No Parents Left Behind: Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps Given

No Parents Left Behind: Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps Given: Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps given Christmas is around the corner and this year’s Given Tuesday was the perfect opportunity to st...

Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps Given

Given Tuesday: The gift that keeps given

Christmas is around the corner and this year’s Given Tuesday was the perfect opportunity to start the Holiday season of giving. 

So on Tuesday, December 3rd  I taught the gift of sharing and knowledge to our students. I spoke to them about giving, compassion, empathy, charity, love and service. I showed them about children like them in Uganda and Mexico and other developing countries who can't go to school because they cannot afford it. Kids who are sick, hungry and are in need of food, clean water, clothes, shoes,  medicine and vaccines.

I shared with them my pictures of Uganda about from students from the Railaway school, answered questions  and afterward, I asked them to write down what they would give to these children in Uganda.   

We made a list on the board and later we made and colored a booklet for them to take home.  We learned new sight words and had a very good discussion about giving to others. 



 Our class ended with me distributing gloves, hats and coats to our all of our ELL students.

Also, today I started a new season of fundraising for the Shot@Life campaign.  Shot@Life is a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that educates, connects and empowers Americans to champion vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.

                                                                 

Can you help me this Holiday season to provide the gift of life and protection, for other children like these, from  deadly diseases - like polio, measles, pneumonia and diarrhea?  You can give a child the gift of life.  Donate here http://www.globalproblems-globalsolutions.org/site/TR/Events/ShotLife?px=3255392&pg=personal&fr_id=1080

Participate in #GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday on December 3, 2013.

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#GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday on December 3, 2013.

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#GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday

Participate in #GivingTuesday on December 3, 2013.

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#GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday

Walgreens event donates vaccines for developing countries

 Walgreens event  donates vaccines for developing countries

On Sept. 4, 2013 Walgreens announced their partnering with the United Nations Foundation this flu season to help provide life-saving vaccines for children in developing countries through a donation to the Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign.  I was super excited and jumping with joy for what this will mean too for many mothers around the world.

 As many of you know I am a passionate advocate and Champion for Shot@life, a campaign to protect children worldwide by providing live-saving vaccines to children in developing countries.  Also I am an educator and a former nurse who worked in a developing country.  There I saw the needs and illnesses, with pain, agony and sadness in the eyes of many mothers.  There was nothing the doctors could do to save their children patients from simple diseases that could have been easily prevented.  Statistics show that 1 in 5 children worldwide lack access to basic immunizations, and a child dies every 20 seconds from a disease -preventable vaccines.

So, it was great news of Walgreens helping to provide up to 3 million live-saving vaccines to children in need!  How amazing is that? … Very amazing!!  Because of this campaign 3 million children will get vaccinated and can live free of childhood diseases.  I am even more pleased to know that over the last 2 years Walgreens has worked with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to donate more than 400,000 doses of flu vaccines for at risk populations.  This has helped save children’s lives from Laos to Nicaragua.  Here in the United States, together with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, they developed a flu shot voucher program 4 years ago.  Since then Walgreens has distributed approximately I million flu vouchers to uninsured and underinsured individuals nationwide.  How cool is that?

For that reason I decided to take any opportunity to share that information and put in my teachers page wall, my church wall, my facebook page and on twitter.  I also told everyone I knew in Broken Arrow about how they can help with this effort.  I went to my neighborhood Walgreens and shared the good news and had a meeting with the store manager about promoting the campaign with an event and making some posters for the store. 

Cheryle Neil my Walgreen manager and I

Later we had our flu shots together and took a picture.  A week later I told all my friends that until October 14, 2013, for every flu shot administered at any Walgreens pharmacy around the country, Walgreens will donate the value of a live-saving vaccine like polio or measles through Shot@Life... Up to 3 million vaccines! So, I challenged all my friends in Broken Arrow to get their vaccines at my neighborhood Walgreens!

Great posters made for this event

 Still more amazing was that I received an e-mail at the end of September while in New York from my neighborhood Walgreens Manager, wherein they t told me that they  agreed to do an event to let people know about “Get a Shot, Give a Shot” before October 14, 2013.  We did it! We passed out advocacy cards, shared the message with customers, and had a lot of fun!  You can see for yourself in the pictures that we had people lined up for their flu shots.

waiting for their flu shots! 

