I have been so grateful for every single donation that has been given to me on my journey to get to the World Championships. I’ve had friends give me their allowances, a couple of my little students have raided their piggy banks, I’ve had families pool their money together, I’ve had very generous corporate donations in either services or money, I have had donations from people that hardly know me at all and I’ve even had donations from complete strangers!!!! Every single donation has been special in their own way since they all game from a big heart.
However, yesterday I got a donation that hit me like a ton of bricks!!!!! I guess you can already tell by now how special my grandma was to me. When she died a year and a half ago a part of me died with her. She was always there for me and loved to watch me compete in every sport. She was a grandma to all my team mates on every team. She was always smiling and brought cookies or Mentos for treats.
One thing that made her so special was how she volunteered her time to the IODE Dr. Herbert A. Bruce Chapter in North Bay. When I think of grandma I have a vision of her hanging laundry by the mile on her outside clothes line. She washed and ironed all the donated clothes and then she sold them in the ‘Victory’ shop. All the proceeds were donated to charities, grants and scholarships to people in the community. I remember as a little girl spending time in the Victory shop, and I would get to pick out one toy each time to bring home. Grandma seemed to know all the regular clients in the store and always treated everyone with kindness. The other ladies that volunteered there were so nice and had hearts of gold. They still do. I know how hard and how many hours of work the ladies would have had to do to come up with a large donation since nothing was sold for more than a couple dollars. I can’t thank them enough.
When I received a beautiful letter and cheque from the IODE in memory of my Grandma it brought tears to my eyes. The cheque also came from a few of my grandma’s friends. I know Grandma would have been so happy and proud to be able to help out, or to see that the ladies have continued helping people. I also know that Grandma was somehow with me in New Zealand. I actually took a picture of her with me and put in on my night side table. Thinking about her breaks my heart, because at times like these, after a big accomplishment, that’s when I really wish she was here to give me a big hug. Thank you so much to everyone in North Bay that contributed to the donation. It meant so much to me, but also to the rest of my family.
