 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
We Believe — Believe In Tomorrow provides exceptional hospital and retreat housing services to critically ill children and their families. We believe in keeping families together during a child’s medical crisis, and that the gentle cadence of normal family life has a powerful influence on the healing process.
Fantasy Flight This Christmas the children of Believe In Tomorrow got a chance to believe … in the North Pole. On Dec. 13, United Airlines employees from Dulles International Airport escorted children from Children’s Hospice International to gate D7 to board a Boeing 747 bound for the “North Pole,” an airplane hanger decked out with familiar and whimsical winter wonderland characters. Children’s Hospice International invited some Believe In Tomorrow children to board the flight and receive presents from Santa Claus himself.
Excerpt: “Charity Offers Military Families Shelter for the Heart” |
- Wish List Drive : Morse Family, Catonsville, Md.
- Wish List Drive: McBane Family, Deerfield Beach, Fla.
- Wish List Drive: Pikesville High School in Pikesville, Md.
- Wish List Drive: Maryland Yacht Club in Pasadena, Md.
- Benefit Concert: Rick Samuels in Reisterstown, Md.
- Christmas Lights Fundraiser: Rosemary Willems in Commack, N.Y.
- Toy Drive for Wisp House: Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Jordan, Makena, and Kylen in Fairfax, Va.
- Christmas Party Fundraiser: Dorian Keydash in Baltimore
- Gift Registery: Laura Gorney in Chesapeke, Va.
- Gift Drive: Lockheed Martin in Baltimore
- Pre-paid international phone cards and Safeway gift card: Twins Jared and Justin Abell, Gettysburg, Pa.
- Toys and Electronics Donation: John Bennett Painting, Laurel, Del.
- Toys and Electronics Donation: Lu Sulock, Swett and Crawford, Philadelphia, Pa.
|
more than just bragging rights Are you an iron girl? Believe in Tomorrow still has a few slots left for its fundraising team to participate in Columbia, Md.’s annual Iron Girl triathlon. General registration for the competition is already closed. Entrants participate in a .62-mile swim, 17.5-mile bike, and 3.4-mile run. Those interested in joining the team – and willing to pledge a minimum fundraising goal – should contact Brian immediately at bmorrison@believeintomorrow.org or call the office at 800-933-5470. Hurry! Training is set to begin soon.
|
New Years Resolution:
Seven Creative Ways to Give
As we tear the plastic on our 2009 calendars and open them to a year-full of opportunities, we find it hard to tune-out the endless murmur of negative economic news. With hands clamped tightly on assets and pocketbooks, many will have trouble giving with the same enthusiasm as in years past. USA Today reported that through October, more than a third of charities recorded a decrease in contributions for the first nine months of 2008. We believe that even through tough times, the human spirit still finds ways to give.
Below you’ll find seven creative ways to start the New Year off right. A simple resolution will warm the heart, without burning the cash in your pockets.
- Donate your car
- Pass on extra airline miles
- Participate in our Target wish list registry
- Create a fundraising page on Firstgiving.com
- Join our Facebook group, recruit friends, donate
- Clean House: sell your junk on eBay and Craigslist
- Complete Community Service Hours
Family Letter
Visit our Family Blog Upcoming Events
Around the Corner: Midwinter Musical Fundraiser
What is psychedelic rock & roll? Find out when you attend the JuJu and the Fountainheads concert at Hannah More School in Reisterstown, MD (12039 Reisterstown Road.) The five-member band, with help from singer/songwriter Bill Paffenback - a soulful, acoustic soloist - will rock Reisterstown on Jan. 31 with all donations benefitting Believe In Tomorrow National Children’s Foundation and its programs. JuJu and the Fountainheads channel the Beatles, Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, and a few older hits. The party starts at 7 pm and the band is requesting a donation of $10 for the evening. Light refreshments are available.
Up Ahead: Rock the House
It’s never too early to plan ahead. This year, Believe in Tomorrow rocks the house of the Baltimore Blast, the indoor soccer stadium situated just next to Canton Square. Rumor has it the popular “orange crush” cocktail mixed by Nacho Mama’s own Patrick “Scunny” McCusker will set the bar (literally) for the evening’s food and drink. Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena will sponsor the event, which includes live and silent auctions, complimentary food and drink, and entertainment from the popular 80's cover band: The Real Geniuses (featuring Abby Mott.) The event kicks off at 7:00 p.m. on March 7. You can buy tickets by calling 410-744-1032.
Hospital Housing Update: Take a Seat at St. Casimir
“…There is something about a shared meal that anchors a family even on nights when the food is fast and the talk is cheap and everyone has some place they’d rather be.” -- Nancy Gibbs, Time magazine
Dorothy Dreisch, who grew up in the Baltimore neighborhood of Canton and spent her Sundays attending Mass at St. Casimir’s church, says her family once made a pledge to try out a new restaurant each month.
“That didn’t last,” she laughs.
Maybe she’s too busy setting up family dinners in the Children’s House at St. Casimir. For three years Dorothy and her daughter Samantha Ciuchta have filled the basement kitchen and living room with the scents of fresh-baked cookies and sounds of holiday-themed music. Every first Monday of the month, Dorothy and Samantha carefully set the table and unwrap generous portions from area restaurants to feed families staying in one of St. Casimir’s seven apartments.
Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House at Johns Hopkins
Celebrates the Holidays
Ever wonder where Christmas spirit comes from? Open the door to the Children’s House at Johns Hopkins and you might find out. A wealth of donations, activities, and services are going on at the house now, just in time for the holidays.