More shots

our girl Xochitl and husband Dan are big supporters

I want to give a big shout-out to our Broken Arrow Walgreens at the corner of 91^st and Olive!  Their support was incredible! The pharmacy staff, the nurse, the sales associates and their wonderful manager Cheryle did a great job preparing for and carrying out the event.

I sincerely hope Walgreens did very well around the country.  To be honest, I am curious to know how many vaccines they we were able to provide in the overall campaign.  I would just love it if our grand total was 3 million vaccines!  Can you imagine 3 million children having the opportunity to grow older and free of childhood diseases?  I can!  I have seen the wonderful work that Shot@Life and UNICEF are doing many countries.  Last fall I had the opportunity to travel to Uganda with the UNF Shot@Life team and saw many lines of mothers and families participating in UNICEF Free Family Health Days in communities like Mumbende and Fort Portal.  This program offered vaccines; HIV, blood sugar and blood pressure testing; vitamin A monitoring, de-worming, and prenatal care 4 times a year – free of charge to the public. 

I was awed and joyful to see that all of our advocate calls, e-mails, meetings and fundraising efforts are really making a difference in children’s lives.  Just think – and it was all because of you and your contributions of time, talent and financial donations.  THANK-YOU!

Happy Independence Day America (...From Mexico With Love)

What a beautiful morning!  I am feeling so lucky to be alive and to have the blessing of belonging to two countries.  I was born, raised and educated in Mexico where until today all of my family is still there.  I moved to the United States 4 months after I married my husband, Dan, in Mexico and my journey to become an American began. 

I decided that I would learn everything I could about my new country, starting with the language.  That was not easy - it did not matter that I took 3 years of English in college, when I came to this country I was tested to only a 2^nd year level of functional English.  I knew a lot about the fight for American independence, the 13 colonies and the White House.  I still remember reading everything I could find about its government, history, etc. but I was in awe – there were no words to describe my amazement when I arrived here.  I had heard about ‘The Land of the Free’ and ‘The Land of Opportunities’ - but now it was all real!

26 years have passed now and I have been advocating, learning and making sure that I do this country proud.  Since my arrival I have always felt a responsibility to make sure that the people who came before me did not sacrifice their lives and efforts in vain.  I love this country very much and feel honored to represent it positively in any way possible.

 I know it is not perfect, but this country has made the dreams of thousands of people a reality.  We have the freedom to be ourselves, worship how we desire and travel any place we want - the list can go on and on.  However, this 4^th of July remember that many brave and courageous soldiers have died defending this country for us to enjoy this freedom.  So when things are not going the way you want, don't nag, gossip, complain or get apathetic.  We all have the responsibility make a difference in this country and change it for the better.  Like I said before, you don't have to go far away to do it.  Start with your family by teaching them respect for this country.  Teach them family values and a good work ethic by your example.  Show them that you love them by actions - don't buy the all those expensive toys and technology devices… in the end they will not remember those material things.  They will remember the times you spent with them, working, playing, making memories and having quality time together.

The strength and the beauty of this country does not lay in Capitol Hill or anywhere else in Washington DC; or in state and local leaders who direct this country - but in the power and voices of the individuals that live in this country.  We, as a whole, have the responsibility to teach these values in our homes, schools and churches to the next generation of American children so they grow up knowing that they need to take an active part to make a difference.  We, as adults, need to be involved in community issues as active participants in our children's education and partners with our schools and communities to better our school systems.  

My new friend Lucero sell baskets to help her family.

Teach everyone about the needs of other countries and how children die every 20 minutes from diseases easily preventable by vaccines.  Teach compassion, empathy for others who are suffering from a lack of good nutrition and educational opportunities while appreciating their need to work to help sustain their families.  Most importantly: remember all children need a role model.   

I love our country and want to help do everything in my power to make it better!  God Bless America!  I am in Mexico this summer visiting the country where I was born, raised, studied and served when I lived here.  I love my heritage, my roots and I am and always proud to be a Mexican.  It was in Mexico where I became an advocate and learned that my voice had power and that it was my responsibility to make my community better.  In a sense I am very lucky because I can love 2 countries with the same passion and loyalty… but today I want to raise my hat to an amazing country, my country, The United States of America.  Happy Independence Day, America!  Happy Fourth of July!  I am very grateful and humbled to have this freedom and to live in this wonderful land where I can be the voice of many who cannot speak talk for themselves.