August 20, 2008

Support the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk

On September 7, 2008 people from around the island of Oahu will gather in Honolulu for the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. They are generating funds to support the Alzheimer’s Association’s efforts to provide Alzheimer care, support and research and to help educate people about this devastating disease. They’re walking to help provide support for their own loved ones or for strangers. They’re walking in hope of a cure. Somewhere in a town or city near you others will be doing the same. They need help and would love to have you join them.

The Memory Walk is an easy one - usually two to three miles - and will be happening in over six hundred towns and communities across the US. Is there’s not one near you, you can be the driving force to get one going. There’s probably already one planned, though, so all you have to do is sign up, show up, stimulate folks to pledge and … walk! You can help support this worthy effort by joining an existing team or forming your own team of walkers. Team captains are especially needed. It’s not a difficult task because the website provides you with all of the tools you’ll need to organize a team and generate pledges. If you can’t walk, make a pledge to support someone who can. You can also help by publicizing the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk on your blog. Help get the word out! Alzheimer’s will be conquered. Don’t you want to be a part of that?

Technorati Tags: Alzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Memory Walk, Alzheimer’s support, charities, charity walks

June 4, 2008

Taking care of ta-tas!

When my aunt was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in the sixties there weren’t many options for treatment. She had double radical mastectomies which, in those days, frequently meant removal of massive amounts of non-breast tissue - muscles extending up into the shoulders, back and arms, for instance. She also had chemo and raditation treatments. She’s in her late sixties now and doing pretty well - she’s on a road trip this week to visit with one of my uncles and his family. When my mother got her diagnosis in the seventies, she didn’t want to lose her breasts. She did a lot of looking around and found a risky but promising research project that involved some new chemo drugs and two kinds of radiation treatment. She experienced a long remission following treatment, but lost her battle to breast cancer in 1988. We’ve come a long way since then. The “new” drug my mother recieved may very well be one that is contributing to the survival of many breast cancer patients today. Early detection is now a reality and most women in the US follow the now-standard recommendations for monthly self-exam, routine examinations by their doctors and mammograms every three years for younger women, every year for women over forty or in a higher risk category. Survival rates are up and increasing all the time. We still don’t have a cure, but we’re getting closer every day. It’s taken a lot of effort by a lot of people to get this far, but more is needed. Research, diagnostic procedures and treatment all carrry a hefty cost, and today I’m saluting some women bloggers who are helping to raise funds and awareness.

Colleen and Deb are both participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this October in New York City. They’ve held fundraisers and collected donations amounting to about $1100 so far, and their walks are still a few months away. Each is committed to raising $1800, so they still need some help. You can support Collen’s efforts by going to her Avon Walk for Breast Cancer site and clicking on the donation button. When you’re done there, you can contribute to Deb’s walk with a single click, too. See how easy that is!

Laurie will be particiapating in the Dallas/Fort Worth area Susan G.Koman Breast Cancer 3-Day in November. A donation from you can be a part of helping Laurie’s walk. She’s already raised almost half of the $3000 she’s determined to generate in contributions.

Don’t have any money in your pocket right now? These women are holding bake sales and garage sales, selling merchandise and staging other events in addition to the walks they’ll be taking. These are things everyone can do in order to help raise funds. Summer’s coming and you’ll be needing things for the kids to do. Why not a joint family project dedicated to raising money to fight this terrible disease? You can make your donations in memory of someone you’ve lost, in honor of a survivor or even in gratitude for your own healthy breasts. Many people believe that we can find a cure for breast cancer in our lifetimes. I believe it. I don’t have a lot of money, but I’ll be having a garage sale soon. I’ve already sent Colleen, Laurie and Deb each a contribution from the money I expect to earn from clearing away the clutter. I’m not just talking to the women here, either. Men, you all love breasts, and you’ve all got a pair of your own (yes, you can get breast cancer, too.) I hope some of you will consider making your own contribution in whatever way works best for you. The ta-tas you save may be your own!

A big mahalo to Corrin, who won a linky-love review playing Tuesday Teasers. She asked me to use it this way instead of doing another review of her blog. Oh, hey, Corrin - you da bes!

