29 Gifts Day 1 Do-over

I haven't been very successful in my resolution to give 29 Gifts in 29 days. Part of the 29 Gifts movement is to intentionally give a gift each day for 29 days in succession. I missed some days so I'm starting over.

Yesterday, I made a recommittment. I went to freerice.com, an awesome site! Freerice.com has many different games you play and every time you get an answer right, they donate 10 grains of rice to help end hunger. I donated over 1,000 grains yesterday in just a very short amount of time.

After reading more about freerice.com, I found that they have donated to places like Uganda, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. Each person receives 400 grams of rice a day (there are about 48 grains of rice in each gram). This is enough for them to have two good meals.

Please go to freerice.com....I have a couple of links on the side of the blog...have fun and do some good!

29 Gifts-Day 1-Nothing But Nets

I read the book 29 Gifts quite a while ago. It was written by a woman named Cami Walker, who in the midst of her own debilitating illness, was perscribed a month of giving by one of her spiritual teachers. Mbali, the spiritual teacher, assured Cami that remembering that she is part of a greater universe will help heal her. Cami finally accepted this challenge and it changed her world. While some of the book is difficult (and irritating) to read, it was definitely something that has left an impression on me.

So, after attempting to take on this challenge myself a few times, I am committing to do this as a NY Resolution.

Day one did not start off the way I planned. I had this wonderful idea to give my first gift to my mom. She visits my grandma, who has Alzheimer's, almost daily and I know it takes a toll on her. My mom retired from teaching last year so that she could spend more time with my grandma and now often helps take care of my dog as well. One thing she has said she wants more than anything is to spend the day in her pj's and not have to go anywhere. Well, I planned to do this for my mom today, however my grandma was pretty sick over the weekend and my mom didn't want to not visit her.

My family with my grandma.

Plans revised, I have chosen to donate to nothingbutnets.net instead. Nothingbutnets.net raises awareness and accquires funding to combat malaria. With a $10 donation, a net is sent to a family in Africa and saves lives. According to the net-o-meter they have sent 3,537,008 nets. As soon as I clicked that last button to finish my donation, I felt a little sense of happiness. I may not have much money, but my measley $10 is helping to ensure that a little kid in Africa survives.

Please consider making a donation to http://www.nothingbutnets.net/ and saving a life with me.

I wonder what day 2 will bring...