In 2011, my first son was born 10 weeks early by emergency C-section. He only weighed 2 lbs. 6 oz and ended up needing care in the neonatal intensive care unit for 73 days. My wife almost died during the procedure due to severe preeclampsia, which causes very high blood pressure and can lead to stroke and death. Luckily, we were fortunate to be able to access superb healthcare and both her and our baby's lives were saved!
When we were finally able to come home with our son, a single thought plagued my wife day and night. You see, she was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, where she and her three siblings had lost both parents by her 8th birthday. Her parents both died from easily treatable issues here in the U.S. The thought that kept running through her mind was...What if we were living in Ghana and had to deliver our son there? They both would have surely died that day. And everyday, in places like Ghana, moms and babies DO die from issues that are often successfully treated here in the U.S.
After a time, my wife was tired of thinking about it and decided to do something about it. She then researched and figured out how to start a 501c3 non-profit organization that could help some moms and babies have a chance to survive. She filled out all of the appropriate paperwork and over a year later was granted her 501c3 status.
Since she started Earth's Angels, My wife has been on a mission to save lives. She is a wife, mother of 2 boys now, a full time nurse that is working while I am a full time student (I am going to become a NICU nurse myself!) and she still finds the time to run Earth's Angels. This is like another full-time job for her! She organizes fundraisers (I can't even say how many so far), holds an annual gala to raise money and awareness for her cause (each one has been months of work), sends and reads countless emails, and does never-ending research to find out how to best expand her non-profit to help more and more people. I do my best to help her when she needs it, but I honestly don't know how she does it!
Anyway, recently she had yet another idea for a fundraiser, the baby food eating challenge. It is a fundraising challenge in which you have to try to eat 4 oz. of nasty baby food in 10 seconds or donate to Earth's Angels. So far it's going pretty well. I did the challenge...failed...and donated to her cause!
Even though I made this donation of money to Earth's Angels, which I feel great about, the real joy is actually seeing the people she helps with a shipment of medical supplies to a third world hospital, or a shipment of winter supplies for suffering refugee orphans that have no home. I will always continue to support Earth's Angels and I hope you will too!!!
Review from #MyGivingStory