Technorati Tags: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, breast cancer, charities, fundraisers, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day

February 25, 2008

Making wishes come true

Thirteen years ago the fates flipped a coin and I found myself living in paradise. It was truely a mixed blessing those first few years. The company that moved me to Hawaii had some financial difficulties and was several months behind on payroll when it finally folded. If I’d still been living “down South” I’d probably have turned to family and friends while I searched for a new job and got back on my feet. I didn’t have the price of a ticket home in my pocket, though, and foolish pride kept me from allowing my family to know that I was facing eviction. The coin was flipped again and came up in my favor. A friend came to my rescue and invited my son and I to live, rent-free, in a shabby-chic, ocean-front cottage that was ususally rented to tourists. Within a couple of months we were in our own place again.

As I leave my home each day and pass the homeless encampments on the beach beside the highway I’m reminded of just how close I came to joining them. It’s heartbreaking to see families who have been squeezed out of the housing market by our high cost of living, though many of the parents have worked all of their lives and continue to work. Each morning they get their children to school, then make their way to jobs that just don’t pay enough to put a roof back over their heads. Many of them put as much as they can from every paycheck into savings that they hope will eventually swell to the point where they’ll have enough for a security deposit, first and last months’ rent. It can take years to accumulate enough - years of doing without things that most of us consider necessities. It’s not possible to see their plight on a daily basis and not want to help. During the recent holiday season I was fortunate enough to become involved a project that was intended to bring shoes to barefoot children in one neighborhood. It’s evolved into so much more.

The The Keiki Slippah Wish Project originated with one woman’s simple wish. Auntie Pupule lives in a public housing project in Honolulu. Back in 2005 she answered a question about Christmas wishes on a local online message board. Her wish was that all of the children in the project could have slippahs - those rubber sandals that most of us here wear year round. The online community started a grassroots effort that made Auntie Pupule’s wish come true. She threw a Christmas party for the keiki (children) and all of them got slippahs and other Christmas gifts. In 2006 they did it again. By the time the 2007 holiday season rolled around the project had gotten some publicity and residents in other housing projects asked if their children could be included. That’s where things stood when I first heard of the The Keiki Slippah Wish Fund and decided to ask my readers if they would help. The results of that one blog post were nothing short of amazing.

A week or so before Christmas I got some astounding news. Contributors to the project had been so generous that there was money left over after the expenses were budgeted for the keiki in the housing projects. The decision was made to use the excess funds to bring slippahs and Christmas cheer to the children living on the beaches in my own community. Why? Because it was contributions from my readers that had put the fund over the top and Auntie Pupule knew that I was an advocate for our local homeless population. I was invited to participate in the rolling Chirstmas party that resulted. We loaded up a truck and visited homeless encampments from one end of the Waianae coast to the other, yet still had slippahs and gifts left over. We ended our day at a newly-opened transitional center that was serving as temporary housing for some of the families who had been living on the beach only a few months before. We were able to provide slippahs, books, clothes, toys and snacks to families who had little or nothing to give their keiki for Christmas. My readers made that happen!

Auntie Pupule has been asked to bring the Keiki Slippah Wish Project to the outer islands next year. She thinks it would be best to teach others what she’s learned and let them manage their own projects in their own communities. I like the way her mind works! I’ll be asking my readers to help again when the 2008 project starts up and I know they will respond. We don’t have to wait for Christmas, though. There are people in dire need living in almost every community year-round. Take a look around you. Find a need or a project that you can help with, then do it. Give your money, your time, your labor and your skills. Think about all of the blessings in your own life, then find a way to pay it forward.

Make a wish … then find a way to make it come true!

Technorati Tags: bloggers, charities, generosity, Hawaii, homelessness, Keiki Slippah Wish Project

