More thanks!

Thank you to Brandi at www.mybraintumorjourney.com, Melissa Schoenecker and Danny Thorton for their generous donations towards buying shoes for the kids.

Brandi and Danny saw my post on one of the talk shows facebook pages. Yesterday I decided to try posting my info on different TV show FB pages. Well, it worked.
And Melissa (a friend from high school) saw my status update on FB.

I am going to find other ways to post my cause on FB and elsewhere. I need to continue to get the word out as much as possible. I only have about 9 weeks until I am off to Rwanda.

UGH

I have been dreading posting this blog...the update to the fundraiser. Bottom line is there was not a fundraiser. Without going into to too much "she said, she told me" kind of stuff...what was suppose to transpire did not. There was a definite lack of communication on one of the sides of the team, and it basically broke down from there. I am very glad that I had not fronted any money and in the end remained even instead of in the hole. Which for a bit there I really thought I was going to end up in the red. If that had been the case then I would have been really angry.
It was all pretty disappointing, but I learned some lessons throughout the process which I will take with me on my journeys.
Although, it was a wonderful thing to have someone offer to set up the fundraiser...make sure you check references and request proof of previous work completed. Don't be afraid to ask. I didn't ask because I thought that would be rude. I didn't ask because I believed the hype so whole heartily I would never have thought it wouldn't come together.
Remember that not every thing marketed as "free" is truly free. Consider the time, the stress, the anxiety, LISTEN TO YOUR GUT, etc...that may play into it the entire scenario.
Weigh your options! Had I known/remembered the above 2 recommendations, I would have cancelled the fundraiser at the time we postponed it. Every part of me and some friends were telling me to say "thank you" and walk away. I didn't. I wanted to believe more time would fix it. My instincts were screaming SUCKER!
Again, I am not mad just really disappointed. But I have to remember I can only be responsible for myself, my own decisions and my own actions. I made the mistake to not walk away sooner rather than later. My only regret is I could have used that time and energy to put into something else. I can't change any of it...only learn from it.

BTW, I can't remember if I ever updated on the garage sale...well, that didn't happen either. BUT instead I took a ton of stuff to Buffalo Exchange and Plato's Closet and made a lot more than I would have at a garage sale. $110 total, so far. I am continuing to clean out the closets and the rest of the house looking for things to sell.

More good news

I figured out today that some airlines...if you contact them ahead of time will allow extra luggage with no fee IF you are using the items for donations. Now I need to figure out what airlines I will be using. I definitely will need to book as 2 legs because it is MUCH cheaper-almost half the price. Here to either London, Amsterdam or Brussels ...and from their onto Rwanda. I am going to try for Amsterdam since I have never been there and maybe take a day to go out and look around. Which would be really cool because I hear it is quite easy to get from the Amsterdam airport to the main part of the city.
Anyway...back to free luggage. I am thinking I will get a big suitcase with wheels and fill it. I was planning on bringing some donations but this opens the door to lots of new options!!!

BTW, I ended up scratching the garage sale because I went out to set up and there were no signs or any type of advertising. BUT it ended up being a good thing because I took a bunch of stuff to Buffalo Exchange and Plato's Closet. So far I have made $58 and have lots more stuff to try to sell to them...and some of the rest of the stuff I will put on Craigslist or Ebay.

Estatic

I am over the moon giddy happy silly!!! I had written an email to my match coordinator with Big Brother Big Sister to see if I could get some littles involved with the Hello Rwanda Letter Exchange...AND she said yes. She said YES in such a big way that they are going to make it a BBBS Event in June. Not sure the date yet but it will be at the BBBS main office in Phoenix. This is absolutely amazing!!! These kids will have some things in common which will help to make them more relatable to each other. This is huge to me. Not only will the Rwanda kids learn about the US, but the BBBS littles will have a new door open to them as well. For some this may be the only exposure they have to anything or anyone international. It is so important to me for this to work. The idea that some of these kids could end up keeping in touch for years to come is incredible. This little idea could end up making a huge difference to one or more of these kids and that is all I could ever hope for.
I am so happy this is amazing..absolutely amazing!!!

BTW, any of you that have kids 7-17 and would like to participate...let me know.