Gratitude #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday If you are looking to make a contribution to charity this year, I am simply putting an alphabetical list together for you to pass along.

Some of these charities were in our life for a brief moment, while others remain a huge part of our lives.  Some also receive funding from federal and other large sources, while others are grassroots startups.  Each serves a very specific purpose and none of these charities overlap in the purpose they serve.

I encourage you to learn about each of these great organizations for yourself and pass along this list of resources to any family/child that might be looking for a connection in our community:

Charities

Athletes Helping Athletes- National	http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/content/content1.jsp?contentId=5600004
Austin Miracle League	http://www.austinmiracleleague.org
Camp John Marc- Texas	https://www.campjohnmarc.org
Cheyanna’s Champions 4 Children (CC4C)- Austin	http://cc4c.org
Dell Children’s Medical Center- Miracle Network	https://www.dellchildrens.net/support-dell-childrens/get-involved/childrens-miracle-network/
Disability Rights Texas	https://www.disabilityrightstx.org
Lake Travis Lions Club	https://www.laketravislions.org
Life Rolls On- National	https://liferollson.org
Little Lobbyists- National	https://www.littlelobbyists.org
Make A Wish Central & South Texas	http://cstx.wish.org/about-us
Morgan’s Wonderland- San Antonio	http://www.morganswonderland.com
Protect TX Fragile Kids (PTFK)	http://www.protecttxfragilekids.org
Red Arena- Austin	http://www.redarena.org
Ronald McDonald House Charities Central Texas	https://rmhc-ctx.org
Shriners Hospital- National	https://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/shc
Special Olympics Texas	http://www.sotx.org
Spina Bifida Association- National	http://spinabifidaassociation.org
Spina Bifida Texas	http://www.sbtx.org
Texas Parent to Parent	https://www.txp2p.org
The Lion League- Texas	https://thelionleague.org

Recently, I read commentary about how many cents of each dollar donated actually goes to charity and not administrative profits.  The commentary was disheartening.  It can be discouraging when you think that the money that you give isn't being put to good use.  These charities put your donations to good use.

We have been extremely blessed the past eight years by many charities that do mighty good works.  Due to Hayden's many surgeries and diagnosis, we have had the opportunity to meet some of the best human beings our society has to offer.  We will have a lifetime of indebtedness and gratitude for the goodness that has been shared with us.

On this day of Thanksgiving, we are very thankful.  Today we celebrated a second anniversary from graduating from our 7 weeks at feeding therapy in Baltimore at John's Hopkins Childrens' hospital, Kennedy Kreiger.  We all had dinner together and felt true joy that can only be understood by someone that has worked on feeding issues for 8 years.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all!