December 27, 2007

Your Time to Care

It took me several days to watch the entire presentation of Your Time to Care, a DVD from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America eStore. The presentation is 142 minutes long, no longer than many movies, so I certainly could have watched in in one sitting. It was emotionally-charged for me, though, and I found that I needed breaks in between viewing sessions. The DVD is intended to provide an understanding of how to provide in-home care for individuals with Alzheimer's and other types of dementia. I think it does an exemplary job of accomplishing its stated task, but I also think it’s applicable to a much wider audience. My long-time readers know that I was my father’s primary caregiver in his last year. He did not have Alzheimer’s. He had had multiple strokes. His brain still functioned much as it had throughout his adult life, but his body had become a damaged vessel. The DVD helps caregivers learn how to deal with the memory loss, confusion and acting out that many Alzheimer’s patients exhibit, but it also addresses the physical needs of anyone who is unable to take care of themselves. I found myself spiraling out of control emotionally as I watched lessons in encouraging someone to eat when their body no longer sends hunger signals, and in finding dignified ways to help tend to previously very private acts of toileting and cleanliness. I’ve been there and done that, and I could not help but think that it would have been easier for me and for my father if I’d had this DVD at my disposal back then. I had instructions from doctors and nurses and nutritionists, but the step-by-step, day-to-day care issues were never addressed. I had to learn as I went along what worked and what didn’t. I’m reminded of the terrible day that I had to call 911. I had left my father alone on the toilet. He slipped and became wedged between the toilet and the tub and I could not get him up. It was horrifying for both of us, and a blow to his dignity to have strangers see him in such circumstances. Having had lessons in daily care would have spared us both that experience because I would have learned a simple lesson: don’t leave him alone in situations where he could fall. I could cite numerous examples of how the DVD presentation could have made our lives better, but I think the one suffices. I heartily recommend Your Time to Care to anyone caring for someone with Alzheimer’s, of course, but also for caregivers taking care of adults with other diseases or limitations. I would not give up the time my father and I had together for any amount of money, but I wish I had had more knowledge about his needs during that time. I truely think this DVD could have made it a much easier time for both of us.

You can help support the mission of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America by shopping at their eStore. If you’re a procrastinator like me and still have a holiday gift or two to buy, please consider giving their lovely jewelry or something from their AFA quilt logo product line. Take a look at the DVD while you’re there, too. If you’re not a caregiver, you probably know someone else who is. I can think of no more meaningful gift than one that provides a caregiver with the basic tools they need as they tend to a loved one. My copy will be going soon to a friend who is caring for her mother, who has Alzheimer’s. I can’t change my own past experience, but I’m happy to be able to provide them with a practical guide that will make their lives safer and more pleasant.

Technorati Tags: Alzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, caregiving, home care

December 17, 2007

Bloggers Unite in Acts of Kindness

I believe that everything we do can have an effect on people around us and even across the globe. The ripple effect itself is neutral and can carry large cumberson acts of ugliness as easily as small kindnesses. As an extreme example of the former, does anyone doubt that the events of September 11, 2001, hatched in one man’s black heart, had an impact on millions of people around the globe, creating suspicion, uneasiness and even hatred in many? Conversely, one woman’s wish that the children around her could all have shoes led to the creation of The Slippah Fund, which has provided slippers and Christmas cheer to hundreds of children around the island of Oahu.

Every day we have numerous opportunities to start a ripple, for good or ill. As bloggers we impact our readers, who can influence their readers, on and on, ad infinitum. Bloggers Unite is an acknowledgement of the power we can weild for change and has issued a challenge to all bloggers everywhere:

Bloggers Unite challenges bloggers everywhere, on December 17th, to do something good offline — an act of kindness — and then post about it on their blogs, using words, pictures, and/or videos to tell the story.

“Maybe 20,000 bloggers, vloggers, photographers will make a difference.”

I’m stuck in my office right now and won’t be out and about until this afternoon, but I didn’t want to pass by the opportunity to spread the word to other bloggers so they might be motivated to join in. I’ve chosen, therefore, to post this morning about another blogger who is making a difference.

I run a contest on my blog every Tuesday. Linking it here would be self-serving, so let’s skip that part. A while back I suggested to my readers that they could use their prize, a linky love post, to publicize a charitable or non-profit site instead of their own blog. Chuck Foxtrot liked that idea and asked me to review a charity of my choice when he won the weekly contest. I posted about Chemo Angels, an organization that provides tangible support to people with cancer who are undergoing the rigors of chemotherapy. Last week Chuck stepped up to the plate again.

