RONAN HAS A MATCH!

Here is wonderful news from Rosemary Tuohy, a good friend of Ronan’s family who we worked with on the Bone Marrow Registry Drive:

I have awesome news about Ronan Godfrey. Not only has a match been found for Ronan, but it’s a perfect 12 out of 12!!

He will be going in to City of Hope next Friday, June 10^th to begin the pre-operative chemotherapy, followed by the transplant and recovery. Ronan will be in the hospital for two to three months.

Since they no longer need to worry about the risk of infection and a compromised immune system, Ronan and his family are taking time to do all the fun things kids and their families do. You can see photos of Ronan feeding the ducks, flying kites, and visiting the beach on his website, Hope4Ronan.com. 

http://web.me.com/smartiepaws/Hope4Ronan/Blog/Blog.html     [See some pics below of Ronan enjoying time with his family.]

Please keep the Godfreys in your thoughts and prayers as they begin the next stage in their journey toward Ronan’s recovery.

Thank you for caring about my young friend. We don’t know if Ronan’s match came from one of his bone marrow drives, but we do know that anyone who registered has the chance of saving another person’s life.

We thank you too, for doing what you can to help Ronan – and others like him – who need this life-saving procedure.  Whether it was to join the registry, volunteer at the drive, or to pray for him.  Let’s keep those prayers going!

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Update of Women of Faith activities and invitation to join us on Thursday, May 12!

Spring is definitely bursting forth with good works, and more opportunities are just around the corner.

With your help, the following happened in April: 

                                                                                            

                                          1) 143 individuals were added to the Bone Marrow Registry on behalf of 3-year Ronan Godfrey at April’s workday and drive . Over 100 calls have been generated and at least two more registry drives are being set up as a result of the following press release:  http://www.pe.com/localnews/sbcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_D_ronan25.2256dee.html.   Please continue to pray that a match will be found for young Ronan.  We received a sweet note from Ronan’s mom and dad, expressing gratitude for our efforts.  Also, please spread the word that you may still register online at www.bethematch.org. Follow the instructions and enter promo code Hope4Ronan.  

                                                                                                                                                       

                                                         

2) Over 120 baby and preemie hats, two outfits, and three isolet blankets were delivered to the LLUMC NICU unit. They want more! 

 

                                      

3) Our first twelve hundred origami peace cranes were presented to the Riverside Metropolitan Museum in partnership with the Redlands Sister Cities Association.   (Yes, we are still folding…)

                                                                           

4) A fun and meaningful Easter event was had with our boys at the Robertson Memorial Boys Home.   This first of two activities in April was put on by fifteen men and women from our mid-singles group.  They hosted a dinner, Easter egg hunt and activities, and Easter service for the boys and staff.    In addition to those who participated at the event with setting up, and providing music, presentations, activities and games, thanks also to those who donated and prepared food, Easter decorations, baskets, and candies – much of it homemade.   We’ll share photos in a future post.    

                                                                                                                                                

                                                                       

5) The second activity with our boys allowed them to honor their mothers (or a significant mother-figure in their lives) for Mother’s Day.  Just as last year, our boys were able to choose and wrap gifts and make cards for their mothers.    We’ll be having a similar activity for Father’s Day too, so if you’d like to be involved, let us know!

                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                      

6) Fifth and sixth graders at Monterey Elementary in San Bernardino have learned how to make hats and have made them for themselves and members of their families; hats they make now will be to donate!   Now they are learning how to make origami peace cranes and are adding their flock to ours.  

                                                               

7) Youth from Highland 2nd ward have also been making hats to add to what we will give to LLUCH NICU, the Burn Institute, and the homeless.

                                                                     

8) By request, we have had an opportunity to teach the GATE students at Mariposa Elementary how to make origami peace cranes.  The cranes they make are being added to our next batch to give to the Riverside Metropolitan Museum. 

                                                                                                                                      

Thursday is another workday.  Come and help us:

1. sew wheelchair/walker caddies

2. crochet hats

3. cut out, sew, and/or tie quilts

4. fold origami peace cranes

5. make greeting cards for the pediatric wing of LLUCH

6. assemble hygiene kits for local parolees through Step by Step and the Police and Corrections Team

7. mark copies of the Book of Mormon to go to county jails

8. combine granny squares to make afghans

Stay tuned for details of a couple of new projects coming up.  They will involve helping the homeless youth in Redlands and those who grieve at the loss of their baby at our local hospitals. 

NOTE:  **We are trying to gather a list of “Women of Faith Supporters” who work in local hospitals or nursing homes, etc.  If you are one, please let your humanitarian representative know or email jeanarnott@gmail.com with your name, the name of the hospital or facility, and area where you work.

