One of the most wonderful gifts I received during my cancer treatments got tossed into the recycling.
After my double mastectomy, I was recovering in our guest bedroom. I minimized all my movements, as you can imagine, as my entire front side was a mess.
So the mail was piling up. After about five days, I finally got well enough that I could sit up in bed to open it.
I put the large pile on the left side of me and began opening.
- Bill – “later pile” by my right knee
- Paint-your-house flier – recycling bin sitting on the floor (2 pts if I made the basket!)
- Bill – later
- Card from college boyfriend – “now pile” by my right hip
- Card from Mom – now
- Card – now
- Card – now
- World Market brochure – recycling toss (not 2 pts)
- Card – now
- Bill – later
- Card – now
- Card – now
- Smith’s Grocery promo – recycling toss (2 pts)
- Small post card – recycling toss (2 pts)
- Card – now…
Wait… a… sec.. something about the 2-pointer, recycling-toss post card made me stop. Still not sure why I needed to see that post card (probably a lawn care company,) but I called someone to come fish it out of the bin, please.
My daughter handed it to me and I un-crunched it and read the back.
“A donation in your name has been made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.”
Oh. My. Goodness.
I tear up. I feel like warm chocolate is pouring over me. I read every word on that post card – who made the donation, their message, the message of the BCRF, which I really hadn’t known about before.
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is committed to achieving prevention and a cure for breast cancer. This organization provides critical funding for cancer research worldwide to fuel advances in tumor biology, genetics, prevention, treatment, metastasis and survivorship. BCRF is the highest rated breast cancer organization in the U.S. with an A+ rating from Charity Watch and 4 out of 4 starts from Charity Navigator, with 91 cents of every dollar spent going directly to research.
I suddenly feel that rather than just being a victim of this cancer, I’m a part of the solution.
What a meaningful thing to do for someone who is going through the sh!t, to tie a donation to a worthy cause so that that suffering person can let a little light in as they realize their pain was a worthy organization’s gain.
I carry this experience close to my heart.
When I decide to open Uplift Gift for friends to support each other as they go through life’s ups and downs, I know that every box needs a card that makes the recipient feel like I did when I read the back of that crumpled post card.
Our Uplift Gift card reads, “Your gift box is helping to uplift others, as we give 5% of our profits back to charities.”
I ask for it to be printed on super heavy card stock. Each one is placed in an important spot in our gift boxes. You can’t miss it when you’re lifting the gifts out of the box.
It is my hope that it first makes it into each gift recipient’s heart before they make two points with it.