We believe that every individual has the ability to make a difference in our world, and we want to give our readers a chance to bring attention to a cause that is important to them.
Every month, we will ask you to submit a one-paragraph essay on a charity of your choice. We want to know what the charity is about, why it is important to you, and anything else you think is important for us to know.
Your submissions will be reviewed by bestselling author Sylvia Day and she will select one to personally contribute to for the month. Your charity will also be featured in the following month’s installment of Day it Forward to bring more awareness to its cause and allow for readers of Beyond Words to donate as well.
The submission chosen for the month of October comes from Katie Crossan:
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when I was 18. I lost all of my friends and quickly closed myself off from the world, choosing to bury myself in books instead. I have been constantly tube fed on and off in the last seven years, I now have a line to my heart keeping me from starving to death, and take a chemotherapy drug everyday. I am hooked up to a machine every night that pumps liquid to my heart. The NACC (National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease) kept me sane. They support people with IBD and have a ‘Young People’s Forum’ where I met other young people who have become life-long friends and I also met the love of my life, my soon to be husband, there. The NACC encourages people to talk to each other, they offer a support line for people with IBD or family of those who suffer. Crohns can be an extremely lonely disease but with the NACC they make you feel less alone and accepted for being different. I have supported this charity with my family since I was 18 partaking in walks to raise money. IBD doesn’t get recognised for being a serious life altering condition.
Sylvia will be donating $1,500 to the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s disease. You can donate, too, here.
We also occasionally spotlight other worthy charities submitted by readers each month:
- Frances Coffey submitted the Cara Lynn Golias Memorial Fund, which distributes proceeds directly to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Sylvia will be donating $500 to the fund. You can donate, too, here.
- Suzanne Robbins submitted the Sebastian County Humane Society, which is dedicated to the humane treatment of animals in Sebastian County in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Sylvia will be donating $500 to the society. You can donate, too, here.
To have your charity considered for November’s installment of Day it Forward, please email your submissions to editorial@beyondwords.life with “Day it Forward” in the subject line by October 25, 2015.