Just wanted to update everyone on how my daughter's fundraising went for hurricane relief went! I know I have been talking about it quite a bit, both on this blog as well as on other social media and in real life as well. Alison had so many wonderful supporters who sponsored her playing in the Play-a-Thon, and even total strangers that supported her! She was overwhelmed with the response to her video asking for support, and therefore she wanted to also make a follow-up "Thank you" video, both to share details of how the event went as well as to express her gratitude. So that being said, here it is:
And I want to also express my own "Thank you." Thank you for demonstrating to these children that they are NOT too young to help. That they are NOT too young to make a very real difference. That in this world filled with tragedy, there are kind and good people out there who do what they can to make a difference.
I just wanted to take a few minutes to share what my daughter Alison is up to. For the third year in a row, her violin teacher is hosting a Play-a-Thon to raise money for a needy project. The first year, the money raised through the Play-a-Thon went to help hurricane Katrina victims. Last year, the teacher found a school in Santa Rosa, California that was burned in the wildfires that swept through there, and the money went to help rebuild the school's music program. Now this year, the Play-a-Thon will be raising funds to help a school in the Bahamas that was damaged from the hurricanes that went through there. In addition to physical damage to the school, several of the school's teachers lost everything they owned because of the hurricanes, and many student's families are no longer able to afford the tuition money to send their children to school. The school administration does not want to turn away the students, and so they are trying their best to operate even without any tuition payment coming in. They desperately need funds for keeping the school open, while the island population literally rebuild their homes and livelihoods.
Yesterday, as a school project, Alison filmed and edited a short video telling about the Play-a-Thon and inviting anyone who would like to sponsor her playing in the Play-a-Thon to do so. Shortly after posting the video, she had a request from someone who wanted to be able to donate funds online, rather than mail in a check. So a GoFundMe page has been set up for sponsoring Alison, and we are so thankful for the donations that have already started coming in!
The lessons that Alison is learning--along with the other students in the music studio who will be participating in this Play-a-Thon--are life lessons that will stay with them. Lessons that yes, bad things happen in this world. But while you may not be able to "fix" all the bad, you CAN be a candle of light--you CAN do SOMETHING to help. So do what you can. Help cheer, help ease, help lift someone else's burden. I think it is especially good for the students who are Alison's age to be doing this. Too often we think of teen-agers today as self-centered, only concerned about themselves and not out helping others. Well, it may be true that that is common in today's teens. But it is equally true that there ARE other teens out there like these music students, who are doing their best to take the talents God has given them and use those talents to cheer and bless others.
I would so much appreciate if you would take the three minutes to watch Alison's video telling about the fundraiser. And please, consider sharing her video with your own friends and family. Alison has set herself a personal goal of raising $500 for hurricane relief. Let's support these kids as they do what they can to show love and caring in this dark world.
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