Philanthropy
I love sharing practical advice and encouragement for parents through my blog and social channels, but my heart beats for those in need and hurting throughout the country and the world. My mission is to use my platform to be a powerful force for good. Throughout the life of A Sailor’s Wife, I’ve been able to partner with various organizations to create meaningful change, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity!
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
When kids require a hospital stay, it’s the Child Life Department that cares for their social, emotional, and mental health. Child Life Specialists work tirelessly to help kids have enjoyable, enriching experiences even while recovering from an illness or injury. We saw a huge opportunity to help the Child Life Team at Lurie Children’s Hospital, and we joined forces with Empowered Publicity to raise over $3500 to donate to their efforts. We were able to fundraise while also helping emerging authors; we review new books for a fee that’s then donated to the hospital. Authors receive recognition and exposure for their great books, and kids are helped in the process!
Book First Chicago
As proud Chicago residents, our family cares deeply for the children in our city who have little to no access to books outside of school. The Chicago Public School system serves a population of 15% or more homeless children who have no library or library equivalent. Books First is an incredible organization staffed entirely by volunteers that facilitates the donation of books to under-resourced schools in the city, and helps create libraries in schools that don’t have one. Through my platform, I was able to mobilize my community to collect and donate over 2000 books! Some were gently used, and others were brand new, donated from our incredible network of children’s authors.
Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego
Though my family resides in Chicago, my good friend John Masiulionis from Empowered Publicity lives in San Diego. Once we’d experienced such incredible success working with Lurie Children’s Hospital, we decided to extend our model to the Rady – the children’s hospital in San Diego. Through reviewing books from up and coming children’s authors, we were able to raise $1000 (and counting!) for the Child Life Department at Rady Children’s! If you would like to donate to Rady Children’s Hospital check out this post HERE.
United Services Organization - USO
Last but certainly not least, my work with A Sailor’s Wife has allowed me to make an incredible difference to the mission of serving soldiers and their families. The USO is an organization close to my heart; we were so grateful for the benefits provided by the USO during my husband’s deployments. Simply put, the USO is a nonprofit dedicated to filling in the gaps for service members and their families. They provide opportunities for kids, for military spouses, and for soldiers on deployment. For this very special cause, I was thrilled to work with my daughter, Priscilla, as she helped us raise money to support the USO. Priscilla’s Instagram, @StorytimeTots_ became her vehicle to read children’s books aloud for a fee. Her reading channel raised over $1000 in 3 days, and 100% of it was donated to the USO.
As part of our community at A Sailor’s Wife, you’ve been an integral part of our philanthropic efforts. Thank you so much for showing up, for donating, and for participating in many ways. Your work and your attention matters. We are so grateful for what we’ve been able to accomplish, and I look forward to many more opportunities!
