Saturday, June 28, 2014

Help Change Someone's Life Today And Make A Difference.

There is so much truth in the saying, "No man is an island." We are all dependent on each other in more ways than one. A farmer who grows crops for profit and for feeding his family depends on consumers who purchase his produce. An engineer who builds the tallest buildings depend on steel workers to provide him with the trusses he needs to complete his project. Children depend on their parents for love, guidance and sustenance, while parents depend on their children to help them fulfill their role in child rearing. Trivial facts but come to think of it, we are really depend on each other to survive.

In this modern world, we tend to be preoccupied with our needs and wants. It seems that we are living to make a living. This sometimes results to indifference towards our brothers in need. This is a sad reality that we see everyday.

Have you ever experienced being hopeless, helpless and fearful of what lies ahead? That feeling where you thought you'd never see another tomorrow? I have. 

Let me tell you my story.

Years and years ago, my parents had purchased a nice piece of property in the outskirts of the city. It was a nice parcel of land, located on an incline, like a small hill. It was here where my parents planned to build their dream house. My mom was running a small catering business and we had some savings in the bank. We were not rich people. I would say we just had a little more than some families do. 

It was the gloomiest day of my life when my dad announced that he has lung cancer. He was a doctor himself, which made it more difficult to convince him to seek treatment. We felt like we were struck by lightning. We had to adjust our lifestyle and let go of the things that we usually did together as a family. No more out of town vacations, no more Sunday restaurant dinners, no more new clothes and new shoes for some time. My dad's operation and treatment were more important than anything else. 

My mom had to stop working to attend to my father's needs. We had no other option but to sell the land to pay for hospital costs. With our family's savings slowly dwindling away, we were starting to lose hope. I had a sibling in college, another in high school and still another sibling in grade school. It pained me to see my dad wasting away on his hospital bed, my poor siblings whose future is now uncertain, and my mom who stormed heaven with her prayers, crying every night. 

Eventually, my dad succumbed to his illness. Whatever we had left was spent for his funeral service. The first few weeks were the most difficult. We decided to leave the house we were renting and save the money we pay for the rent. My mom mustered all her strength and asked her in-laws if we could stay with them until we were back on our feet again. It was against her principles because she knows that her in-laws did not approve of her when my dad married her.

Sometimes, in the strangest way, #unexpected joy and help comes your way. Not a little, but an outpouring of love and concern. My grandparents, great aunts and uncles took us in with open arms! They offered to have the old guest house remodeled so that we could have a place to stay. Cousins and uncles from the provinces came over and offered their services to rebuild the house. Soon enough, we had a little place we could call "home" once more. 

My mom started from scratch and revived her small catering business. Her friends and relatives offered their help too. Some giving financial assistance, others offering their services for free. In a little over a year, we were back on our feet again. Little did we know that all we needed to do is simple - ASK.

No one can be so heartless to turn his/her back on a person who is ill, asking for financial assistance for the treatment of their disease. There are terminal patients who ask nothing else but to have their favorite dish, or go visit a place that brings them so much happy memories. Simple desires, simple wishes.

All we need to do is to ASK... then you come to the question - "Ask who?"

In an effort to alleviate the pain of suffering, a group of young adults came together and created GiveForward, a medical fundraising campaign to help make life a little easier for patients with cancer and other life-threatening or debilitating illness and/or injury.  They help raise funds to cover medical expenses by moving people. Their innovative strategy of information dissemination through social media maximizes the effort a hundred fold.


The program is simple. All that is needed is to create a fundraiser campaign with GiveForward, and share your story on social media. You will be assigned a personal coach to achieve your goal. It is social mobilization at its best. As of this day, GiveForward has already helped raise $107,737,000 towards medical expenses!



I wish there was something like this when my dad was sick. No regrets though. I can still do my part to help those in need. I joined GiveForward's Ambassador Program. I will make a difference in this world. With the help of friends and family, I know I will.You can too!

Don't just sit and watch your loved one suffer from an illness. Do your part. Get Moving. Share #unexpectedjoy. GiveForward. You'll be surprised at how many caring hearts are out there.

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Luke 11:9)


This is a sponsored post. I have been compensated for my time. I feel fulfilled to reach out to caring individuals through this article. 
For full disclosure, click here

34 comments:

  1. It's rare you hear the quote "No man is an island" these days. I think the US in particular is so blinded by and obsessed with the concept of individualism, that it's been taken to a toxic level. It just encourages an attitude where we think we're the center of the universe, and life is all about us. And that's dangerous, because with such an attitude where other people don't matter... we are capable of the most terrible, unthinkable things. I don't know when or exactly where being a community and being connected to one another and the earth became a bad thing... but I hope a wave of change comes, and people are reminded that a single stick is easy to break with your bear hands, but a fistful of sticks, not so. Thank you for sharing about Give Forward.

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  2. That is a great fundraising program and will tell others about it. I'm very sorry about your dad, my ex-husband had also had lung cancer. I too have been helpless, hopeless many times in my life and finally things have turned out okay in my life. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Thank you for sharing your inspirational story. It seems like help always tended to come when I needed it the most. It shows us that it is a beautiful world out there. Sometimes we focus too much on the negative. Love always finds it's way to us in the smallest to greatest gesture. I appreciate your story and will try to pass on more kindness.

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  4. Thank you for sharing your story with it. It seems like a great program and one that I would only be too happy to be a part of. I lost my own dad a n ago from cancer so know how difficult it can be after a loss especially when he was the main breadwinner. Will have to check out Give Forward and see how I can help.

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  5. Your mom surely has a great network of family and friends. It is great that they were all so willing to donate their time, energy, and resources to help your family. If more people had a giving heart and attitude, the world would be much better off.