Two weeks ago a terrible storm blew through Hawaii. It was a difficult and uncomfortable time for me and my neighbors as we lost power and were stranded for several days because access to our coast was blocked by downed utility poles. I blogged it once the power was back on, of course, and mentioned that I had lost a few hundred dollars or so of food because of the lack of refrigeration. I don’t have a lot of money and certainly could have done without the expense of restocking, but imagine, if you will, the more serious repercussions for my neighbors who live on the beach. Emergency shelters were opened, but many of our homeless are distrustful of such places and chose to ride out the storm on their own. Their flimsy tents and tarps could not withstand the gale-force winds. They lost their shelters and whatever food, clothing and other possessions they had. Local charitable groups sprang into action to try to help. It was those efforts I thought of when I got an email from Chuck. Each month I draw the name of one of my weekly contest winners and award that blogger a small gift card. Chuck won the drawing for November and this was his reaction:

“I like $10 as much as the next guy, but please use the $10 to restore your refrigerator to its normally stocked condition or send it along to a local charity to help with the storm. I know $10 isn’t much, but it’s my contribution to the Hawaiian storm recovery effort.”

Mahalo Chuck! Your ten dollars is feeding a homeless family today, or perhaps helped purchase a new tent to provide them shelter and privacy. A small act of kindness on your behalf has sent out ripples that have reached across an ocean to someone in need. I salute you my indiosyncratic friend. You’re one of the good guys. Mahalo nui loa!

While I’m out and about today I’ll be looking for an opportunity to perform my own act of kindness. Won’t you do the same, and come back and tell me all about it? Just this once, toot your own horn and tell me about the good thing you’ve done!

Technorati Tags: acts of kindness, bloggers, Bloggers Unite, charities

December 2, 2007

Chemo Angels

“Chemo Angels is a volunteer organization dedicated to adding a ray of sunshine to the lives of those undergoing IV chemo treatment. We believe people going through the physical, emotional and mental rigors of chemotherapy deserve some encouragement. Many of our Chemo Angel volunteers are cancer survivors themselves, or people whose lives have been affected by cancer in some way. Our common denominator is a desire to brighten the lives of cancer patients while they are going through this challenging time.”
~from the Chemo Angels welcome page~

Back in the 1980s my mother had a recurrence of the breast cancer we thought she had defeated. The prospect of facing chemotherapy, radiation and possible surgery again was very disheartening for her. She was devastated when the chemo made her so weak she could no longer handle the stairs in her own home and she had to move in with me. It was a horrendous time for the entire family, but there were bright spots that helped all of us, most especially her, get through it. The women from her Bible class visited regularly. When she lost her appetite they made all of her favorite foods to tempt her into eating (it worked!) Throughout her treatment she received cards and letters and small gifts that told her that someone was thinking of her and wishing her well. Those women were true angels, reminding Mom on a regular basis that she mattered, and that others cared about her and the ordeal she was going through. That’s why the work of Chemo Angels caught my attention. Chemotherapy is emotionally and physically exhausting. It really bolstered Mom’s spirits to know that people who didn’t have to care did anyway and so willingly gave of themselves to help her through a tough time. Mom eventually lost her battle, but I’m convinced that her special angels were a blessing to her and brought her great comfort. Eveyone undergoing chemothearapy should have that!

You don’t have to live in the same neighborhood to provide that kind of support (minus the personal visits) for someone undergoing chemotherapy. You can do it by becoming a Chemo Angel. It requires a level of committment so they ask you to consider other obligations you may have before you sign on. You’ll need to know that you can send a card or a letter each week for the duration of the patient’s treatment, and to send a few small gifts. Your patient may come to rely on your support, so consider helping in other ways if that level of involvement is beyond you. There are Chemo Angel programs that allow you to help with monetary support or even by donating cars, cell phones and used ink cartridges which the organization will recycle (green support!) There’s a companion program for Senior Angels, too, for those who want to bring some good cheer into the lives of older folks. Check out their guidelines to become a Chemo Angel or to submit your own name or someone else’s for the supportive attention of a personal Chemo Angel or Senior Angel!

Mahalo to my pal Chuck Foxtrot for donating his prize review to this worthy cause, and to Pelf for helping me find them!

Technorati Tags: charities, Chemo Angels, chemotherapy

November 28, 2007

MWH Slippah Fund reminder

Today is the last day to get your donations in to the Slippah Fund if you want me to match your donation! I have been notified of donations from these generous readers:

Karen

Christine

Lee

Beth

Marisa

Corrin

If you contributed and aren’t on the list above I apologize! Please let me know so I can match your donation and acknowledge your wonderful gift!

