Saturday, November 3, 2018

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2006. Mattie was four years old and happy to dress up like Patches, his calico cat. We had made this costume together the year before but because Mattie was hospitalized with sepsis, he never used it. Thankfully it fit him perfectly in 2006. 

Quote of the day: A warm smile is the universal language of kindness. ~ William Arthur Ward

The candy is rolling into Mattie Miracle's 8th Annual Post-Halloween Candy Drive. Volunteers worked hard today at sorting candy by type into bags. They processed through hundreds of pounds of candy in just a few short hours. We love our volunteers and donors. We couldn't do what we do without you.

We have had many questions about providing candy to children with cancer. I try to remind everyone that a good portion of the candy goes to stocking our FREE snack and item carts at both MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Children's Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore. The carts are intended for family members caring for a child with cancer or other life threatening illness. Living in a hospital 24/7, is very stressful and typically families do not have the time to leave their child's bedside. So the carts help to meet the basic needs of these wonderful caregivers. Candy is highly sought after and deeply appreciated. Of course candy is NOT the only thing available on the carts. There are crackers, all sorts of chips, granola bars, popcorn, and of course drinks and toiletry items. 

We were a very productive team today! We relocated the candy drive this year to our friend Ali's detached garage. Ali is Margaret's daughter. Who is Margaret? Margaret was Mattie's preschool teacher who died too soon from ALS. She was an outstanding teacher and a wonderful friend. Ali is carrying on the tradition of helping Mattie Miracle!

Pictured from left to right: Bob, Maria, Mary, Debbie, Julia, Eliza, Ann, Marisa, and Vicki

Pictured with me is Allan. Allan is a math teacher at Ideaventions Academy in Reston, VA. Allan found out about our candy drive and his school collected 45 pounds of candy for us. It was wonderful to meet him and to share a little bit about the Foundation with him. 

We had people of all ages helping us today. I love to see the next generation pitching in. Both Eliza and Julia have practically grown up hearing about Mattie Miracle, as Eliza and her brother Tim went to kindergarten with Mattie. Hard to believe that Mattie would be a teenager now. 

Pictured from left to right are Debbie and Peggy. Debbie is the mom of the children pictured above. Debbie is also opening up her home and hosting our first ever Bourbon and Bites Bash this Thursday. We are deeply grateful to Debbie who as you can see does it all for us... from sorting candy to hosting events. We are so thrilled that close to 80 people are coming to our Thursday event. 

Pictured from left to right are Mary, Bob, and Maria. All people we met through the Resurrection Children's Center (Mattie's preschool). 

These cuties belong to Ali. They are Parker, Charlotte, and Greyson. Whenever I see Charlotte, I think of Margaret. To me she is the spitting image of my friend. 

I posted this photo because it was like.... Where's Waldo?! Waldo in this case being Sunny. Sunny was in and among all of us today. He is the best boy though.... he doesn't touch the candy and he doesn't disrupt the process!