We feel very grateful to be able to make this holiday contribution to Barb and wish her the best in continuing to fight this illness with as much comfort as possible.

Happy Holidays

Cristen & Gavin

2007 Holiday Contributions

Every holiday season, we reflect with our boys on how fortunate we are. We celebrate our good fortune by sharing with those who are less fortunate, and show our children that there is more joy to be had in giving than in receiving. The generosity in our children's hearts never ceases to amaze me. Each year, we take the opportunity to help families in need in our own community, and encourage the kids' involvement. With this generous gift from Tom & Mary, we were able to give even more than we have in the past, and the experience for our children was tenfold.

1) The boys' elementary school has a "mitten tree". Each mitten has a wish from a family in need in our school community. We typically select several mittens, and fulfill the wishes of the families. This year, won't those families be surprised when they are presented with TWICE as much as they requested!!??

2) A cause that is near & dear to us is the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Every December, they run a fundraising drive that we routinely contribute to- we were able to enhance our donation this year, hopefully helping to lead to a cure, or at least helping to fund research that will give Ryan & other children with severe food allergies a better quality of life in the coming years.

3) Last, but certainly not least, a former second grader at our elementary school- named Gavin. Gavin was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago. He was in remission, but sadly, his cancer returned over the last year. His family was renting a home in our neighborhood. They were forced out by a builder who wanted to tear down the house & rebuild. They were unable to purchase the home outright due to their high medical expenses. They were forced out of their home by the builder, and had to leave all of Gavin's friends and temporarily move out of the district, because they could not afford any of the homes available in our school district. His family is desperately trying to move Gavin back into our school district. They have other children as well, and it will be a sparse Christmas. We are donating the remaining money to Gavin's family. As Colin so brilliantly put it, "They should really make cancer less expensive. Nobody wants it anyway!"

A couple other fun projects we did to help those in need: we made blankets for the dogs & cats at the local animal shelter, donated toys & clothes, made Holiday Cards for the elderly that are alone over the holidays, and Patrick's class sang Carols at a local nursing home.

Merry Christmas to all, and let us never forget how much we have - in money, and in being surrounded by a loving family that I am so fortunate to be a part of. Sorry we won't be with you for the holidays, but you can be sure we'll be thinking of you!

Much love,
Marjie, Sean, Colin, Ryan, and Patrick

Holiday Charity Mission

As I hope you all appreciate, our family has been extremely fortunate.
Your mother has come up with a great idea as to how we can share a small portion of this good fortune with others---particular as the Christmas holiday season approaches. The concept is quite straightforward. We will shortly be sending each of you a check for $500. The expectation is that you will, prior to the holidays, find a charitable cause to support with this money. You could simply send a check to the American Heart Association or some such entity. However the hope is that you will be much more creative and make the effort to find individual(s) or causes that you can get directly involved with. The final step in the process will be for you to describe-presumably in an e-mail- to all of us what you elected to do with your funds. Should be fun and interesting. Merry Christmas!!!!

Mom and Dad