Pay it Forward

About a year or so ago, I came across Kelle Hampton's Blog.  She had me sucked in from the second I read her blog post about her second daughter's birth story. I found Kelle's blog at the perfect time in my life. I wasn't in the best emotional place. Still dealing with my brother's accident and learning the new normal of my family's life. Not to mention caring for a newborn on practically no sleep. Finn was about 2 months old and was the fussiest baby in the world. And I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I had a little of post-partum depression going on. Kelle's second daughter, Nella, was born with Down Syndrome and it came as a surprise. The way that Kelle wrote about her grieving, her love for her daughters, etc, well it woke me up. I remember holding Finn just bawling while reading her blog posts. Thinking to myself that I shouldn't be sad or complaining about my fussy boy, because he's healthy. This fussiness will pass. Kelle has inspired me to take more pictures, to be more spontaneous, to enjoy the small things. And I don't even know her! Isn't that crazy?

Sometimes I question this whole blogging thing. What am I doing? Is this stupid? But then something wonderful happens. On Friday night, Kelle posted a blog about Nella turning one in a week. And they decided to pay it forward by setting up a fundraiser for NDSS (National Down Syndrome Society). Her goal was to raise $15,000. Kelle has over 9,000 followers on her blog, so she thought if every one of her readers would just donate $5 they could easily pass $15,000. By the next day, not even 24 hours later, there was about $12,000 in the fund.  And as of right now, there is over $41,000 donated to NDSS. This is amazing. And I can't help but think this wouldn't be possible without all of her blog readers.

I've been on the receiving end of donations before and it's so true that every penny counts. I wish that I didn't have people so close to me who need funding and fundraisers, but the truth is that I do. Every year we raise money for Cystic Fibrosis in honor of my sister-in-law and every August we raise money for my brother who is living as a quadriplegic. I truly think it's important to pay it forward, especially when it's something you believe in so much. So check out Nella's ONEder Fund and donate if you feel inspired!