The American Red Cross is in crucial need of blood. By giving one pint of blood you literally save many lives. I recently gave blood, and am now signing up to be a regular donor. I have Universal Blood, which is RH-Negative blood. It is in very high demand as we can give our blood to everyone, yet we must receive only our type of blood should we ever need it.

Regardless of whether or not you are RH-Negative or any other blood type, The American Red Cross in your area would greatly appreciate your donation. In giving blood we help others. So simple, yet so very important! Also, did you know that 1 pint of blood equals loosing 1 pound? When the nurse told me that, I asked her if she could take out 9 more pints! They laughed and told me there is actually 1 pint of blood per every 10 lbs. of body weight per person. Interesting.

So please take the time, an hour at the most to give blood. Just go to givelife.org to find out where and when they are sponsoring a drive in your town. Thanks so much for giving the gift of life!

redcross.org/donate/give

givelife.org

Donor Eligibility Guidelines

Image courtesy of givelife.org

Remember our first post about Faye and the Breast Cancer Angels? According to an article from a recent Breast Cancer Angel’s newsletter called “Wings”, the BCA’s “Angel House” is now open. Below is an article from BCA’s first newsletter.

Taken from “Wings”, the BCA newsletter:

This is so exciting! We have been truly blessed by Anthony and Holli Lienau’s donation of the funds to pay for this house. They have always been incredibly generous to our organization, and this is truly an amazing gift. Our most SPECIAL THANKS go to them!

This 5 bedroom, 2-bath, 1800 sq. ft. West Grove house is in a quiet, nicely maintained neighborhood. Just perfect as a safe haven for our most desperate “women in treatment.” As with most older homes, there were many repairs and upgrades needed. Over and over, companies and individuals helped us accomplish our goals by donating their time and/or providing supplies, furnishings and money. Our realtor, Bill Waddle, was awesome! Not only did he discount his commission, he kept our construction crews organized, and donated his labor as needed to get the work finished!

On April 26, seven employees of Diversified Thermal Services donated their Saturday to install air conditioning at our new home. The owner, Craig Steinmetz, donated all of the equipment and also worked alongside his crew. Thanks to everyone’s help, we received everything needed to make this house a beautiful home! Now Angel House will be a comfortable and supportive environment for women while they face the challenges of breast cancer treatment. Thanks also to the Angels who came by our Open House on May 2 and 3. Our ladies moved in on Sunday, May 4. Two had lost their housing due to breast cancer, and we were paying for them to stay at a motel so that they could continue their chemotherapy. Since our women in treatment will live here rent free, we are setting up a fund to cover ongoing housing expenses such as property taxes, utilities, maintenance, ect. If you would like to contribute to this fund, please mark your donation as “Angel House.”

Donations can be mailed to the address below:

Breast Cancer Angels
5142 Bolsa Avenue, Suite 103
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
1-714-898-8900

For more information go to www.breastcancerangels.org

Also be sure to check out our original post on Faye and her work with the Breast Cancer Angels.

Listen to “Time of the Season” by The Zombies

I was unaware of a friendly competition that Google has been holding called “Doodle for Google”. Below is an explanation:

From Google:

Doodle 4 Google is a competition where we invite K-12 students to reinvent Google’s homepage logo. This year we asked U.S. kids to doodle around the theme “What if…?”

Our winning doodle, selected from over 16,000 entries, was created by Grace Moon, a 6th grader at Canyon Middle School from Castro Valley, California. Grace’s lovely doodle, “Up in the Clouds,” will grace our homepage, Google.com, on May 22nd, 2008.

Congratulations to Grace, and to all our finalists!

Check out the Regional Winners

This is a fairly new online “magazine” from HappyNews.com called Happy Living.

From HappyNews.com:

“Each issue of HappyLiving has ten to thirty articles about a single topic, written in a concise, easy-to-read highly accessible format. The articles in the magazine have all been selected to be consistent with our mission and so we hope you find them uplifting, practical, useful, and above all, happy.”

Happy Living Magazine.

If you go to this web site, www.letssaythanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How amazing it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great site. Please send a card. It is free and it only takes a second.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them.

Listen to “People Got to Be Free” by The Rascals

A BIG THANK YOU to Meijer Department Store in Scio Twp. Michigan….

The Meijer Department Store on Jackson Road in Scio Township was once again super generous by donating a $250.00 gift card to the Ann Arbor, Robert J. Delonis Homeless Shelter!!! This is the 2nd year in a row that Meijer has been so wonderful!!! The money which they donated will help so many people! Please do not forget your home towns homeless shelters. Donations are always appreciated!!! Thank You again and Merry Christmas!!!

Please don’t forget our troops who are risking their lives at this moment to preserve our safety here in the U.S.A. Regardless of how we may feel about the ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must remember to let our troops know that we are still thinking about them and wish to help.

Go to www.americasupportsyou.com for further information on how you can make a difference!!

Thank you!!!

PLEASE help the Delonis Homeless Shelter in Ann Arbor by donating
gently used or new TWIN size blankets. They also are in need of gently used or new BACK-PACKS. Thanks so much!!!

Click here to read the full post and get the address for mailings.

Listen to “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by The Four Tops.

Photo : Jeffrey D. Allred of Deseret Morning News

Below is an email sent to HappyNews by one of its readers.

