2.20.2012

Smiles Are Worth More Than Disneyland

UPDATE: Here is the direct link

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/anneke/mcconnellsforpeople

Thank you!!!


~~~~~~~~~~


Happy Monday friends! How inspiring is this picture for a smily day?
Yup...I'm claiming them. Pretty stinkin' cute, huh? :-)

Well, you may have noticed a small design change on the upper right corner and wondered, "What in the world is that all about?" Hmmm, glad you asked!
So...I have a little story for you today from a very selfless, caring young girl named Annabelle (a.k.a. my daughter), and I'm hoping you'll take a moment to read the whole thing - I think it's worth it (of course) ;-)
As a stay-at-home mom who does a little creative refinishing of furniture on the side, I often would tell my 6 year old Annabelle that I was working on this furniture to make a little extra money so we could take her and her sister Lauryn to Disneyland. Of course she was SO excited!

One day Annabelle and Lauryn were in the family room as I was trying to find a particular station on the tv. "Wait, stop mom! What's that?!" They sat and were captivated as they watched Operation Smile for like an hour, impacted by the realization that other people need help.

Not too long after that, Annabelle came to me and very seriously said, "Mommy, I don't need to go to Disneyland. Those kids need that money more than I need to go to Disneyland. Instead of us going to Disneyland, let's give that money to those kids who really need it." Oh my goodness, bless her little heart!!! Annabelle has always had such a generous spirit, and this has been something that has really tugged at my heart since she said it, because I don't want her to lose that!

I sat down with her little 6 year old self over lunch the other day and we talked about how we could make this a reality. Here's what her and I came up with (she's SUPER excited!):

I am going to be offering all of my proceeds from my furniture sales up to $1000. That's our minimum. If you are local and would like to purchase furniture, this is where the proceeds will be going until we reached $1000. If you are not local and you would like to give, we have set an additional goal of $1000 to be donated through the First Giving page.

We also support Compassion International monthly, and while we are not creating a separate page, please consider donating to Compassion as well. It's your choice - or BOTH! :-D Please let me know so I can tell Annabelle. We have a goal chart at home so she can see the progress. :-)

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for visiting Annabelle's Personal Fundraising Page and encouraging her dream of reaching out and helping other people in need, no matter what your age is! Not only is she trying to raise money to help others - she is also forfeiting the opportunity to go to Disneyland this year. That's HUGE in a 6-year old's world!!! Please consider donating.

Every donation makes a difference, big or small...



~Anneke and Annabelle McConnell


2 comments:

Restoration Chic said...

So glad to hear about this - and also that you are Compassion International people, too. 100% of my profits to go them, my hubby and I have been involved with the organization for a while, now (and we even had one of the LDP students live with us as she pursued her Masters degree here in the States!). Pray for us as we are opening a shop of my own that has the potential to raise a lot more money and awareness for Compassion.

I would love to donate to your daughter's cause - is there a way to go directly to a website and donate? I clicked on the icon on the top of your page but it didn't take me anywhere...

Anneke at This, That and Life said...

That is SO awesome! I'll definitely be praying for you as you are moving forward! We have a specific page set up under firstgiving.com for Operation Smile. If you click directly on the donate button it should take you to the site. Thank you SO much!