The BC Cancer Foundation

The first charity close to my heart is the BC Cancer foundation. There are few of us these days that have not been touched in some way by this formidable disease. I have lost a Great Grandmother, a Grandmother, and an Aunt to cancer and I have a second Aunt fighting lung cancer right now. My very, very good friend in Life died after a long, exhausting battle with Brain cancer, and a current friend is now in that same battle with Stomach cancer. It is in memory of these friends and family that I choose this recipient. This disease is treated and sometimes preventable. Our financial support enables The BC Cancer Foundation, do this work.

The Mustard Seed

The second charity I have chosen is The Mustard Seed. I have been involved in this faith-based organization for over 10 years both as a church member and active volunteer. They work with families in need; supporting every member and addressing their needs individually. My participation at the Mustard Seed was  spent significantly with the youth because children are dependents in and on their environment. Our volunteer efforts fundamentally addressed the  contributors to rebellion, participation in education and work ethics. Consistently we find the efforts spent with youth as preventative rather than simply remedial by concentrating on the whole person through five streams of healing: physical care, intellectual care, emotional life, social care and finally, spiritual care. As a professional Early Childhood Educator, I am very excited about the work they are doing with the Family Center. The Family Center is their newest initiative, where volunteers and staff work beside parents and their children simultaneously. The Family Center is an aggressive prevention model disrupting the causes of family poverty.