Daffodil Days and The American Cancer Society!

Daffodil Days! The first flower of spring. The flower of hope.

The American Cancer Society’s brightest event of the year is Daffodil Days, when we deliver bright daffodils to businesses, churches, schools and homes in March. Ordering daffodils is a great way for individuals and corporations to show appreciation to employees, customers, clients and friends.

Gift of Hope

You can also anonymously order bouquets in lovely glass vases to be delivered by American Cancer Society volunteers to patients at local hospitals or treatment centers on your behalf. The Gift of Hope cannot be delivered to specific patients, nor is your name attached to the bundle. They are truly anonymous gifts of hope.
For more information about Daffodil Days, please contact us via email, call your local American Cancer Society office or call us anytime, 24 hours a day at 1-800-ACS-2345.

Jeff Leeland ~ Founder and Director of Sparrow Clubs USA

Working with Jeff and Sparrow Clubs USA over the years has been wonderful!

Meeting With Oregon's Govenor~Ted Kulongoski

It was a pleasure to meet with Ted Kulongoski about CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate).

Some Old photos From My Sparrow Clubs USA Functions

The Portland Regional Office Grand Opening and a Sparrow Assembly at a local high school.

The American Cancer Society~Health Care Reform

ACS CAN shattered its goal and collected 55,000 petition signatures in support of meaningful health care reform in just three weeks. Signatures are being delivered to lawmakers from both political parties. In a few days, the U.S. House will take an historic vote on health reform legislation. So in addition to sending our petition to Congress, volunteers are sending individual letters to House members, too. While the legislation is not perfect, it is an important start toward fixing the health care system for cancer patients and their families and saving lives. Will you write a note to your Representative, letting him or her know how you feel about this legislation and its impact on the lives of cancer patients? www.acscan.org/SpeakOut

More than 300,000 people suffer from and lose their lives to cancer each year because they don’t have access to preventive care and treatment. That’s 822 people who will die every day that Congress waits to pass a bill. For ACS CAN, meaningful health care reform has never been about Republicans, Democrats or Independents. It’s about helping those 300,000 people and the millions of others who cannot access the care they need to fight a life-threatening disease such as cancer. It’s about making sure no person is denied health care because of a preexisting condition like cancer. It’s about putting an end to yearly or lifetime insurance caps that force cancer patients to cut off their care. And it’s about taking away the desperate choice so many cancer patients have to make between saving their lives or their life savings. It’s time for our elected leaders to put aside politics and put patients first by reforming our health care system.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network will keep fighting to make the health care system even better for cancer patients, and this legislation is an important first step. Will you help us by sending a message to your Representative? www.acscan.org/SpeakOutThe campaign for health care reform hasn’t been easy -- but we’ve come too far and accomplished too much to stop working for cancer patients.

Why Advocate For The American Cancer Society?

It seems as though most, but not all, of the Sparrow children that I have worked with over the years have cancer. My own family has been devastated by cancer. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, good Friends and even my Brother-In-Law have either passed away or are currently fighting for their lives. I decided to become an advocate and volunteer because cancer touches so many lives. Not only is the patient affected, their families and friends are as well. It is the second leading cause of death in the US and over 1,500,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed this year alone. Cancer patients need people to advocate for them for health care, insurance, research funding, ETC. I believe in the cause of fighting cancer and finding a cure. If we all work together, we will succeed.

An Overview Of How Sparrow Clubs Works

Sparrow Clubs works by matching a child in medical crisis with a school or similar organization. Sparrow Clubs finds a sponsor to provide funds for the child. The school is introduced to their Sparrow Child and the program through a customized assembly. Each and every child in the school is challenged to do community service and help the Sparrow Child. They record their hours and turn them into to the school. For every hour of community service a child completes, the Sparrow receives $10. This really adds up! Schools can also do their own fund raisers to supply additional funds.

The kids that help are empowered to make a difference. They feel good about themselves because they are helping others. Many times a child has never done community service, never helped another person and it is a new and wonderful feeling. I've found in high schools that sometimes the least likely child to help another, is the one that helps the most. I've had kids that are very poor, be so touched by the Sparrow Child and their battle to stay alive, that they've tried to hand me their lunch money after an assembly. I'm always moved to tears when these things happen. When kids are given heroic things to do ~ they will do heroic things!

Sparrow Clubs USA!

I first became involved with Sparrow Clubs USA when my sons friend was diagnosed with cancer almost 9 years ago. As my son's Cub Scout leader, I decided to help raise money for his friend through Sparrow Clubs. My den and I did community service and in return the Sparrow Clubs, through a sponsor, gave the family $10 for every hour we worked. The family received 100% of the funds raised! Overall, my scouts and our community raised over $100,000! I saw how this helped the family in their time of need. Not only the money, but the sense of support from the community was just amazing for the family. My son and his friends felt so good about helping another person. They were proud of their accomplishment! I was hooked and wanted to help others! I became a board member, volunteer, spokesperson, fundraiser, advocate and supporter of this great organization.

Starting A New Blog!

I'm excited to start a new blog. I had my previous one for over three years, but for some reason I can not access it anymore. I hope my friends and family can continue to enjoy learning what my immediate family and I are up to and how we, as a family, are hoping to make a difference in the world. I hope everyone who reads my blog can see the love and life that I share with my amazing husband and children. I am blessed beyond words in life and love and I hope I can return some of that to the world.