First DONATIONS!!!

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To begin my fundraising I sent out an email to all my old healthcare pals! I messaged friends from nursing school at Illinois State's Mennonite College of Nursing, pals from my very first nursing job as a new grad at Central Dupage Hospital and my family of 7 years at Rush Copley...and last but not least, my new fellow nursing pals here in the palms at Maui Memorial!! I figured, if anyone knows what it is like to care for people and give ourselves to help others...it would be them! AND I received my FIRSTS!!!

My old pal from nursing school sent in my first on-line donation to Project Helping Hands!! I received an email from the lead guy in charge of fund raising to notify me that he received my first on-line doantion for Kandice Garza!!!!! Beth, I will take with me our basic "Nursing Assessment" skills from 2001 and apply them in Kenya to assess what their needs really are, because they need more than just the basics that we get every day here in America & I will educate them in basic handwashing like the days when we had to be signed off on how to actually wash our hands and don gloves!! THANK you Beth for being my first monetary official donation to Kenya!! 

I also received my first "FUNDRAISER" event that a friend is throwing for me all the way back in Illinois while I am 4,000 miles away in Hawaii!! Larissa and I worked together at Copley for years and her, as a nurse aid, always ran their butts off taking care of loads of patients! She has so generously reached out & is sponsoring me as her person of choice this month for fundraising at her event! There will be raffles, crafts & girlie goodies!! While there, she has a letter from me talking about where I am going and what I will be doing in Africa to share with potential people that wish to donate to my cause! Since I am so far away, I have rallied up my mom and my grandma to go there and take pictures and show my gratitude for such a sweet "paying it forward" gesture Larissa has put together for me!! I had hoped to maybe get a stranger to donate to my cause and now I may get more than one!! How exciting!! 

On this same day I checked my mailbox to find my first mail-in donation from another nurse friend at Rush Copley! It was so exciting just to receive mail, let a lone I knew it was a donation and HOW QUICK she dropped it in the mail!! Not gonna lie, when I opened her letter and VERY generous donation I cried like a crazy emotional girl! I cried because I guess I have never experienced what it is like to be humbled and to first hand experience people paying it forward~~and paying it forward for something I have asked of them.  Abby, I will surely take with me your passion for nursing and the advocacy I see you always give your patients.  You have helped these people big time in so many ways I cannot wait to share with you & pay it forward thanks to you!

Donations for this trip are not only monetary, but each volunteer must bring with a mandated amount of medical/personal supplies to share with the people. And I also received my first donation for this from my Maui nurse buddy Reina!! She heard me talking about this trip and this organization and when she heard I was officially accepted,  she took it upon herself to go to her church and tell them about what I was going to do.  I now have some big shoes to fill because she has her church behind me and donating  my medical supplies to bring with me to Africa!!! Reina, you will give me the faith and the love of children I will need with me on this journey and to know that I not only have materials to bring with, but the prayers from you and everyone will bring me back safely! 

To see how generous these people have been to me, baffles my mind how I can be so fortunate for not only these four people that have already made a HUGE contribution and a huge difference to the people of Kenya, but it makes me optimistic and eager to continue!  With so much already just from these four friends has got to get everyone involved just excited to be a part of this.  Yes, I may be the one traveling, but if it wasn't for some amazing people in my life that have selflessly wanted to see me succeed ... you guys are making it easier for me mentally to see that sense of community and giving that I know exists.  YOU all are the ones that should be so PROUD and humbled! I sill have months before I get to pay it forward and you guys have started it for me! I love to know that I am not alone in this and I have people in it with me and hope you all are as eager as myself to see what we will accomplish!