Current Requests for Donations:

• Yarn, particularly soft baby yarn
• Used greeting cards (we’re cutting them up to make new cards)
• Card stock and construction paper in a variety of colors
• Scrapbooking paper – even scraps from other projects
• Hygiene items: full size or samples, especially toothpaste, shaving cream, deodorant, and larger size combs
• Quilt batting or donations of $$ to purchase it. (We can get it by the bolt for ½ price.)
• Origami paper (use your JoAnn’s or Michael’s coupons)
• Velcro (not the kind with adhesive; use your coupons for this too)
• Your time at workday or at home

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“I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.”

                                                                    Edward Evert Hale

This is the time to come…

Dear Women of Faith supporters,

Please won’t you come to workday on Thursday, April 14^th? You’re needed and we think you might need us too.

Come anytime between 11am – 8pm for any length of time.

The Bone Marrow Registry Drive will take place from noon to 6pm.

        

                 

Please help 3 year old Ronan Godfrey who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. You can help in one or more of the following ways:

1. You can join the bone marrow registry if you are between 18 and 60 years old, in good health, and are willing to donate to any person in need. The process to join the registry includes filling out a health questionnaire and providing a cheek swab. It takes about 10 minutes. (www.bethematch.org has excellent videos that explain the entire process of donating marrow. There is a new procedure for donating bone marrow that is similar to donating plasma and does not require surgery. It is used in more than half of marrow transplants.)

2. If you are not able to donate, will you take time to call someone you know who may be able to?

3. If you would like to join the registry, but can’t make it on Thursday, you can request a kit at the website and register by mail.

4. Please remember Ronan and his family (who just welcomed a new baby brother 2 ½ weeks ago) in your prayers.

Help Us Provide An Easter Surprise!

                            

NOTICE: We have a last minute request for something to help our boys at the Robertson Memorial Boys Home. The mid-singles are planning to have a very special Easter event with the boys. They will be taking in an Easter dinner complete with all the trimmings, then have a special program with music and an Easter message. They want to end by giving each young man an Easter basket filled with goodies. So, if you have any of the following you would like to donate, could you bring them with you on Thursday?

• Easter Baskets
• Easter Candy, plastic eggs, etc.        
• Grass or netting for baskets
• Any Easter décor

Other projects for Thursday:

1. wheelchair/walker caddies

2. crocheted hats

3. quilts

4. origami cranes (we turned in 1200 on Tues night!)

5. greeting cards

6. hygiene kits

Current Requests:

• Easter candy, etc. (see above)
• Yarn, particularly soft baby yarn
• Used greeting cards (we’re cutting them up to make new cards)
• Card stock and construction paper in a variety of colors
• Scrapbooking paper – even scraps from other projects
• Hygiene items: full size or samples, especially shaving cream, wash cloths, and combs
• Quilt batting or donations of $$ to purchase it. (We can get it by the bolt for ½ price.)
• You

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“Those who labor unselfishly in behalf of others, with no thought of remuneration, will be physically and spiritually refreshed and renewed.”                       David B. Haight

Our first 1000+ origami peace cranes….

We made it!  We’ll be turning in our first 1000+ peace cranes on Tuesday night at an event taking place at Smiley Library in Redlands.  (The community is invited to attend. See the invitation which follows.)  We’ll also be providing volunteers to teach attendees how to make the cranes following the presentation.

Thanks to the women, youth women, children,
and yes, young men and dads,
who have all made cranes. 

No we’re not done yet! So keep folding!

You're invited!

In preparation for a Trip to the Manzanar National Historic Site on May 7th, Redlands Sister Cities Assocaiton is hosting  a Presentation on The Harada Family of Riverside,

The Redlands Japanese American Community and the California Peace Crane Project

Tuesday, April 12^th

6:30 p.m.

At

A.K. Smiley Public Library

125 W. Vine St., Redlands

The Redlands Sister Cities Association, along with the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, A.K. Smiley Public Library, and Cal State University, San Bernardino, invites you to a special evening presentation featuring Lynn Voorheis, Museum Curator of Historic Structures, Riverside Metropolitan Museum. The presentation will focus on the story of the Harada family of Riverside from their immigration from Japan at the turn of the century through their WWII experiences and return to Riverside. http://www.riversideca.gov/museum/harada.asp

Don McCue, Archivist and Head of Special Collections, A.K. Smiley Public Library will provide remarks on the Redlands Japanese American community during WWII.

At the end of this presentation, volunteers will teach everyone how to make origami cranes to add to over 2,000 cranes already made by Redlands residents for the Riverside Metropolitan Museum California Peace Crane project. http://www.riversideca.gov/museum/exhibit-22.asp

We encourage you to join us!

Join the Redlands Sister Cities Association & The Redlands Police Department

On a Trip to Manzanar

Saturday, May 7, 2011

In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 men, women, and children to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center near Lone Pine, CA was one of ten camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were interned during World War II. The tour of the Manzanar National Historic Site by a Park Ranger includes a 60 minute tour of Block 14 and the Mess Hall, a bus tour of the perimeter road and time for a visit to the Museum and visitor center.

