April 1, 2016

Comments for a Cause – It’s All Special

April 1st and no fooling around here on It’s Just Life when I tell you that our Comments for a Cause tradition continues. If you are stopping by for the first time the deal is simply this. Each month I highlight a new cause on the first day of the month. For every comment that is made on ANY blog post during the month Chris and I will donate 50 cents to that cause. At the end of the month I tally them up and make the donation based on YOUR comments. It is easy and all it takes is a little bit of time to leave a comment every now and then.

During March I found an amazing cause – the Women’s Prison Book Project. If you want to read more about why I chose this amazing ministry simply click here to go the my March 1st blog post that will tell you all about the incredible work that this organization does. I am thrilled to announce that thanks to all of the comments during the month of March we will be making a donation of $195 to this amazing group of volunteers who put books in the hands of women inmates. I would say we had a successful month, wouldn’t you? Thank YOU!

Carlton and Chris

This is a special month in many ways but one way is because our sweet Carlton turns 47 this month. If you have read the blog recently you know that we have had some big decisions to make concerning Carlton’s care. We came to a crossroads of sorts and I am happy to report that during the past week Carlton has been successfully moved to a lovely assisted living facility close to my sister in law and her family. My sister in law and her husband have worked tirelessly on Carlton’s behalf during the past four years and while this was an incredibly difficult decision it is the right decision and he will be able to receive the care that he is going to need while allowing the family the peace of mind of knowing that he is safe and well cared for.

One of the things that Carlton loved to do in the past was participate in the Special Olympics. When we cleaned out his room in the family house we discovered boxes and boxes of medals and certificates from his participation in Special Olympics. Strange as it may sound with all of the volunteer experience I have done over the years I have yet to volunteer with Special Olympics. I hope to change that but for now I decided that there would be no better April Comments for a Cause recipient than our local Transylvania County Special Olympics organization. The North Carolina chapter of Special Olympics has a lot going on and the local county chapter is a great place to start to help support a great organization.

If you have never heard of Special Olympics this is a brief description from their national website of what their mission is:

Through the power of sports, people with intellectual disabilities discover new strengths and abilities, skills and success. Our athletes find joy, confidence and fulfillment — on the playing field and in life. They also inspire people in their communities and elsewhere to open their hearts to a wider world of human talents and potential.

There is so much more to what this great organization does — encouragement, building community, health awareness and helping to further research all play an important part of this organization. Locally our chapter offers aquatics, athletics, basketball, bocce, bowling and soccer.

So this month please come by often. Read and comment. Let’s make April all about the special guy in our family and celebrating one of the organizations that brought him and continues to bring so many others some special memories.

If you have a story about Special Olympics please feel free to share in the comments section. I would love to read each and every one of them. Spread the word—each comment this month means a 50 cent donation (cap of $500) to Special Olympics. You can’t miss with this one. Want to connect with Special Olympics? Here are a few ways to find them: