Volunteer of the Month
November 2009
Families in the Fold
“We are so very grateful to all of our volunteers and are humbled by those who have also been guests at our hospital houses, respite houses or participated in any of our Hands On Adventure programs. We are humbled by your courage and honored by your willingness to give back to Believe In Tomorrow.”
Brian Morrison, Founder & CEO
Early into her first pregnancy, after receiving word from her doctor that the baby she was carrying wasn’t going to make it, Juli Farley and her husband, James Farley, decided to forgo a procedure to end the pregnancy and let nature take its course.
Turns out, Juli was actually carrying twins, and although she lost one, she was able to carry the surviving twin, who as it turns out was in a big hurry to meet his mom and dad.
Juli’s water ruptured on November 27 and her husband took her to the hospital immediately. Within three hours, she was flown to the Johns Hopkins Hospital. James (J.T.) Farley held out exactly one week, arriving 10 weeks early, and was immediately placed in the NICU, in an effort to stabilize his condition. He weighed two pounds, 14 ounces at birth.
While J.T. was in the NICU for a long haul, Juli and James needed a place to stay. It was critical they stay within minutes of the hospital, in order to make time-sensitive medical decisions about their baby. They checked into the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House at Johns Hopkins and remained guests, until J.T. was released on December 29.
The beginning chapter of Juli and James’ parental life together four years ago was a critical time for their family. Today J.T. is healthy, happy, and playing at the beach whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Juli and James have volunteered at the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House at Johns Hopkins ever since; creating gift bags for all the families, donating items needed for holiday parties and ensuring all the residents of the Believe In Tomorrow Children’s House at Johns Hopkins receive a Valentine’s Day basket of candy.
This year, Juli and her sorority chapter in Southern Maryland nominated Believe In Tomorrow National Children’s Foundation to be the recipient of Sigma Phi Gamma’s International Sorority Sponsorship Fund. Juli headed to the sorority’s annual conference in Knoxville, Tenn. to speak on Believe In Tomorrow’s behalf. Although the sorority chose to commit the sponsorship fund to another worthy charity, Believe In Tomorrow will likely receive some funding for Juli’s efforts.