Seeing Life through the "Gratitude Glass"

I have really been enjoying Facebook this month. A lot of people are posting something they are thankful for each November day. I guess you could say that I am thankful for THEM!

Here is an informative interview with Christine Carter from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, that highlights the extraordinary benefits of teaching children the invaluable skill of gratitude. And I bet there are some tips that might just help you look through the lens of the "Gratitude Glass" too!

Walks, Parades and Churches...oh my!

Kudos to all the families who are making this October's Rett Syndrome Awareness Month ROCK!

We started with Golf for a Cure for Kylie in Michigan. Then up to NY for Rockin' for Rett for Emma! Last week, Angola, Indiana rocked for Brooklyn.

Coming up.... Toast for a Cure in Dallas for Juliana and Win for Brynn 5K in Columbus, OH!

Aside from our events, there are three other great activities I just have to share!

ONE: Last week on October 8th, St. Joseph's School in Malone, NY held a "Rock the Walk" in honor of Emma Dalton. It was a simple concept that really had an impact. About 300 students, grades 3-5, all pitched in to create a Garden of Hope at school (raising $300!) and walked around their community in honor of Emma.















TWO: Then on October 9th, a Girl Power 2 Cure parade float came to town in Topton, PA in honor of Emma Shubert! The Shubert Family worked with 38 Brandywine Heights Girl Scouts, 14 moms, 6 dads and 2 little brothers to build an amazing awareness float that had photos of 9 Rett girls on it. They designed, built, painted... they put together 2,500 lollipop/awareness cards to hand out to the crowd...and even came up with a great chant to sing to the 10,000 plus spectators. Way to go Shubert Family and Girl Scouts!
















THREE: Well, then the Shubert's lollipops got Amanda Reid's mom, Ronna, thinking... and she is now putting together lollipop cards to pass out at their church's "Pierce of Darkeness" (a Trunk-or-Treat event) on October 30th. This is an event planned for the kids to be able to trick-or-treat in the church parking lot in a safe environment. Oh, and they also plan to grow a Garden of Hope on their van! Looking forward to pictures!

One Big Goose Bump

Last Friday I started my adventure up north from Florida to Saranac Lake, NY for Rockin' for Rett 2.0 organized by the Daltons in honor of their beautiful daughter, Emma.

I say "One Big Goose Bump" because all day long I kept experiencing one amazing thing after another: meeting new Rett families, hearing supporting words, watching the droves of people arrive to share the day, taking in the view of the vast expanse of corn fields, seeing the Girl Power flower pop up all over the event on faces, shirts, a puppy!, a huge rock, cookies, sun catchers.....



The video below will give you a peak into this amazing day!

Before I get to the video, I want to showcase some amazing GIRL POWER at the event!



First, let me introduce you to Rachel and Mariah. Mariah moved away to another state and came back to visit and support the event. She surprised me with a check for $500 that she raised holding a bake sale back home in Washington State! Rachel, Emma's cousin, put together the bake sale at the event itself. As you will see in the video, she had the back of the truck FILLED with baked goods - literally hundreds of cookies, cakes, and other goodies that she and her friends made. Her bake sale raised over $800!



Another three girls came to volunteer from a local high school. We put them to work selling paper flowers for our Garden of Hope for $1/each. They sold about 30 and then said they had about 40 minutes left in their time. We told them to go and enjoy the music. BUT more than one hour later, they were still walking around selling flowers! They were up to 118! You can see the amazing Garden of Hope they helped grow at the event in this photo!

This is what Girl Power 2 Cure is all about. Bringing together families and their community in hope and joy. Inspiring young girls to get involved to help fellow girls who are suffering. Raising awareness for Rett Syndrome and funds to support our vision to make Rett Syndrome the first curable neurological disorder. Thank you to the entire Dalton and Cheney crew for putting together an amazing event!

ENJOY THE VIDEO!




- Ingrid Harding

Just the beginning!

OK -- I know, pretty cheesy to post a pic of a check, right?! Well, this is the biggest check Girl Power 2 Cure has ever gotten and I have a feeling this is just the beginning! Since its start in 2006, we have raised over $250,000 from over 2,600 donors!

This check is from the Chase/Facebook vote where we placed 17th out of tens of thousands of charities in June. This $20,000 will help us get to the next level. We have our minds set on great new heights!

Thank you to everyone who has supported us, voted for us, encouraged us and keeps our dream of a cure alive through the hope and joy and beauty of the precious girls and their families struggling with Rett Syndrome.

A special thanks to our team members:
Kelly Butler, Family Support and Event Coordinator
Terri Vejrosta, RettGirl.org Coordinator
Lisa Commette, Director, Garden of Hope and Community Outreach
Kathryn Corena, Communications and Development

Our Mothers' Advisory Board:
Erin Bleske
Kristy Brooks
Jen Dalton
Bridget MacDonald

Our Board of Directors:
Roger Brooks
Kevin Coloton
Laura Labbate

I am so honored to work with such amazing people who are inspired by this work. Your time and dedication is incredible. We welcome everyone to join our organization's efforts.

Get your Girl Power On!

Ingrid

The Power of THE PURPLE CARD

What do you need for Rett Syndrome Awareness Month in October? THE PURPLE CARD of course!


Read all about our customized cards and order yours today! You will love the response. Promise.

CLICK HERE!

Back-to-School

School Time! Here's an easy 1, 2, 3 to help get you started!