Depart Redlands- 7:30am; Return approx. - 9: pm.

Cost: $50/person. Ticket includes the tour, bus transportation and, a box lunch.

New members receive a $10 discount off Redlands Sister Cities Assoc. membership with ticket purchase.

For more information contact: redlandssca@gmail.com or Anna Robles @ (909) 792-4977

So exactly what is a Peace Crane???

Find out by attending a special presentation at the Smiley Library in Redlands on Tuesday, April 12^th at 6:30pm. (See press release below.) This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about this important part of California history which took place during WWII. Youth and older children are welcome to attend. The presentation, given by the Riverside Metropolitan Museum’s curator, will last about an hour.

Following the presentation, attendees will be able to view displays from the period and they will be invited to learn how to make origami cranes for the museum’s Peace Crane Project. That’s where we come in. We have been asked to provide volunteers who can teach how to make the paper cranes. We are looking for 4 to 6 of you who could help. We have had some great teachers, including youth, at workday and at other activities, so if you can help us out for the short time needed that evening, please let us know.

If you’re new, and don’t know the purpose for our making all these cranes: we were invited to participate with the Redlands Sister Cities Association in collaboration with this museum in the California Paper Crane Peace Project.  The goal is, “to make 92,785 origami cranes - one for every person from California who was sent to a Japanese American internment camp, during World War II.” http://www.riversideca.gov/museum/exhibit-22.asp.

We are hoping to have 1000 cranes to present that night, and are getting very close. If you have been making cranes at home or with your youth group, etc., let us know so we can add them to our flock in time to present them at this event. (The need for cranes does not end that night – so keep making them!)

Thanks for the donations of origami paper which have allowed us to create a beautiful and colorful flock of peace cranes. We’ve almost used up what you’ve given us, so it’s time to ask for more. Thanks!

Here’s the press release set to come out in the next couple of days in area newspapers:

The Harada Family of Riverside, California, Redlands, California Japanese American Community and the California Peace Crane Project

Redlands, CA – The Redlands Sister Cities Association in partnership with the Riverside Metropolitan Museum, A.K. Smiley Public Library, and Cal-State University, San Bernardino is hosting a special evening presentation on Tuesday, April 12th at 6:30 p.m. at the A.K. Smiley Public Library located at 125 W. Vine St., Redlands.

The presentation will feature introductory remarks by Anna Robles, President of the Redlands Sister Cities Association. Lynn Voorheis, Museum Curator of Historic Structures, Riverside Metropolitan Museum, will present the story of the Harada family of Riverside from their immigration from Japan at the turn of the century through their WWII experiences and return to Riverside. Don McCue, Archivist and Head of Special Collections, A.K. Smiley Public Library will provide remarks on the Redlands Japanese American community during WWII.

At the end of the presentation, volunteers will teach everyone how to make origami cranes to add to over 2,000 cranes already made by the Redlands residents for the Riverside Metropolitan Museum California Peace Crane project.

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“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

-Leo Buscaglia

Women of Faith to host drive to save 3-year old Ronan Godfrey

 

BE THE MATCH

Bone Marrow Registry Drive

 

Three year old Ronan Godrey has aplastic anemia caused by a rare genetic disorder called dyskeratosis congenita. With a successful bone marrow transplant, Ronan has a 50% chance of being cured. He has no family match so needs our help. Because of the nature of DKC, each time Ronan receives a blood transfusion, which he is receiving often, it makes it more likely that his body will reject the bone marrow transplant. So time is of the essence.

City of Hope will be conducting a bone marrow (cheek swabbing) drive as part of our Women of Faith Humanitarian Workday on Thursday, April 14th from 12:00 until 5:00 p.m. at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints @ 350 Wabash Avenue in Redlands. (We hope the time will be extended into the evening, but at this point we have this time only.) The Redlands Interfaith Council and the Redlands Service Club Council are co-sponsors of the drive.

The registration process will take roughly 10 minutes during which you will be asked to fill out paperwork and give a cheek swab sample. You will be registered until you are 61 years old and will only be asked to donate marrow or stem cells if you are identified as a match for a particular patient in need.

*If you are unable to attend in person you can join online by visiting http://join.marrow.org and enter promo code: Hope4Ronan

To join the registry, you need only to be between the ages of 18 and 60, be willing to donate to any patient in need, and meet the health guidelines. If you are not able to participate, won’t you spread to word to someone who can!

***Questions about joining the registry or being a marrow donor can be answered at www.bethematch.org or you may contact Vivian Abernathy, (626) 283-9182 at the City of Hope.  For information about the drive on April 14th, you may also contact Rosemary Tuohy (909)645-2229 or Jean Arnott (909) 794-0456.

