by Lynda Warner
Our lives changed dramatically in February 2017. Robert was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder called Amyloidosis. Doctors told us to expect a course of treatment over two years, including multiple rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
We are now over half way through the journey, and it's been a very rough road. Yet, during this time, Robert and I agreed to host the GRACE Gala this year. It was a decision we are convinced was inspired by God—we were drawn to the GRACE mission by our faith and a compelling desire to helps others less fortunate than us.
After the GRACE Community Clinic fire in April, we were even more certain that God meant for us to be in this place right now to help. It's become an extra big task now that we also working to restore The Community Clinic and Food Pantry destroyed by the fire.
It would have been easy for us to say, “sorry are lives are too busy,” or “treatments take up all our time." Once the fire happened, we could have said that the job had just gotten too big.
However, Robert's health issues have made us realize how blessed we are that we have medical insurance and that we are financially secure. Along with all our wonderful friends, these things have made it easier to cope.
We are now so aware of the fact that there are many people in our area that depend on GRACE for medical care, food pantry, emergency assistance, transitional housing, Christmas Cottage, Feed Our Kids, Back-To-School and many other services GRACE provides. And it seemed like God was assuring us that this mission—as large as the job had gotten to be—was meant for us to undertake and well within our capabilities.
Last September, our oldest, Ana, went off to college and we realized how proud we were to be able to send her to school. We then talked about how good it feels to send Erica, our youngest, to school with everything that she needs.
We decided that we wanted to extend those feelings to helping others. We wanted pride and ownership of our donations.
That's when Robert came up with the Family-2-Family sponsorship program. It allows families to have a frank discussion about how they want to direct their donation to a program at GRACE. Families can choose to direct their donation to needs that include medical, school and housing.
This year will be the charter Family-2-Family members, gifts of $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 will be recognized at the Gala. As the years pass, we will add names to the list, but those who join us this year will forever been known as the “Charter Class”.
Robert and I are committed to working past the Gala to let families know when their donations have been used in the area that they chose. We want them to know that their donation made a difference.
We are hoping that families will choose to donate to an area that speaks to them.
Learn more about the GRACE Gala here.
