Can you imagine not being able to feed your kids?

Can you imagine not being able to buy groceries for a holiday dinner? Or for tonight's dinner, for that matter? How about not having train fare to visit your kid in the hospital? We have struggled for years to get Charlotte to eat, but we have never had to struggle to put food in front of her.

My dad used to call me a bleeding heart liberal. He may have been right, but I can't imagine anything worse than not being able to feed and clothe my family. Charlotte has shared hospital rooms with children whose parents have nothing. One mother told me that her church raised money for her groceries, she lived on her sister's couch, and she'd been looking for a job for a year. Fortunately, her child's health care was covered through Medicare and his many therapies through the state's early intervention program. Even though she was sitting with a 2-year old who had just undergone heart surgery, she didn't feel sorry for herself. She just wanted to find a way to take care of her kid.

So, when I went to Children's Service Board holiday celebration, I gladly brought a grocery store gift card to help out a family at Children's. It was the least I could do. Now, I'm hoping you'll help me do more....

Partners with Parents

Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago IL is seeking support for the Partners with Parents Program. This program empowers parents who are going through financial difficulties due to their child’s illness to provide a holiday celebration for their families. Your donation of gift certificates to local stores will be distributed this holiday season to families chosen by hospital staff based on their financial need. Monetary donations to this program will also assist patient families who are financially burdened and do not have other means of paying for public transportation, taxi fares, clothing, rent and utilities needed for medical equipment once they leave the hospital. This year, the hospital is especially seeking gift cards to food places such as Jewel, Dominick’s, Walgreens or Target. There are many families this year that are unable to buy food for their families.

If you would like to help out, contact Lauren Pedi (773.880.8106) at the Children's Memorial Foundation. Or email me and I can give you information about where to send a donation.