Charley's Heart

Today’s Make A Difference Monday post is a very special one.

Two years ago this May, my husband’s cousin and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Charlotte.  One year ago this May, Charlotte earned her angel wings.  Her parents created Charley’s Heart to help facilitate the mission of supporting the heart community, fund continued research for congenital heart defects, raise awareness, and above all, to celebrate the life of this special little girl.

One of the special projects created is Books for Charley.

Books for Charley was an idea born out of a family member’s desire to help us celebrate and honor our daughter Charlotte after she earned her wings in May 2011.  What started out as an idea to request books in lieu of gifts for a birthday party, quickly turned into a drive that allowed us to donate over 1,200 books to Omaha Children’s Hospital (Omaha, NE) and the Avera Pediatric Specialty Clinic (Sioux Falls, SD).  The response that we received from individuals across the country was beyond anything that we could have anticipated and reminded us of just how many people our little girl’s story had touched. The generosity of others has allowed us to “give back” to the facilities that did so much for our family during Charlotte’s short life.

We love you sweet Charlotte!  Very, very much!

This is part of Make A Difference Monday, highlighting people and agencies who are making a difference in other’s lives, sharing encouraging stories of wonderful acts of kindness, and offering little tidbits that will help support and encourage each of us along the way.

The mission of The Spirit of Saving is “Lifting Your Spirit.  Helping You Save.”  I have focused much of my energy in these first three months of blogging on ways to help you save, and I intend to keep doing that.  I also hope to focus more on Lifting Your Spirit, and providing inspiration and encouragement to help each of us live fully the lives that we are intended to live.

On Mondays, I am going to begin a series called “Make A Difference Monday.”  I hope to highlight people and agencies who are making a difference in other’s lives, share encouraging stories of wonderful acts of kindness, and offer little tidbits that will help support and encourage each of us along the way.

How can we make a difference in someone’s life?  Even something that we perceive as small can have a lasting impact on another person.  We all know people who have inspired us in some way – to do more, to volunteer more, to give more, to share more of ourselves.  We each have amazing gifts that we can share to make other’s lives a little brighter.  We cannot do everything, but we can do something to help make the world a little better.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  ~Margaret Mead

CC Image courtesy of Krystal T.