Hello Happy News, I love your site.

I wanted to let you know about a special little girl named Taylor and her dad, who’s biking across the country to help save her life. It would mean a lot if you could help spread the word about Taylor, her Dad, and their cause. Taylor’s story is below, and you can learn more about Taylor, her dad, and the other childeren and dads at www.loneliestroad.org.

Taylor is a vibrant, blue-eyed, funny two-year old girl who loves to dance, loves princesses, and loves playing with her older brothers. Taylor has a devastating pediatric cancer called Neuroblastoma. She is stage 4-High Risk. She has been incredibly strong in her fight against this disease, enduring 7 rounds of chemo before age two. She is now being treated at Sloan Kettering in NYC because the local doctors have done all they can with their resources.

In New York, there is a new treatment against the disease that could be manufactured, but the funding is currently unavailable. The survival rate for high-risk neuroblastoma is a grim 30% with a 50% relapse rate. This new treatment gives much hope to the families being treated there, but they needed to come up with a way to fund it. Taylor’s dad, along with other dads have taken it upon themselves to raise the funds. On Monday, September 10th they began the long trek across our country on their bicycles in a campaign they are calling “The Loneliest Road.” They will travel mostly along US Rte. 50, against the elements, and fatigue. It is an echo of what their children are going through each and every day. They hope to raise much needed awareness for this devastating and often “silent” cancer, as well as raise the funds for the new treatment.

Thanks for your time, I appreciate any help you can provided.

Sincerely,
Michael Waisley
Ashburn, VA

Visit The Loneliest Road.

Related Articles:
http://www.deseretnews.com
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com
http://www.mmdnewswire.com

Air Force Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt, of the 332md Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad, Iraq, cradles a young girl as they both sleep in the hospital. The girl’s entire family was executed by insurgents: the killers shot her in the head as well. The girl received treatment at the U.S. military hospital in Balad, but cried and moans often. According to nurses at the facility, Gebhardt is the only one who can calm down the girl, so he has spent the last several nights holding her while they both sleep in a chair.

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in your care. Give them victory over the enemy…Grant them a safe and swift return…Bless those who mourn the lost. - Anonymous

Related articles:
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123031670

Thank You’s:

A big “thank you” and much appreciation to all of those who have donated to the Ann Arbor homeless shelter. We here at bekindweek.org would also like to say that we hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Below is a list (in no special order) of the growing number of people who have helped us with donations so far. A Gracious thank you to “Meijer’s Store” on Jackson Road in Ann Arbor Michigan for their super-generous donation of a $250.00 Gift Certificate to be spent on items for the homeless shelter! Special thanks to manager “Bonnie” for her efforts in making this possible! A terrific thank you to Gina D. Activity Director at University Living Assisted Living, Ann Arbor for helping out with collections for the shelter from residents, family and friends at U.L.! Thanks Gina! A big thanks to my friend Kim A. for donating that beautiful child’s bicycle to one lucky little girl!!! Another great big thank you to my friend Kim A. for all of the great donations she and her family have given to the shelter! Thanks so much to my friend Cynthia H. from St. Josephs R.C. Church in Dexter for her generous contributions of new blankets! Much thanks and appreciation for the wonderful pillows from K-Mart courtesy of Roger L. Manager! A big thank you to my Friends from St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church/Chelsea MI.: Marie, Lana, Tish. Those from the Dexter Senior Center: Valerie, Dee, All of the member’s of the center who have given so much! The Ann Arbor Convention Bureau: Elke and those who have donated. A big thank you Debbie L.D. from the Ypsilanti Convention Bureau and all the gal’s there who have helped to make this project possible. A big thank you to Debbie Tenzer from D1NT for posting the shelter’s wish list on her site doonenicething.com! Another big thank you to Ele K. for offering to swing by the shelter with some donations!!!

Thank you to my family and much thanks to all of those who have helped out and continue to help out, I apologize if I missed anyone but I am pretty certain I covered all. Thanks to all of your generosity, the homeless will be covered this cold winter.

Photos of The Delonis Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan

The Dexter Senior Center in Dexter, MI was kind enough to offer to collect “Wish List Items” for the Homeless Shelter in Ann Arbor. There are plenty of items that are needed. We want to thank all of those involved at the Senior Center for their generous contributions to the shelter!!!

We applaud your kindness Valerie, Director Senior Center. Thank You!

At an inner city soup kitchen, a young woman was serving meals to guests. It was her very first day and she was nervous and unsure of how to behave around the poor, the indigent, the homeless people she had never seen before. As one man was moving past her, she noticed that he had missed his bread portion. She reached out and touched his arm. When he turned, the young woman saw that he was crying. Concerned, she asked if she had hurt him. The man replied, “No, you are the first person who has touched me in more than two years.” - Valerie

“Every time I deliver a meal to her, I give her a hug. I know sometimes it’s the only human touch she’ll get that day.” - Meals on Wheels Volunteer, Dexter MI

View the Wish List
Download the Wish List Word Document.

Please send all donations to the following address:
Robert J. Delonis Center 312 W. Huron, Ann Arbor, MI
To find out more about the shelter go to the Ann Arbor Shelter.

Listen to “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by The Four Tops.