A GivStory by Darci McCoy | the daughter of a breast cancer fighter

Early December of 2005 my mom made her daily phone call to say hello and talk about Christmas plans for the year. I was in the car and trying to rush the conversation as I headed to an appointment. She then said that she wanted to tell me something but wanted to wait until after Christmas…Honestly, I thought she had some fabulous surprise to tell us all – like she was planning a family European vacation, or an inheritance allowing us to never work again…I regret begging for the information she was withholding from me. She finally took a deep breath and told me “I have breast cancer.” I was in shock, sitting in my car, holding the phone to my ear, while staring at a red light that had just turned green. She had JUST driven back from Colorado to be with my Aunt, her sister who was also diagnosed with Breast Cancer that same year.

My family’s whole world changed that year. Mom went through Chemo, radiation, and an expensive $3,000 test to find out if she was a genetic carrier of the BRCA Gene. She lost her hair, had to have a double mastectomy and hysterectomy…everything feminine about her outer appearance was gone…all except her beautiful big blue eyes. She would even make statements about not knowing if she was a woman anymore and I would want to cry hearing this. I would respond back telling her that God created her female in spirit first and then formed her in her mother’s womb second. I told her that she was very much a woman – that boobs didn’t define us.

May 31, 2006 we celebrated her end of Chemotherapy with a benefit concert to pay for the $3,000 genetic testing that insurance did not cover. My sister and I called it the “NoMo Chemo” benefit“!!! Together we created a night we will never forget…our gift to our wonderful mother! The night was filled with family, friends, food, music,art auction, a raffle, breast cancer information and even postcards with stamps to write your own mom a note! Hundreds of people showed up and we met our goal of money to be raised!

She went a whole year being, what she told my sister and I, “cancer free.” I later found out that (continue reading…)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we are dedicating all of our GivStory posts to this cause throughout the entire  month.  WE NEED YOUR HELP! Throughout the next few weeks, we will be featuring the stories of hope, healing, and love of cancer fighters and survirvors.

Our vision is to create awareness through your stories – to shine light on this devastating disease and to give hope to the victims and their families. If you or someone you know has had breast cancer, has received guidance and hope from a breast cancer cause, or is involved with a breast cancer cause, we want to encourage you to submit your/their story and we will share it on our blog. Just click the “Submit Your GivStory” tab at the top of the page or click Here .

If we all continue to fight and learn together, then together we will find a cure. Choose to be a part of this story.

“5 October is a day to celebrate teachers and the central role they play in guiding children, youths & adults through the life-long learning process. This year, World Teachers’ Day will focus on the role of teachers within the context of the global financial and economic crisis and the need to invest in teachers now as a means to secure post-crisis regeneration.

It is critical, during these difficult times, to seek mechanisms that protect the teaching profession. It is also crucial, despite the crisis, to ensure that investment in teachers is sufficient and proportionate to the demands made upon them. It is the teaching force with its knowledge, experience and foresight which can bring new insights to global solutions. Join us in celebrating this!”  

From World Teachers’ Day 2009  http://www.5oct.org/

In honor of World Teachers’ Day:

A GivStory by Matthew Mandelbaum | Teacher and Founder of Jumping Joey’s Number Line

It began as a quest to help a small kindergarten girl, who they said could not learn math because she has too many severe learning disabilities. The quest was to prove them all wrong and give her a chance to have a strong mathematical foundation where she could love learning. 

On the streets on New York City’s Washington Square Park, I began teaching her in the method which would become JumpingJoey’s NumberLine and her passion and interest grew as would her success with numbers. This led its growth to helping summer school students and others until now the learning system can be found on www.jumpingjoeysnumberline.com.

In honor of those who have helped me, the children, I give back 5% of all home product sales to schools along with student certificates honoring their love of and commitment to learning so that each child has a chance to feel good about their process and path as a learner.