How often does doing taxes make you realize how awesome your spouse is?  A couple of weekends ago, I spent a few hours in front of the computer feeding in numbers and categorizing receipts.  When the processor was sufficiently heated and the numbers were returned, I assessed the damage and compared the results from years past.  One thing became immediately clear to me.

My wife has a bigger heart than I do.  Our charitable donations were a big reason that our additional payment to the feds isn’t a lot more.  I’ll bet that you might be able to guess which of us is good about giving donations to worthy causes.  (Hint: I don’t even like to buy girl scout cookies.)  It’s pretty cool the way she does it.  A little here and a little there make up small amounts that we won’t ever notice is gone.  But, over the course of a year, it makes a decent impact.  I say that I care about causes, but it’s usually more of an emotion in the moment.  My wife actually cares for causes and is willing to sacrifice other things so that these groups may have.

CCI know that there are a lot of worthy causes and organizations in our world.  Realistically, we can’t contribute to all of them.  So, we’ve made a decision to focus our efforts on a few groups that we’re most passionate about.  Most of our giving goes to groups that deal with Childhood Cancer.  Cancer on its own is a beast.  When you combine that with the innocence of a child, its difficult to imagine the toll that it takes.

When my daughters are sick, I ache for them and wish that I could take on their illness so that they can run and play again.  I know that if either of them, or even my wife, were confined to a hospital bed for even a short time, I would be broken beyond recognition.  Yet these children, their parents, and their families constantly battle the sterile rooms, the painful tests, and the ravished bodies that come with this disease.  If our lifetime of contributions can reduce that feeling of helplessness by one day for just one family, it is worth it.

To Kelley, thank you for caring about these children and their families enough to contribute.  Please continue to give out of the abundance of your heart.  It wouldn’t hurt me to eat out a little less often, anyhow.

To those families who have had to deal with this, you have our prayers and sympathy.  I do not have the wisom or the courage to ask “why?”, but I am fortunate enough to ask “How can I help?”

To anyone else, I’ve provided a few links below that direct you to organizations that fight childhood cancer.  If, however, this isn’t for you, please find a cause where you can help others and give to it passionately.  Sometimes it’s not your money that makes the biggest impact, but your time.

http://www.curechildhoodcancer.org/
http://www.curekidscancer.com/
http://www.curesearch.org/