Give Back With Gavin

Gavin will turn 7 years old in November.  In an effort to honor Gavin's continued survival, a sort of tradition we've got going is to take some donations to the Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders at the Legacy Campus of Children's Medical Center of Dallas.  The donations are given in effort to improve the quality of life for the children that are in the midst of their fight for life.  These kids spend countless hours at the cancer clinic, especially in the infusion area. 

We'd love to give you all the opportunity to join in on our fun again.  You all have done such a great job with this in the past.  And can't see first hand what an impact you have make through giving to this cause, just know that each donation touches the life of a child with cancer personally.  This year, we'll be donating prizes and snacks. 

The Prize Closet
Oh, how kids love the prize closet in the cancer clinic. This beloved collection of treasures supplies the children in the CCBD with a prize every time they are poked. And yes, I mean a needle poke. Frequent bloodwork, shots, port accessing. These kids get poked a lot. And the staff feels they deserve a little something for it. And I agree. The thought of getting to go to the prize closet makes these kids that much tougher during a rough experience like a port access. And, it usually gives them something new to play with while they are at clinic that day and then to take on home with them.

The prizes for this closet are not part of the CCBD budget. Money has to be allotted for more important things, like buying the latest and greatest in technology to help save lives every day. So, the CCBD relies on donations from others to keep the prize closet stocked.  They need OUR help.

It's fun to buy prizes for the prize closet. We've taken some prizes in here and there to give back to the closet since Gavin finished treatment. The boys absolutely LOVE going shopping for the prize closet. Surprisingly, they never ask for something for themselves when they know we're shopping for the closet. And they have such joy as they hand over the bags of prizes to the nurses at the CCBD. I figure it kills two birds with one stone. We help maintain the prizes and the boys get to learn about the joy of giving to others. It's that simple!

Prizes come in all shapes and sizes because the clinic treats kids of all ages. Both boy and girl prizes are necessary. Spend a little on each prize or spend a lot on each prize. You decide. Regardless, know you are going to make a child's day!

There is one very important rule anytime we give to the CCBD. Every item must be BRAND new. This is not because the patients are that particular at the CCBD. It's because the majority of them have very little, if any immune systems to rely on. Items have to be new. No exceptions.

Snacks & Drinks For The Infusion Area
The infusion area is a collection of private rooms around a central nursing station. The rooms are for patients at the CCBD for outpatient infusions. Maybe it's a blood transfusion. Maybe it's all day chemotherapy. Regardless, most kids are there for at least a few hours.

Gavin spent so much time in the infusion room, the staff lovingly referred to one specific room as "Gavin's Room." They treat you like family in the clinic, which makes the thought of chemotherapy dripping through your child's body a little more tolerable.

One perk of the infusion room at the Legacy clinic is the snacks and drinks. Gavin didn't really partake in many of them because he really only wanted water during his cancer treatment because of his extreme nausea and vomiting. TPN & lipids given through is port provided him with his nutrition. But, that's not the case for most kids there. And having some snacks there on hand provides one less thing for these parents to have to remember to pack for such a long clinic day.

Drinks to consider would be juice boxes, Gatorade, Sprite and the like. They have a ice and water machine there in the clinic, so bottled water is not really needed. Good snack options would be items such as goldfish, pretzels, fruit snacks, graham crackers, jello, fruit bars, granola bars, etc.

There are two very important rules we must follow in donating food or drinks to the clinic. First of all, everything must be individually packaged. No big bags of pretzels to share among several patients. And the outer package of item must have a expiration date on it. It's just to keep everything fresh and safe for the kiddos.

Here's How To Help
1. If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, let me know if you have a donation to drop off. We'll make arrangements. Simply email me at staciesmith19@hotmail.com with "Donations" in the subject line.

2. If you don't live in the area, but would like to help out I'll happily be the personal shopper if you want to send some money. The boys and I did this at the end of last year's donation drive. It was SOOOOOO much fun. Again, email me at staciesmith19@hotmail.com with "Donations" in the subject line and we can talk about more details.

Deadline
While the CCBD will always take your donations and I will always gladly be the courier of your donations to them, I am going to set a deadline for this particular drive. I figure it will give you all a bit more motivation to do it NOW instead of later. :)

So, I will accept donations for this particular drive until Monday, November 14th.

Join the fun. Make it a group effort. Try to get your church, sports, cub scouts, bunco groups involved. Let's make a difference together!

Much love,