helping a mom (or dad, or ...)

Today was my first donation of whole blood in 2019.
HBO's "Game Of Thrones" has teamed up with the American Red Cross to promote this latest blood drive - and the results have been amazing!
So many first-time donors!
All willing to roll up their sleeves and offer a pint of their heart's blood or a supply of platelets!
They could not resist the call!

"Calling All Game of Thrones Fans and Red Cross Blood Donors:

Arya, Cersei, Jon and Tyrion, have all bled for the throne. To celebrate the final season of Game of Thrones, the Red Cross and HBO have forged an alliance, challenging superfans and donors to show their devotion and bleed #ForTheThrone as well.
We invite you to join us by scheduling your blood or platelet donation today, and you could find out who'll bleed in season 8 before the rest of the world!
Come to give by March 17 and you’ll automatically be entered for a chance to win one of five trips to the season 8 world premiere of Game of Thrones! Trip includes travel for two, up to two nights hotel accommodations and a $250 gift card for expenses.*
Plus, if your donation is March 7-12, you’ll also receive this exclusive Game of Thrones T-shirt and sticker with a unique Snapchat filter, while supplies last!**
Schedule your donation today and start thinking about which lucky friend or family member might accompany you to the premiere!
So, there's only one question remaining. How far will you go #ForTheThrone?"

I know they're coming for the T-shirt, as well as the entry to the grand prize to be present for the first show of the coming season... but I hope they'll become regulars.
Admittedly, the prizes are part of the reason I've delayed my donation.
I wanted the T-shirt and I'd LOVE the trip!
Maybe you feel the same?
Then come on by and donate - the American Red Cross folks would love to see you!

helping a mom

For this International Women's Day, I decided to take a little different approach.
I've been doing a lot of helping people with educational costs.
I've also helped quite a few with enhancing goods for sale to others.
Most of my loans have gone to Central America or South America.
This loan did not check any of the above boxes.
Instead, I helped a Tajik mother help her son.

Her name is Sharofat and she is 56 years old.
She and her family live in Tajikistan.
One of her two sons has obtained work as a
handyman in the Russian Federation.
Her request was for $325 to purchase the
ticket for him to go to the job location.
All she lacked, at the time that I saw her
plea tonight, was a mere fifty dollars.
My $25 pledge, matched by a generous anonymous
donor today, helped satisfy her loan.

I know Mama would have approved.
She was always trying to help my brothers, and myself, to have a better life and a brighter future.

i thank You, God, that I had this opportunity to help someone else's Mama.

coming soon to a school near you - my invention!

When I last posted about my invention, I bore glad tidings.
The Utility Patent application had been filed and time was marching on.
Then, the recent government shutdown mandated by our current President slowed that progress to a standstill.
Now, bear in mind that an application usually takes about one year to be processed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
However, I now have proof positive that my application is still in the works!
In early February of this year, I received the USPTO's Updated Filing Receipt from my attorney, Aaron Cramer - in the mail, no less, so I could hold it in my hands and feel the realness of it!
Yes, indeed, proof positive!
That means I can talk about my periodic table!
I've stated doing that very thing on its website, making my first blog post there.
I must say, writing there truly did make this more real for me...
not just a dream, but something that is going to happen.

This is the Periodic Table of the Representative Elements which I first created in the summer of 2016. I did so for my blind student, who first used it for the exam on June 16, as well as all other exams that semester.
I was trying to enable that student to have available the same resources given to the other students for their test.
My mother and father would be so very proud of my accomplishment!
Now, I should make copies of the Updated Filing Receipt and share it with my investors, those people who have had faith in my invention for the past two years, giving me not only their support, but also their money.
I am so blessed to have these living angels.

mvp growing by leaps and bounds!

It's been a little over two years since I joined 500,000 others in the Million Veterans Program.
The latest update shows that enrollment now stands at 711,022 members, with 6696,802 of that number being military veterans.
I am one of the 145,760 former USN sailors.
I am one of the 159,980 veterans who served between May 1975 and July 1990.
All I did was donate blood and fill out a background study for the genetic research.