If you didn’t already know about the Slippah Fund, go read my original post about the project or go straight to the source and visit with Auntie Lyn (linked above) to see what it’s all about. Together we can give a lot of keiki a wonderful Christmas and put slippahs on their feet too! Make sure you send me a copy of your receipt so I can match your donation.

Technorati Tags: charity, children, Christmas wishes, Hawaii, rubber slippers, slippahs

November 7, 2007

Sometimes wishes come true

We’re not overly fond of shoes in Hawaii. Well, not the regular closed-up kind that you maybe have to wear socks or (ugh!) pahtyhose with. We like our toes to breath. Since we don’t wear our shoes in the house, slippahs are what we wear most. Yeah, rubber slippers. Shower thongs. Zoris. Flip-flops. Whatever you call them in your part of the world, over here they’re slippahs. They’re easy to take off when we get where we’re going. We step out of them at the door and it’s sometimes comical when lot of folks get together. They go to leave and have to paw through a mountain of slippahs to find the ones they came with, and maybe someone accidently took theirs becasuse they looked kind, sorta alike. Or they end up going home with one green and one black slippah because someone else stuck their feet in the wrong ones and never looked to see that they didn’t quite match. Kids are the worst for losing slippahs. They take them off at the beach or the playground and never think about them again until they come home barefoot and someone asks where’s their slippahs. It’s too late by then most of the time. The slippahs are gone, wherever it is that slippahs go. Sometimes there’s no money to buy new ones, so the keiki go around barefoot for a while until someone can save a few dollars for a new pair of slippahs for them to lose.

Auntie Pupule was thininkg about kids and slippahs a few years ago when someone asked about Christmas wishes. She had noticed that a lot of the keiki who live in the Mayor Wright Homes didn’t have any slippahs, so she said “I wish for all the children of MWH to have a pair of rubber slippers so they won’t have to go barefoot.” Now Auntie Pupule is an activist and she doesn’t sit around and wait for things to happen. She started stirring things up and soon the MWH Slippah Fund was born. By the time Christmas rolled around in 2005 she had 500 pair of slippahs and some other gifts for the kids at MWH. They threw a big holiday party and all of the kids got gifts. Last year it was even bigger. This year it needs to be bigger still, because folks from some of the other housing projects would like Auntie Pupule to bring the Slippah Project to their keiki, too. You know she couldn’t say no!

Sometimes little things can make a big difference. Slippahs are little things, unless you don’t have any. Not having slippahs - that’s a big thing. I buy several pair a year for myself, and whenever I know someone is coming over to visit me from the mainland I ask them their shoe size. I buy them some slippahs and put them outside my front door so my guests will know they’re welcome. I don’t have a lot of money, but it’s a little thing I can do, so I do it. I can help the Slippah Fund too, so I did that. Now I want YOU to help, too. Like I said, I don’t have a lot of money, but if we do this together we can help Auntie Pupule buy a lot of slippahs for the keiki. Here’s what I’ll do. Go make your donation to the Slippah Fund. You’ll get a receipt via email. Forward that to me (you can take out your real name and any other sensitive info first.) I’ll match the donations my readers make, up to $100 above the amount I’ve already given. Donations need to get to the fund by November 29th so Auntie Pupule will have time to go shopping, so get your notification to me by November 28th and I’ll send the matching funds. Let’s get together and help the kids have a great party this year, with slippahs and gifts for all!

Technorati Tags: charity, children, Christmas wishes, Hawaii, rubber slippers, slippahs

October 15, 2007

IndieMV teams with UNICEF against AIDS

UNICEF has been improving the lives of children around the world for over sixty years. I first learned of them when, as a school child in the fifties, I was asked to “Trick or Treat for UNICEF.” Children today still support that effort on Halloween, and numerous other campaigns also support this important work. Facing the problems of today with todays technology, UNICEF has partnered with IndieMV to raise funds and awareness in a campaign that is sure to appeal to young people and adults alike. IndieMV - Music+People, along with UNICEF, will present the United Against AIDS benefit concert on November 28, 2007 in Montreal. You’re invited to browse a selection of music and video clips and use them to put together your own video to help promote the concert and spread awareness for the “Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS” campaign. My own brother died of AIDS shortly before he would havbe been fifty. How much more tragic it is that this terrible disease afflicts thousands of children around the world. Your video-editing skills can be put to good use as you combine music, video footage and your own thoughts about AIDS and children with HIV/AIDS. Details are in the press release below. Take a look, then follow the link to use INDIEMV’s tools to make and upload your own video. Let your voice and your artistry shine as you do your part!

