Beads of Courage Needs Acts of Courage Donations

My headline pretty much says it all.  Beads of Courage is low and trying really hard to supply all the hospitals that they are affiliated with.  Is there a chance you can help?  Here is the link to their donation page which also gives you their address, what kind of beads qualify, (just about anything as long as it doesn't have metallics on the surface, sharp edges, annealed and well cleaned.  Pretty easy to find some spares, isn't it?)  And from my experience, kids love the less than perfect ones just as much.  I save mine with the slightly crooked smiles, color experiments or just doodling around, because I know some child will enjoy them very much. (As pictured in the photo above- some of the loot that will be heading their way:)

http://www.beadsofcourage.org/pages/beadartists.htm

Here's a little story.  One time I was visiting one of the Atlanta hospitals with the Beads of Courage program and kids were coming by and picking out a special bead.  There were all kinds of fancy beads in the tray, but a little boy kept pouring through them.  His fingers were moving them around until his face lit up.  He found a very simple but really nice royal blue bead and said this was the very bead he had been dreaming about.  It had no decoration on it, but to him it was just perfect. That was when we were asking the kids to design a Dream Bead and he told me that he had just found his Dream Bead and didn't need anything else.  The beadmaker happened to be present and told him that she had brought two, so you can imagine his delight when he found and got to take the second one as well.

That stuck with me.  We don't have to submit the fanciest beads. Each of us makes something that will touch someone's soul and will be special to them for the rest of their lives.

I'm hoping you'll join me in a donation in the near future.  It makes a big difference to these kids, and I don't know about you, but I get just as much from it as they do.