Donna McGuire and her sister Daniele Peragine kicked-off the holidays, spending an entire day decorating the house from floor to ceiling with sparkling holiday spirit.
T. Rowe Price brought 25 and special recipes to create freezer-style dinners that stocked the entire storage room freezer. They also baked hundreds of cookies.
Dave Pruitt and his family provided a pre-Christmas family dinner for the house and brought along toys as a gifts for children of all ages, including a Wii system for the Children’s House at St. Casimir.
Thanks to Dorian Keydash, patients at the house can change channels on a new Panasonic Plasma 50-inch HDTV.
Students from Catholic High School visited the House, hands stuffed full of cookies, and made Christmas stockings for each family staying there.
Xtreme Limo Scene – the organization run by retired police officers – pulls up every year in two limo buses to take Children’s House families on a ride, Christmas music included, to a donated dinner at Gunning’s restaurant in Hanover, Md. The best part: the limo driver shows in a Santa suit!
Come Christmas Eve, families can roll up their sleeves and bake cookies with Gretchen to celebrate the holiday.
On Christmas day, Patrick “Scunny” McCusker and his family will bring Christmas dinner of turkey, ham, and green bean casserole to stuff families full of Christmas cheer.
After dinner, Fidos for Freedom bring therapy dogs by to entertain the children as the holiday winds-down.
Ocean City’s Children’s House By the Sea is celebrating Christmas this year with the gift of entertainment from a new Believe In Tomorrow charity partner, Hardwire LLC of Pocomoke, Md. Hardwire, a defense manufacturing company that provides composite armor systems for anything from bridges to buildings, gave $15,000 to support BIT programs including a recent Walter Reed medical center retreat held at the House By The Sea as well as seven 32-inch, high-definition flat screens. The flat screens were installed during a special holiday ceremony at the house on Dec. 18.
The televisions come as a welcome addition, replacing 10 year old sets and allowing families quiet at home evenings.
BIT’s unique partnership with Hardwire will garner quarterly contributions that go directly to benefit the coastal Maryland respite facilities and the military initiative. Believe In Tomorrow proudly welcomes Hardwire employees and thanks them for their generous donations.
Tunis and the Hardwire staff have worked to protect State Department Buildings as well as the U.S. Key Bridge. With their new infusion of cash and support, they’ll be working to protect critically ill children and their families for generations to come.
Respite Housing: Spend Winter at the Beach
Tempted by a calm winter respite trip to the beach? Read the Sones’ family advice below to find out exactly how to enjoy the beach from now until Spring.
Our family enjoyed the beach facility in the month of March. The weather was cold and blustery, but the environment was warm and friendly.
Our first stop was the kite shop on the boardwalk to Henlopen State Park’s Annual Kite Festival with hundreds of people flying kites, listening to music and eating funnel cakes.The outlet malls were open, welcoming customers with sales galore and front row parking spots.
Spotlight: The Lorances Travel 1300 Miles to Reconnect
By Dawn Carroll
A family of four straps on helmets, tightens life-jackets, and pushes into the Adventure Sports Center International’s manmade course to battle whitewater. The Lorance family must work together – and get their paddles in sync – to complete the course.
It’s hard to believe for the past couple years this family found itself sometimes spending entire months apart. Gliding down waterfalls in the mountains of Western Maryland, the family – who came from Dallas, Texas for the chance to participate in a respite trip - seems whole again.
Volunteer-of-the-month:
John and Marge Rozankowski: A fireman gives much more than dolls
By Melinda Weidman
It started 18 years ago with cabbage patch dolls and firemen.
John Rozankowski, a member of the Baltimore City Fire Department, collected cabbage patch dolls for critically ill children in the foundation’s programs.
When John retired from the Baltimore City Fire Department and readied to relocate, he didn’t know his association in Baltimore with Believe In Tomorrow would continue. But the Rozankowski's move to Ocean City, Md. soon saw them attending a spaghetti dinner fundraiser there.
The fundraiser was for the foundation’s growing presence in the ocean-side town. Founder and CEO Brian Morrison took the opportunity to make a lasting impression on the former fireman who used to give out dolls.
"Brian is a very convincing young man," laughs John. "He'll talk the pants off of you," says Marge.
Family dinner recipe: Japanese Wafuu Curry
On a recent evening, Mike Southworth, Gary Kao, Katie Pumphrey, Brigit Htoon, Cathryna Brown, Edison Leung and Jennifer Wilson cooked up a meal from the Far East for the families staying at the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House at Johns Hopkins. Read below to find Gary Kao’s account of how to recreate this distinct Japanese treat.
This curry tends to be sweeter than others. I would recommend allowing the curry to simmer and reduce for at least one half to one hour to thicken the sauce and allow some of the potatoes to dissolve into the liquid. We paired this entrée with Miso soup and Manju (steamed Japanese cake with sweet bean filling) for dessert. It serves very well as leftovers and is great for feeding a lot of people on a cold winter day.
*Gary Kao adds this: Most ingredients should be easy to find at a normal supermarket. The Japanese curry powder, however, will need to be purchased at a Japanese, Korean or other Asian grocery. If you can’t find it there, you can look for a mixture with a similar breakdown. Japanese curry powder is traditionally made up of mostly turmeric, cardamom, cumin, and coriander. The addition of cayenne pepper and black pepper will make it spicy; adding small amounts of fennel and cloves will make it distinct.