fundraising

This week, I got to join friends for some sunset yoga. Usually, this is just great in itself! But this time was special – it was for a great cause and a wonderful person.

I’ve gotten to know Katharine through social media over the past few years I’ve lived in Baltimore and she’s always been a ray of sunshine and positivity! She’s always had a smile on and, from the outside, her life seems normal (whatever that means anymore haha).

What I didn’t know most of our friendship was that at age 16 she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. I’ve had friends run fundraising campaigns for CF before, but never really knew anyone who was directly affected…it’s incredible to see how she’s handling it/living her life.

She has inspired so many and lives every day and enjoys every breath as a gift! It’s a lesson we ALL need to learn.

When she was born in 1984, the life expectancy of someone with CF was just 25 – now she’s getting ready to celebrate her 30th birthday! WOO HOO! In honor of her amazing 30th, she’s fundraising for For 30 More – because she’s not finished yet! 30 years isn’t enough.

CF does not have a cure yet and is likely to shorten the life of anyone who has it. There are approximately 30,000 Americans living with CF. They are moms, dads, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, husbands, wives, friends and co-workers who struggle every day just to breathe – just as Katharine does.

YOU CAN HELP!
I’m so happy to donate to Katharine’s cause & you can help too! There’s only 10 days left! She’s only $2,660 away from her $15K goal! I hope you’ll take a moment to help Katharine (and everyone else living with CF) by donating to For 30 More!

Learn more about CF and other ways you can help from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

As most of you know, I’ve worked at National Aquarium for a little more than 2 years now. It’s been a crazy ride, to say the least. One thing I consistently appreciate about it is that it continues to push me to be a better person (not just because that’s probably a good idea but also…) for the world. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a million times….while this planet is ours now, but what we’re doing to it will affect how it is for our children and our children’s children, etc.

I saw this and it totally blew my mind…

It’s mind boggling when you think about all that we do that affect the world around us. Particularly our oceans, which (at least in my experience) people tend to think less about. It’s easy for people to see the rain forest disappearing. You can (almost) wrap your head around that and how much humans are destroying. But, with the ocean, it’s almost too big to understand. There are no boundaries dividing what water goes where. I feel like most people to look out at the greatness of the ocean and think it’s just so immense that anything we do doesn’t necessarily affect all of it…But it does.

Through working with some of the talented people at the Aquarium (and our partners), I’ve learned so many things to help. Yes, people can do little things every day to help!

RECYCLE
You’d think that people get this by now, but no…

Cut up those plastic soda rings
If you’re going to get soda in cans, cut those up! It may seem like one more annoying step, but do it!

DIY gift wrapping
It’s almost holiday time…get ready for the gifts! There are so many cute ways to use recycled materials!

Actually use reusable grocery bags
Don’t just leave them in your car – bring them in the store! Some stores even give you cash back for using them.

Donate money and/or to amazing conservation organizations!
And we make it easy – I even set up an Aquarium fundraising page for ya!

But seriously, I am so blessed to be surrounded by amazing animals, and people who (let me meet and) help me learn about these awesome creatures. It makes me so happy to know that what I’m doing day to day is helping feed, care for and protect these species!