On Oct. 20, I received this e-mail from Heather Hewitt, who lives in Houston.
“Hi Ed,
“I have been in contact with you about my puppies this past year – I know you must get tons of email. My daughter (7th grade) wants to try to raise some money to fight distemper/help with NDV research. She is going to bake dog treats, and put them in the reception area of [a] vet office (Houston, Tx). We will send donations to Kind Hearts In Action in a couple of weeks. May not be much, but just wanted you to know about this. Thanks!”
My reply:
“That’s wonderful! Thanks so much for letting me know. Tell your daughter I really appreciate how thoughtful she is. Every little bit helps us get closer to the goal of beating this disease. Sometimes the smallest donations means so much more than the big ones because they mean they come from a real effort or when someone really cares.”
On Oct. 31, I came back to my computer after my wife and I took our 7-year-old trick-or-treating. This message was waiting for me:
“Hi again,
“Sadie’s project raised $67.14. We decided to top it off and just donated $100 online (instead of sending you an envelope full of cash)! Thank you for all you do –“
Sure enough, there was a $100 donation through the Microgiving site in the name of Sadie Hewitt. Heather later sent me the pictures, above. That’s their dog, Snoopy, a distemper survivor who received two NDV spinal taps.
Of course, every donation from every one of you is important, but this one had such a special story that I had to share it. We adults get wrapped up in our causes and issues so much, but when a kid wants to get involved, that’s when you know you’re doing something worthwhile.
Thanks Sadie! Keep making the world a better place!
Ed Bond