IndieMV.com Launches and Partners With UNICEF for Upcoming, Star-Studded, ‘Unite Against AIDS’ Benefit Concert

Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan and Others to Perform at UNICEF AIDS Benefit Concert as IndieMV Provides Music-Video Based Contests to Promote Awareness

NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–IndieMV Media Group announced today the official launch of the Company’s web site www.IndieMV.com and shared details about their recent partnership with UNICEF to provide music-video based contests surrounding the upcoming “Unite Against AIDS” benefit concert on November 28, 2007.

IndieMV.com, is a video-based website that has been designed to connect independent music artists, fans, and labels through social networking. The website is not only a video marketplace for musicians but also a social networking service for students, music lovers, and users that simply want to connect. Services to users are based around networking tools such as video blogging (or ‘vlogging’), private web-cam messaging, photo sharing, as well as access to music videos, interviews, and much more. Services to musicians include digital distribution with revenue share on video downloads along with access to all user-based features.

IndieMV also offers users a new technology called ‘Sliders’. Sliders are an advanced tagging system that allows users to easily search content on a more personalized level. It is a filtering system that each user can customize to their personal interests and preferences.

Concurrent with the website launch, the Company is also pleased to announce their new relationship with UNICEF surrounding music-video based contests that have been organized to help promote their upcoming “Unite Against AIDS” benefit concert in Montreal, Canada on November 28, 2007, as well as promote independent music while spreading awareness for the “Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS” campaign. IndieMV will be hosting a music-video contest in conjunction with UNICEF. It has been designed to give youth the opportunity to share their impressions and thoughts on issues regarding AIDS and its effect on the world. UNICEF will provide audio tracks and visual footage, and IndieMV will provide the platform for uploading, viewing, and voting for the music videos. Over the next couple of months, the Company’s campus development efforts will carry the UNICEF message and encourage thousands to support the campaign and to build their scene on IndieMV.com.

Confirmed feature performers already include headliner Avril Lavigne, Grammy Award winner Sarah McLachlan, Corneille, Marie-Mai, Angelique Kidjo, and DJ Dino Lenny, as well as the winner of the IndieMV “Unite” band contest. Net proceeds from the concert will benefit UNICEF’s international ‘Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS’ campaign, which is the largest ever mounted to bring the world’s attention to the global impact of HIV and AIDS on children and young people. Please visit www.IndieMV.com for more details surrounding the contests and concert.

Technorati Tags: Children with HIV/AIDS, contest, indie music, IndieMV, UNICEF

September 27, 2007

Buy a calendar, help a family

My friend Drew has been taking a photo a day, every day, for several years now and he posts them at The BenSpark. He’s compiled of them into a calendar and is selling them to raise money for a family that is having a rough time. Becky and Mike Machinski have both battled cancer. Becky is cancer-free now, but Mike continues with treatment. They can’t get medical insurance (Isn’t the insurance industry grand? If you’re sick you can’t play ball with them. I’ve been trying to get private coverage for eight years now and no one wants to sell coverage to anyone who is sick.) Mike has been battling Advanced Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for over three years. He has had numerous in-patient stays, operations, radiation treatments, over 120 chemotherapy treatments and a stem cell transplant. The costs for such care are astonomical. Throughout it all he and Becky have tried to maintain a normal life for their three daughters. They could use some help, though. Drew is helping to raise funds for them by selling his Photo-A-Day Calendar. They sell for $15.00 each. After production costs Drew is only making $2.97 per calendar, but he’s donating $2.00 from each calendar sold to the Machinski family. The photos are stunning and the calendars will make wonderful gifts for your family and friends this coming holiday season. I hope you’ll consider buying one (or more!) of them. There is also a PayPal donation button on Drew’s site if you’d like to help out that way. Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much!) for considering the Machinski family and doing what you can to help.

Technorati Tags: calendars, cancer, charity, photo calendar