May 2021

Hi!

It has been a LONG while since I wrote a blog post! However, because we have so much going on ALL the time, fundraisers and new initiatives etc., I thought what a good way to utilize our BLOG!

So, going forward, I will do my best to post a monthly blog on who we're fundraising for, the importance of what they do and why their services are needed - along with other snippets!

For the month of May, we have decided to donate a portion of sales to The Firefighters Burn Treatment Society in Calgary. This organization provides funding for research, along with funding to individuals who have suffered burns and require special treatments or products. The vision of the CFBTS is to support initiatives that will improve outcomes and quality of life for burn survivors and individuals affected by other severe skin injuries.

We chose this charity because as many of you know, I was burned as a child. I suffered third degree burns on my arm when I was 2. My family lived in Germany at the time, and I was standing in front of my great grandma as she was boiling water for coffee at the stove. In a split second, I grabbed the pot - and the rest is history. It wasn't pretty and I am glad I have no memory of it.  I still have the scar today. My parents had taken me all over Germany to specialists and for treatment, however, at the time I was just too little for skin graphing. So - they decided to let me choose whether or not I wanted to do this later in life. I chose to leave it. It was my story, a piece of me, and although yes I grew up people asking and staring - it didn't bother me at all. In my opinion, there were and individuals suffering much great tragedies that truly required surgical intervention that my arm was just a small blip! I grew up with the opinion - if you don't like it, don't look.

As I got older, smaller kids had started to ask what had happened. Their parents got embarrassed but I reassured them it was ok! It was a lesson that I could teach kids about listening to their parents and staying out of the kitchen when they cook. It had a purpose.

Now, it is a reminder. Not only to me - but to everyone - that we are all different. That different is beautiful. We have scars and they are pieces of us. They make up who we are, and just because 'society' has told us it's not the norm, doesn't mean we have to conform. Scars are just a piece of someone. It doesn't determine anything about them - it doesn't reduce us as a person, or stop us from achieving the amazing things we are capable of. 

If we are teaching our kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids that different is beautiful - we need to start by showing them, living it and believing it.