It was Friday, May 6th and we just finished a beat down at the Foundry. During the CoT, I asked the Pax to say a prayer for my daughter, Christina, to feel better and to bless her for her Holy Communion which should have been that Saturday. Sadly, those prayers were not answered. 12 hours later, our precious daughter, our Angel, was now in Heaven. She died the day before her Holy Communion and two days before Mother’s Day. We are still devastated. My M and I have endured many losses in our lives, but nothing, NOTHING compares to losing your child. I did not think we would ever survive a day. However, as of today, it has been nearly 18 months (tomorrow). Hell on Earth but we are still here, fighting, surviving and trying to live another day. One Day Closer. One of reasons we are here…is all of you. The Pax of F3 and FiA Nation.
To keep her memory living for years to come, we created a non-profit organization called Operation Sweet Tooth. To provide for our healing, in Christina’s honor and memory, our mission is to help children who may be impoverished, homeless, displaced, sick or just need their spirits lifted. I want these children to know that a stranger cares about them and that they know there is an Angel looking down over them. But I cannot do this alone…I need High Impact Men and Women to help…so I am asking all of you for that help to support the Operation Sweet Tooth 2nd Annual Toy Drive!
Over the past 18 months, your support has allowed us to help so many children. We raised over 3k in cash and nearly 3k in toys and gift cards during our first annual Operation Sweet Tooth Toy Drive. We have received numerous other donations that helped us fund our Spring Easter Basket drive. Your generosity during our Back To School Supply Drive was simply amazing.
I would need a Q from each region/AO to identify an orphanage, children’s hospital, specialized home or Church etc that would benefit from our collection and to help coordinate delivery of the items and just share the message of F3, Sweet Tooth and how her parents just want to provide peace or comfort, even if just for a brief moment in time. Below is a link from our local children’s hospital here in Charlotte. There is usually a donating list of items, toys, blankets, stuffed animals that are accepted. You can get a sense of what is needed or wanted by looking at the “Donating to Levine’s Childrens Hopsital” Toys and Gifts.
The collection will run through Christmas however, I know many organizations do prefer to have such items in their possession beforehand. So whether collecting at your annual Christmas parties, regular work outs or fundraising events, please collect based on your organization’s needs.
To see the great work Operation Sweet Tooth has done, please visit our website at www.OperationSweetTooth.org and check out our blog and past events. We are also on twitter as @OpSweetTooth, on Instagram @operationsweettooth and Facebook @operationsweettooth. If you have any questions, you can find me on twitter @F3_Olive or on Slack @Olive. Additionally you can email me at info@operationsweettooth.org or greg@operationsweettooth.org. Lastly, you can listen to my story on the weekly Nantan call hosted by CSpan that took place on November 3rd, 2017.
With your help, we can make this year’s toy drive something special and hopefully have an impact even greater than last year. Your support allows us to turn our “Pain Into Purpose” and provide our children with a much needed smile when they may be hard to come by.
We are truly grateful for your continuing support!
Olive, Jager and Happy Meal!