The best part of the day was meeting people. We had a lot of visitors to the UCAAN booth, all people interested in finding out more about the cause. :0)
I ended up giving away 12 "Share the Hope" Bracelets and 3 "Hang in There Hope" creatures (2 monkeys & 1 lizard). The stories I hear from people who were affected by cancer in some way, were heartfelt & hopeful. The least I could do was spread the HOPE to these awesome people. I hope that I made an impact in the lives of these amazing people which included a sweet little old woman who came and asked if she could volunteer because she's a breast cancer survivor. Way to go Mary! Welcome to the Volunteer Team!
My day today was exceptional. This story gave my friend chills when I told it to her. Ok.... Enough with the anticipation right? So, my best buddy and assistant and I stopped at my bank in Oxnard today, when we stopped a young man approached me and asked if I wanted my windows cleaned for a donation. I apologized because I didn't have any cash on me, but as I reached into my pocket for my wallet, I found a dollar. I approached the young man (in his late 30's) and I handed him the dollar and said "All I have to help you is this dollar. You don't have to wash my windows, I just want you to have this just because." He smiled and thanked me "God bless you" he said and insisted that he wanted to clean my windows anyway. I went to grab something out of my bag prior to walking up to the ATM and found a dollar coin- the ones they don't make anymore and I held it in my hand. After I handled my business at the ATM, I approached the young man again and handed him the dollar coin - "I found this and wanted you to have it." I told him. He and I ended up talking. I told him how I wished that I could have helped him more, and for some reason I told him that I had had cancer and because of it I was unable to do more. That statement turned it into a full conversation. He said "I'm so sorry that you have cancer, you're soo young." I told him I hadn't had it in years, and he smiled and said "Thank God." I agreed. He then said "I have a good friend who is going through chemo right now, it's very hard for her." I knew what I had to do. I got out a stack of UCAAN cards and a little organza bag with a "Share the Hope" bracelet and card in it. I went to him and said "I may not have money to give, but I do have this. I run a very small non-profit organization that helps people with cancer. So here are my cards, and here's a gift for your friend who is battling cancer." I continued to explain to him the purpose of the "Share the Hope" bracelet and how it was meant to be passed on. I could see the joy and tears in his eyes. I don't think that he ever thought that I would do something like this, something so selfless. He thanked me profusely and told me how much his friend would love the gift and my information. I told him it was what I did, "This is how I try to help people with cancer. Tell her to call me anytime." Before getting in my car, he smiled at me again, took a look at my card and told me "Hi Rachel, I'm Daniel. Thank you. God bless you! She is going to love this." I smiled back and told him to keep his head up, and to have a great day.
WOW! What an impact! :0) This is why I do what I do with UCAAN. I hope that I do hear from his friend and hope that I can help her in some way. Remember folks, we only have this one life - Why not make the best of it while we're here?
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