Holiday Shopping

This holiday season I am choosing not to do very much holiday shopping for friends and family. I have come to the conclusion that we all really have everything we need. Honestly, if there is anything we all really want will just cause us to go out and buy it anyway.

No, I am not putting aside my act of giving this holiday season. I am choosing an alternative to giving frivolous gifts.

This season I am giving the money I would have spent on my friends and family to charity. In particular, I have decided to give to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in Memphis, TN.  St. Jude is a research hospital whose mission to to find cures for pediatric cancers and other catastrophic illnesses.

I am not sure I have ever discussed this before, but I have always dreamed of working at St. Jude. As a freshman in college I had planned on being a pediatric oncologist, but that plan fell through. Later I applied for a job as the volunteer coordinator of the hospital, but I was one semester from graduating with my bachelors degree. Obviously I was not hired.

St. Jude has played a big role in my life over the past few years. First, one of my former students was sent to St. Jude for a very low platelet count. A normal platelet count was 150,000-400,000. My student, Storm, had a platelet count of 3000. 20,000 was considered dangerous. 3000 was life-threatening. I am happy to say that the wonderful doctors at St. Jude were able to cure Storm’s illness.

Over the past two years I have known three children/teenagers who have been afflicted with various types of childhood cancers. Two of them were treated or are currently being treated at St. Jude.

One young man I knew was Luke. He was the nephew of a friend from high school. Luke was only 8 when he lost his battle with cancer…specifically, he had a brain tumor. Luke was a young man who my students and school embraced, even though he was over 700 miles from us. My school adopted Luke. We sent him hundreds of cards, gifts, t-shirts, blankets, etc. I had never seen our students rally like they did around Luke. It brought a great deal of pride for my school. Luke was not treated at St. Jude. He was a patient at John Hopkins Hospital.

More recently, I knew of a young man named Bradley. He was diagnosed with bone cancer December 2008. He was 16 at the time. Bradley was a fighter and someone who had the best outlook on life. He was an inspiration to fellow students, teachers, parents, and members of the community. Sadly, Bradley lost his battle on September 3, which was also his 18th birthday.

Suffice it to say, I have been affected by childhood cancers, even if not directly in my family. I believe in the work that is done at St. Jude. The give such a great amount of hope for children and families stricken with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. The only way that St. Jude can keep up their mission to end childhood cancer is to financially support them.

This Christmas I am giving donations in the memory of Bradley and Luke in the name of my friends and family. St. Jude will send them each a card letting them know a donation was made in their name.

Just thought I would pass that one along.

It is more blessed to give than to receive. – Acts 20:35