The following Letter from the Principal Investigator was part of the winter update.
*****
"Dear MVP Enrollee,
Your are part of a special group of Veterans ho have selflessly joined MVP's world-leading effort to understand how genes affect health and disease. For this we are sincerely grateful. To date you are among over 710,000 MVP enrollees.
We have entered a new and exciting phase in MVP. More than 30 teams of researchers are exploring the data and finding information about diseases that affect Veterans such as PTSD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and eye disease. The results of these projects are being presented at national meetings and published in major journals - and the world is taking note!
In addition, the VA has joined forces with other federal agencies to enhance and use this wonderful resource. The Department of Energy is collaborating to help provide computing power to analyze this amazing data. We are also collaborating with the Department of Defense to pilot enrollment among Veterans who have left active duty. My son, an Army Ranger, is looking forward to the day when he might be able to enroll.
As we enter the holiday season, I want to thank you again for joining this effort to improve the health of all Veterans as well as all Americans. We have heard countless times that Vetras join MVP to continue serving fellow Veterans and the country. We appreciate your generosity. I want to assure you that the entire MVP team i working tirelessly o make the most of this world-leading resource.
Mike Gaziano
MVP Principal Investigator"
*****
I am so happy to have the privilege of being part of this study!
Veterans, it's never too late to lend a hand in helping others, so please consider lending a bit of blood and becoming part of this study.
Thanks, Mr. Gaziano, for taking the time to write that letter.
(See, I do read those updates.)
(smile)

nerdfighter in flash match!

I had been waiting for Kiva.org to have a special fundraiser.
They do so fairly frequently.
A generous patron of the site would pledge to match donated funds up to some threshold.
Today, such a fundraiser was announced, but the catch was this: it was a 'flash match' and would end at midnight or after one million dollars.
Time for action on my part!

Then came decision time.
To whom should I donate my doubled $25 this time?
There were so many loans which were up for funding...
in so many different countries, for so many different reasons...
to so many different people.
I was only making the one loan, using funds which had been repaid to me.
Where would my money - and the match - be of the most help?

I chose the field of 'education' for my tenth loan today.
It will be the fourth such loan I have made on this site.
The first was to Elaine Marie, in the Philippines. She was the eldest of three, the first in her family to want higher education to better her life and theirs. That story resonated with me.
The second loan went to a young man, Maycol Francisco, in Nicaragua. He had nearly completed his degree as an anesthesia technician. He was in his final semester and needed funds for those final classes. Honestly, his story fit right in with those of the health professionals I was teaching.
The third loan, made at that same time, went to a young woman in Nicaragua, Yaleska Gabriela. Like Maycol, she was in her final year of studies for her degree in Public Accounting and Finance. That degree reminded me of my stepdad, so of course I helped her attain her goal.
Today, I chose Hussein of Lebanon. He was not asking for money for his own education. His three children would not have the tuition for school, as he was on a fixed salary and his wife could not work. He "wishes his children a successful future" and recognized that education was a requirement to turn those wishes into reality. Bravo!

Feeling inspired?
Want to join me as a Nerdfighter, to help defeat world suck?
There's still time to help Hussein and his children...
and to help Kiva reach that next billion dollars of dreams funded.
Thanks!

not missing AB+

Subtitle: M ke s me ne wh le g in

As part of the American Red Cross's recent summer blood drive, "Missing Types", I donated a pint of whole blood last month.
(FYI: That was my third donation this year. I plan to give at least once more. A maximum possible of six donations can be given each year, 56 days apart. I think I'll try for that in 2019. To help someone live, make an appointment here.)
Today, they informed me that my pint of blood had a little adventure!
It took a trip to Alabama to help someone there!
(smile!)

"Dear Faustina,
Thank you for giving blood with the American Red Cross on 08/14/2018. After first ensuring that local needs were met, your blood donation was sent to UAB Health System in Birmingham, AL to help a patient in need. Your donation is on its way to change lives!
Every day, patients receive blood for a variety of conditions including life-threatening illnesses, blood disorders and traumas. Your blood donations are critical to helping save patients' lives.
On behalf of the hospitals and patients we serve, thank you for being a Red Cross blood donor.
Sincerely,
Dr. Pampee Young
Pampee P. Young, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
American Red Cross "

How very nice of them to let me know!
I was once in Birmingham at the medical university. My BFF's little sister was graduating - with her Medical Doctorate in pediatrics.
Nice to know that my life-giving blood was used there.
(smile)
i thank You, God, that i am able to donate blood.

100 miles

If not for chasing rabbits, I don't know if I ever would have heard of this organization...
and yet, I drive by its office on Drayton Street quite often.
The rabbit I was chasing - provided by the Coastal Jazz Association - led to the site for volunteering for the upcoming Savannah Jazz Festival.
While at that volunteer site, I hippety-hopped to several of the organizations I knew...
and this one that I did not.
One Hundred Miles was founded in 2013 for the sole purpose of preserving Georgia's coastline -for our children, for our grandchildren, for the generations to come.
The science-first organization began in Brunswick, but they're here in my town now.
With its mission principles of education, collaboration, and celebration, it certainly seems tailor-made for me, doesn't it?
I don't know how it has escaped my attention for five years, but I'm onboard.
It's time for another sea change, for me, for the coast I have loved since I was a girl...
for the world.
I joined at the Horsehoe Crab level, mostly because those prehistoric beasts amaze me.
It was as easy as clicking here to choose my favorite.

i thank You, God, for rabbit holes and this birthday gift!