We know how hard it is to get going each year - new teachers and therapists, new routines, new children asking new questions. It can be overwhelming, frustrating and disappointing. We have been.... we ARE there right now, right there with you. I hope these ideas/tools will help you and your daughter move through these next few weeks a little smoother.

1. On Girl Power 2 Cure's Back-to-School page we have:

• a sample letter to send home to parents


• a sample school guide to put together for your daughter's team


• two simple games to play with her fellow classmates

2. Visit RettGirl.org! There is a "School Stuff" Tab plus dozens of ideas/tips/suggestions/recommendations from other Rett families.
Send in your ideas! We would love to share them with our families!

3. I would also like to share with you this 10-minute audio presentation of a few of our family's "Rett" stories. I call it my RESOLVE stories.

Have something you would like to share?

Email us, call us! Also, be sure to join our Facebook pages for Girl Power 2 Cure and Rett Girl.

GOOD LUCK! We hope you have a wonderful year! We want to be there for you every step of the way.

Ingrid

We need more votes!

We are battling our way to the top of the Facebook/Chase Community Giving Campaign!

With $250,000 on the line, we need everyone's votes! If you add up all our past donors, volunteers and Facebook fans, we have more than enough to win this!

It is just a matter of getting it done!

If you have not voted yet, VOTE TODAY! It is just a one-time vote.

All the info is at http://www.gp2c.org.

Thank you!

Ingrid

CHASE Away Rett Syndrome

JUNE 15th - JULY 12th

www.girlpower2cure.org/chase

TOP 200 Vote-Getters Win!

We are so excited to let you know about an online vote Girl Power 2 Cure will be in starting in just a few hours!! Many of you are involved with voting and following the IRSF Pepsi vote which ends on June 30th. It is all so exciting! Especially the awareness for Rett Syndrome! Imagine all of the people reading those listed on the first page of the results.

Well, we have been planning for a similar vote for the past few weeks, only it is through Chase Community Giving. The benefits to this vote are this:

1. Voting is through Facebook

2. You are only allowed to vote once (well you can earn another vote, but I won't get into that here), so no need to try to get people to vote daily.

3. The TOP 200 vote-getters win $$$! First place = $250K; 2nd-5th place = $100k/each; and, 6th-200th place = $20K/each!

We would love to have your support in helping us win this vote which runs JUNE 15th - JULY 12th.

We have created a webpage at www.girlpower2cure.org/chase where you can send people to easily find the link to vote, as well as print out vote slips to hand out around town, etc.

Since this is just a "one vote per profile" thing, I hope you will find it easy to promote.

We are working hard to make this happen! Please visit www.girlpower2cure.org/chase to learn more and see what our plans for any money won would be!!! I think you will find it exciting!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Juliana's Story

The Brooks Family in Texas is one of those amazing families who have incredible support from friends and family. Their daughter Juliana was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome just one year ago. They have already held about 10 fundraisers with the help of their "Dream Team!" Now Roger and Kristy have produced this beautiful video about their story and their work with Girl Power 2 Cure. Watch and be inspired!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ON YOU TUBE

Springtime for Rett!

Flowers are blooming all across the country for our Rett Girls! Check out our Garden of Hope project! In Tennessee, flowers are blooming at 30 different Fifth Third bank branches....they are blooming in Indiana, California, Michigan, Maryland, Arizona, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey. Oklahoma, Kentucky... and have even crossed the border in Canada! Join in the "planting!" - it is easy and fun! Tip to get lots of stores to host a garden in one "stop": attend your local chamber of commerce / business association meeting and ask that they all participate. They can pick a week or a month that is convenient for them. We mail you the flowers and provide an online kit. Visit http://www.dressup2cure.org/garden-2010.

MAY 15th DEADLINE FOR OUR PRIZE CAMPAIGN - And remember, for each Rett family who starts a team web page for Girl Power 2 Cure's Spring Campaign (http://www.dressup2cure.org) there are incentive prizes! For each $100 raised for your team, you get an entry into the raffle for these incredible prizes with a total value of $15,000 (Sleep Safe Bed, Family Vacation, Up 'N Go Walker). Check out the site and get started. It just takes a few moments. Proceeds benefit the research program of the Rett Syndrome Research Trust. (Flowers grown for Garden of Hope count towards your goal as well!)

RETT GIRL SPRING FEATURE:

Check out this great product I just listed for Spring at RettGirl.org! It is a special needs "wagon" that attaches to a bicycle -- and doubles as a stroller. It's a WIKE! Check it out!

Have a wonderful weekend! and don't forget to share your ideas with us on RettGirl!

New Board members for 2010!

Just a quick note to let you know we have a new team of Board Members at Girl Power 2 Cure for 2010! They will be working hard to make our organization bigger and stronger than ever! Roger Brooks and Kevin Coloton are both fathers of little girls with Rett Syndrome. Laura Labbate is a long-time friend who is very passionate about our cause. We will all be meeting together next weekend to get the ball rolling. Send us your good vibes and enthusiasm!




Read more about them at:
http://girlpower2cure.org/board.html

Girl Power on Parents TV!

I had the amazing opportunity to be interviewed by Anne Ebeling for a story on Girl Power 2 Cure and Rett Syndrome with Parents TV last Fall. They just posted this to their site yesterday and I wanted to share it with you! They filmed our family for three hours! Then somehow managed to turn it all into this wonderful little 4-minute package.

Click here to watch! and then pass it on!

Also, we are signing families up for April's Dress Up Cure! And are also looking for places to plant a "Garden of Hope." We hope you can join us!

Ingrid