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  6. Family is the most important thing in the world. You can have one million friends but when on times of need, there is only one family that will support you! Makes me cry to read your story!

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  7. Such an inspirational story!!! wow! God did show His love for your family. And know need to elaborate what God's reason maybe. You emphatically stated what it is... ASK... And so nice of you sis to be part of you to be a channel of blessing to those in needs.

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  8. That is a very good cause. We will never know when the tables are turned. It's always good to help when you can and when you're abundantly blessed - share, even if you're not asked.

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  9. Such a touching story. Trials may put us down but we we need to stand up and fight those challenges in life. I lost my mom with cancer when I was 16 and I have 3 younger siblings. It's really hard to lose someone you love but then again, God will not give us trials we can't bear and with all those trials, He's always there to see us through. Your mom is great woman and you are blessed to have a helpful family, relatives and friends who didn't hesitate to extend their helping hands. Such a blessing!

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  10. Sometimes we do forget to ask in our time of greatest need, perhaps because we have been let down before. But nonetheless, some people do not #offer because they don't know that the simplest thing they can do, can make a huge difference. I hope this post bridges that gap.

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  11. Hi Eileen - thank you for sharing your story and for making us aware of the Give Forward program. You are absolutely right that we are all dependent on each other, in big and small ways.
    Lenie

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  12. What a great inspirational story Eileen and a great testimony to the strength of numbers when people pull together and help each other. It is very easy to change a life just by coming together. The world is not built on individualism but on community. Wherever there is community there is joy. Check out my post on the power of human interaction as it links in with yours.

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  13. It looks like a great organisation. Thanks so much for sharing your story, and for making people aware. None of us know when we may need a little help.

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  14. Hi Eileen, thank you for sharing both your own story and the information about this particular organisation. It is certainly true that no-one is an island and giving forward is an important part of our humanity

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  15. What a heart-wrenching story with a happy ending. I am very sorry for the loss of your father. Your mother sounds like such a strong woman and what a role model! I have heard of Give Forward only because three of my online friends' have family members with cancer. A great organization, indeed. Peace to you.

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  16. Thanks so much for sharing your story (remarkable and inspirational) as well as information about this organization. Love one another...I think we are all charged with this and what a great way to start giving with the Give Forward Program.

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  17. What a wonderful story!. It made me cry. When we hit the bottom, then that is the turning point. Thanks for sharing the wonderful story. Like the idea of Give Forward.

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  18. THat is what I am lacking too, I won't ask even I am already struggling. Because I know people whom I would like to depend on could not help me as well.

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  19. Wow, such a story you have there. Great that things turned around for you after so much hardship. I really do think this is a fantastic program. Hopefully more people like you can get the word out. I'll definitely be sharing this. Thanks!

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  20. Out of the darkest situations light always prevails. What an inspiring story. When support comes up from the people, the grassroots, it just firms up my position that we don't always have to rely on our government gangsters to help others. As people around the world, left to our own, we are more than willing to help one another. Whether it's like your family did for you and your mom, or like the GiveForward group grew.

    Over from LinkedIn BHB.

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  21. It would certainly be a better world if we all followed this example of trying to help out one another instead of always looking for the advantage. Thanks for sharing the information about Give Forward.

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  22. You are brave to share your story and to also bring awareness to the GiveForward campaign. I had not heard of it before.

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  23. And you asked : Have you ever experienced being hopeless, helpless and fearful of what lies ahead? That feeling where you thought you'd never see another tomorrow? I have. -

    Eileen, tell me about it, I've been in a situation though not similar as yours, it is so close. Money is not everything and money can not buy happiness and good health. I thank God every single day for His continuous blessings and provisions. That's the reason why my husband and I have a couple of charities that we support. Indeed, no man is an island.

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  24. Hi Eileen,
    I enjoyed hearing how you expected resistance, but were met with openness in your family's hour of need. I love that Give Forward's aims of alleviating suffering and helping those in need. Also, their percentages are low, as compared other crowd funding sites. Yes, it lies within every one of us to change someone's life for the better.

    Kind Regards,
    Bill

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  25. I am so sorry to read that your family lost everything to pay for the treatment of your dad and his funeral expenses. This happens in a lot of countries and people in the Third world copuntries often can't afford treatment. Give forward sounds like a great organisation to provide help for such families. I am just so grateful for UK's NHS where treatment is still free. It gets criticised a lot but reading your story - I realise how lucky we are. So glad that your family helped out.

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  26. You have an inspiring story, sis, one that a lot of readers can learn from, and yes, I agree, while it is hard to ask people for help, sometimes it's the only thing we could do to get us out of a negative situation and help us start anew. And it's nice, too, that there are organizations like GiveForward that are willing to help others in need.

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  27. Thanks for sharing your story. GiveForward sounds like a great organization.

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  28. Your story is wonderful and is truly inspiring. Asking for help is the hardest thing for a lot of people to do. A lot of us feel like we should be able to do everything ourselves or are afraid what others will think of us. Even just with housework my husband has to stop me and say, "If you need help, just ask. I'm not a mind reader."

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  29. I felt good to read your story and know about the organization. Life is all about joining hands to help people and vise versa. Take care

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  30. Sometimes, we experience tragedy right before triumph. It hurts immensely to lose a loved one, but we can find comfort in the thought of gaining a new angel to protect us. Such a great organization to contribute to!

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  31. Thanks for sharing your story. A great reminder that our jobs is to help others.

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  32. I love this concept! I think it's so important to pay it forward and give to those that need our help, even if it's just a little. We never know when we may be in that same situation.

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  33. What a great organization! It really should come natural to more people to give to those in need.

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