Work, happy tasks, writing, and life converge when it comes to cancer kindness. There are so many great organizations here in central Ohio—below are some of our favorites.
Locks of Love
Back in 2007, I let my hair grow longer than it had ever been in anticipation of my wedding. Because it had gotten so long, I decided to cut it afterwards and donate it to Locks of Love. Now Ellie and I are both letting our hair grow long in order to donate it. (While I love knowing my hair will benefit someone else, aesthetically, I prefer my hair long, so I can’t say I’m looking forward to the short style. Ellie, on the other hand, is sacrificing in letting hers grow long. The girl runs every chance she gets, so her fine hair is always a mess of tangles. She prefers hers short to make it a little more manageable. We’ve been doing a lot of ponytails lately.) If you’d like to learn more: https://locksoflove.org/
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
While Dell may initially feel she’s too old for the “children’s hospital,” I was happy to have her be treated there. Nationwide has appeared on our list of happy tasks multiple times over the years. We’ve made activity bags and bought toys from their wish lists. Typically, Shawn does the deliveries because he works downtown, but the last time, we made it a family affair. It was gratifying for Ellie to go inside and hand over a big bag of toys, seeing kids walking around who just might benefit from something she had donated. For more on Nationwide: https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio
The Ronald McDonald House has a special place in my heart. I was born with a congenital heart defect, which was corrected shortly before I turned three. I had surgery at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and while I was recovering, my parents spent a night at a Ronald McDonald House. I’ve been on a couple of tours of the House here in Columbus, and I’m always left feeling awed, humbled, and moved. This might be my favorite expression of our kindness movement. We’ve supported RMHC seven times, from donating money, cooking dinner, making snack packs, and baking cookies. Ellie and I have a system for the snack packs now—we sit on the floor with our grocery bags, I hand her each item, and she sorts them into piles for me to put into Ziploc bags. And I’ve been waiting several years for her and some of our friends’ kids to be old enough to bake cookies for the families staying at the House. We did that for the first time this summer, and it was a fun and rewarding experience for us all—kids and grownups alike. Please check them out: http://rmhc-centralohio.org/