Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

Going into Memorial Day, I’m preparing for a busy weekend. I’m having some friends over for a cookout on Sunday and then going canoeing with some others on Monday. We’re putting up an aboveground pool to play in all summer today since yesterday was my son’s last day of school.   During all this activity we don’t want to forget to honor our fallen soldiers.   My son says he wants to say a few words at the cookout and asked me to find a verse that he can use in his “speech.”   We were at his grandmother’s house when he asked me and she mentioned John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?   Having the courage to put your life on the line for others.   We honor those that have done that for us this Monday.   We must never forget them. May is also Older Americans Month , and I think they’re a population that can also be easily forgotten so I’d like to share an organiz...

For Mental Health Awareness Month and Women's Health Week, I have asked Mental Health Advocate Jennifer Moyer a few questions to help us learn about mental health and get involved with mental health issues. 1.       Tell us a little about yourself and how you want to help others as a mental health advocate. My name is Jennifer Moyer.   I am first and foremost a wife and mother.   I strive to give hope and inspiration to individuals and families that are facing mental health issues.   I have volunteered in the area of mental health issues related to childbearing since 2000.   I began as a Volunteer Coordinator with Postpartum Support International ( www.postpartum.net ).   As a Coordinator, I provided emotional, practical and informational support to women and families dealing with mental health issues related to childbearing.   Although I am no longer an active Coordinator with Postpartum Support International, I continue to be...

May is a month of health awareness, from mental health (which I’ll be featuring next week) to arthritis to National Stuttering Awareness Week this week. While we’re fighting the blues for national mental health awareness month, the Arthritis National Research Foundation is asking people to Go Blue for Arthritis Awareness Month and wear blue clothing the whole month to get people to talk about arthritis. You can upload photos of yourself wearing blue at their Facebook page and can win a water bottle or autographed hat from professional golfer Kristy McPherson . I’m choosing today to talk about arthritis because it affects so many people, 50 million according to the Arthritis Foundation .   That’s one in five, making it the nation’s most common cause of disability. There’s an old joke that an elderly lady told her pastor that she sees three men each day—Will Power to get her up in the morning, Arthur Itis with whom she goes from to joint to joint and Ben Gay to...

The most popular month historically to say “I do” is coming up in less than thirty days so I wanted to share some resources for happy nuptials not only for the lucky couple but also the charity of their choice.   Have you heard of charity wedding registries?  They are the hippest way to share your joy with those less fortunate.  A couple makes a charity registry when they choose a charity or more than one and ask their friends and family to make donations in lieu of wedding gifts.   There are several places that allow you to do them like JustGive.org and the Wedding Channel , but they are all supported through the I Do Foundation .  Working with nearly 50,000 couples a year, the I Do Foundation has granted more than $6 million to charity from its start in 2002 to 2009.      Besides charity registries, the I Do Foundation also allows you to give wedding favor cards showing that a donation has been made by the happy couple for their ...