Following is a copy of an article that appeared in The Redlands Facts about Ronan and his family.  You can also see his website,www.Hope4Ronan.com.

REDLANDS DAILY FACTS ARTICLE

http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/ci_17544483

Boy in race against time

WENDY LEUNG, Staff Writer

Posted: 03/04/2011 10:24:24 PM PS

FONTANA - It started with a nosebleed.

Ronan Godfrey's parents figured it was a simple case of a toddler picking his nose. But the late-night bleeding lasted three hours.

"It was running like a faucet," said Ronan's mother, Rachel Godfrey.

The paramedics told the Fontana family there was nothing to worry about. But the next day, Ronan's nosebleed returned with a vengeance. This time they took Ronan to the emergency room. There, doctors gave the 2-year-old a preliminary diagnosis of leukemia. He needed two blood and one platelet transfusions.

"He had almost no blood in him," Godfrey said.

In time, doctors realized it wasn't leukemia after all but a type of aplastic anemia that is so rare, there is just 300 cases diagnosed in the world. Unlike many other blood disorders, Ronan's condition is genetic, which means he is desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant.

Today, Ronan's third birthday, the City of Hope Medical Center will host a bone marrow drive in Rancho Cucamonga. On Sunday, the Redlands United Church of Christ, where the Godfrey family are members, will also host a drive. The hope is to find a donor for Ronan so he can get the needed transplant.

Ronan is a cheerful toddler who talks about his aspirations of becoming an astronaut. But Ronan's life has changed dramatically since his first nosebleed in January.

"He can't go near anybody. His white blood count is so low, he just can't get

sick. That would be life-threatening," Godfrey said. "He can go nowhere except the hospital."

It's quite a contrast to a life once marked by playschool, mommy groups and a dance class.

"We had the life," Godfrey said. "Now I can't take him to the supermarket. I can't take him to the p-a-r-k. I can't say it or he'll ask."

On Saturday, hospital officials will register participants in the international Be The Match Registry. To participate, you must be between the ages of 18 and 60 and in good health. The process takes about 10 minutes and includes a cheek swab sample.

If a match is found, the perspective donor will be contacted. If you would like to participate but cannot attend Saturday, you can receive a registration kit by visiting http://join.marrow.org.

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“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”        Ralph Waldo Emerson

What can we do to help Japan?

Dear Women of Faith and Friends,

You have no doubt seen the alarming images of the devastation along the east coast of Japan and wondered what you can do to help.  Some of you have called to see what the Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is doing and how we can help. Here is what I have learned and pass it along to you – both how to contribute through the LDS Church and through the City of Riverside, whose sister city is Sendai, Japan (see below):

#1 

From the Church’s Philanthropies website http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/ldsp/news-features/donate-humanitarian.html, we learn:

The Church is responding to the current disaster in Japan. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles told reporters in a news conference Tuesday, March 15, that the Church has committed substantial financial aid to Japan. Emergency supplies are being purchased in Japan or nearby countries as necessary to reduce response time and help local economies that have suffered during the crisis.

The Church’s Humanitarian Aid Fund allows members and friends to donate as an act of compassion for people in disaster situations such as Japan. It is important to note that donations to the fund are not earmarked for any particular disaster or region but are used as needed wherever people are in distress or require basic necessities such as food, shelter, and medical attention.

Elder Holland reemphasized concern for the people of Japan and said that the Church will work with government agencies, the Red Cross, and others to make available needed resources.

#2

Riverside, California and Sendai, Japan have been sister cities since 1957 in what is one of the oldest continuous sister city relationships in the United States. The city of Sendai was one of the worst hit areas, located just 105 miles from the epicenter of the quake and directly in the path of the tsunami.

The City of Riverside has established a Sendai relief fund and is collecting donations to help its sister city recover from the devastation.  It hopes to raise $250,000.

More information may be obtained and donations made at this web site: www.riversideca.gov/sendairelief.

Donated funds are tax deductible and will be held in a separate account designated for Sendai, Japan.  100% of the funds collected will be given directly to officials in Sendai to help them in their recovery efforts.

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We perhaps feel a little closer to the people of Japan since we’ve spent the past few months making peace cranes for the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibit honoring Japanese-Americans held in internment camps during WWII. Let’s continue to pray for the people and land of Japan and do whatever we feel inspired to do to help in other ways.

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Just a bit of caution: “Federal officials are urging people to be cautious when they donate money to charities responding to this crisis. The FBI warns that con artists often prey on donors following natural disasters. The Internet Crime Complaint Center says donors should be careful when confronted with unsolicited e-mails asking for credit card information or money transfers. Consumers should try to verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations with an Internet search.” http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2011/03/15/us_officials_counsel_caution_when_donating_money_to_japan_relief_efforts/