Maybe compassion is the elixir of life.

Kate (at info@givit.org.au) manages all our major donations and also does the most crying in the office.  She emailed me today thanking me (!) for the opportunity to work at GIVIT, and be apart of this amazing world of giving.  Yesterday she co-ordinated a great donation to a wonderful flood affected family, and the details are sad but inspiring.  Tears flowing for quite a while this morning.. it felt like my heart broke and opened at the same time!

Kate is so so hearty.  She is a full time volunteer, and is in love with her demanding role.  Her love is deep and also on her sleeve.  I don't know what I would do without her.   I have never said as much but she looks younger and younger to me every day.

I was thinking about Kate, and her compassion when I read this article -certainly not in the first part though :)

The Huffington Post describes "The anti-inflammatory properties of compassion have now begun to be studied. In a 2009 study, scientists at Emory University School of Medicine, trained 33 people in a Tibetan Buddhist compassion meditation, which involved the structured generation of feelings of compassion, and compared them with a group of 28 people who didn't do the meditation. After six weeks those who did the most compassion meditation had much lower levels of inflammation than those who did the least or none at all. "

It explains that inflammation is related to aging, so this research "certainly tells us that compassion could slow the aging process."

I feel younger too! But haven't noticed any of those other changes!

Website launch

I am really nostalgic!  Terribly nostalgic!

I just want to acknowledge my little (Brisbane based) website that is going to sleep in 2 hours.  I set it up not sure if anyone would donate anything, but hoping someone would.  I took a huge leap of faith in people - sincerely hoping  - day and night!  They did, they donated everything from nail clippers to houses.  I have cried a thousand joyful tears looking at the website and I am going to miss the site "created by a mummy" as I call it.

It's like your son/daughter going to college feeling - a joyful goodbye but the type with fear and tears. But, I am the one that feels like I have grown up.

Again, I feel I am taking a huge leap of faith - but now with 12 friends (volunteers) to support me in managing the.. butterflies. Now, thankfully, I don't have to high-five the plant when something great gets donated!

Ok, so, farewell baby.  I love the balloons so much - but sadly you have to go  :( 

I was about to print every page, but you wouldn't believe it, I have run out of paper!

The houses are going home.

I received a really wonderful and nourishing email today.  I really wanted to share it - for many reasons.  All the time, money, effort, stress, good intentions, hours, dedication, love and willingness to help people is really WORKING!

We donated 4 houses through GIVIT during the floods.  Two donors pulled out, but the other two created this wonderful reality.

Sue from Adopt A Family wrote to me today:

I have some very exciting news to share!!!!

Both of the houses (Wynnum and Bulimba) are coming off their blocks next Wednesday midnight!!

We have a white knight removalist who is transferring them to a holding yard at cost and babysitting them free of charge until we can get them to the Lockyer Valley.

We have also finally got the 2 families chosen for them!!

Bulimba is going to a couple whose sister, brother-in-law and nephew all perished in the floods

Wynnum is going to a family who the son pushed his sister into the roof cavity and went to help his mum and dad - his mum was pinned behind a fridge and the water circling eventually washed them both out of the house. The son clambered into the roof with his sister and eventually they punched holes through the roof to get to safety. They found their parents 2 days later, 2 kilometers down the road along with their baby brother's ashes that was stillborn.

A very sad story for these kids - but collectively - starting with you guys(!!!) we have pulled a miracle from our hats to provide this family a brief glimmer of hope for the future.

I know you're probably just wiping away the running mascara - but this is what makes all those long, tough days really worthwhile!!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us the privilege of being a part of something so amazing.

xxxxxxxxxx

Sue Kennedy

We need to find these "white knights" and acknowledge them as the heros they truely are! I don't know how to acknowledge Sue.  She is a.. queen of hearts.  I have not met her yet (not for the lack of trying but she is ridiculously busy) but she is connecting all of us to something bigger than my intentions of 'being connected and donating to those in need' to actually giving to those in need. She is my 'direct', she is our 'charity' our 'front line', and she is "doing a Dave" (an extraordinary act of human kindness).

Cruel - geeze!

I have been scared off blogging for a few weeks after being called 'cruel' for the blog I wrote about the camper-van that was donated.  Quality is such a huge issue for me running GIVIT, and there is no nice way to say "PLEASE DON"T GIVE US CRAP!"

I have worded 'quality' as bluntly and delicately as I possibly can, but I hope the new website sorts this issue out.  We had another devastating donation last week.  The Red Cross and Adopt a Family were waiting for a van that ended up full of vermin and black mould.  The family was devastated, but the charities were liable!  We cannot exchange items that are not safe.  It makes me so sad.. I can't tell you.