Helping Hearts, Blog of Anne Sanders

Hey, folks. I have decided to revive the tradition of a Black Friday list of top ten gifts that give (3 ways!) So, here it is. Enjoy your shopping from the comfort of your home and God bless you.  1.        Vive la Revolution! These are the most gorgeous Revolution bracelets.  For $38 each (or 3 for $100), you can get a beautiful band and $10 goes to charities fighting Alzheimer’s. Find them at RivetRevolution . 2.        UNICEF has an immense market for goods from around the world and even tells you when you purchase one how many people you are helping. This beautiful wooden sculpture “Balanced Embrace” will provide enough polio vaccine to vaccinate 56 children. Find something beautiful from clothes to jewelry that meets your taste at market.Unicefusa.org . 3.        Hand knit gnome ornaments are sure to be the hit of your gift list, especially when they find out Melan...

  I started this in 2011 when I started my blog. It’s a list for Black Friday of Christmas gifts that give three ways: to the recipient who gets a gift, to a charity who gets a donation and to the giver who feels good for giving to charity. Since then a new tradition has started with Giving Tuesday. After Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, spend some time Tuesday giving to the charity of your choice. Now, here goes: the list of $50 and under gifts that give three ways for 2014. 1.        As a Relay for Life lover, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention one from the American Cancer Society’s website and almost everybody needs help with this—eating right to be healthy and prevent all kinds of cancer and other diseases. So, here’s the link to ACS’s healthy eating cookbook for $24.95. http://acs.bookstore.ipgbook.com/the-american-cancer-society-s-healthy-eating-cookbook-products-9780944235577.php?page_id=32&pid=acn 2.  ...

I shared last week that in some ways this could be the month of the young, with all the awareness days for children in September. But that’s not all, it’s also the month for Alzheimer’s awareness. I think it’s appropriate because in a way, Alzheimer’s turns people back into children who need special care. I’m not sure if I’ve shared this or not, but my grandmother had Alzheimer’s. She came to live with us so we could care for her. I was still pretty young, but my sisters were in high school and one came to be her companion. She got some money from the government and like a child, the day it came in, they would go for candy. Sneaking through the woods and the apartment complex at the end of our neighborhood, they would walk to the local Tom Thumb and get penny and nickel candy. It was something we did as children whenever we got hold of some money and could get away. She left us and eventually went into a home to care for people with Alzheimer’s. Now I wish I had spent m...

Who means the most to you in this world? If you're a parent, you probably would say your child. And to your child, you are probably the most influential person as well. So when your parent is not taking care of you any more, that's a major life change. How about when you need to start caring for your parent? This month my mother got a walker. A couple of weeks ago, she called me out of breath and upset to tell me that she had fallen three times just that day. In the past few months, she has had more health problems than in her entire life. I won't go into all of them but the latest one has been problems with her feet which have caused her to be off balance and in pain. The day after she called me, I talked to a friend and she mentioned a walker. That's how new I am to the idea that my mother needs help. She falls that many times and I don't even think "walker" until a friend mentions it. I just don’t think of her as being a woman behind a walker b...

Next Wednesday, June 20 th , is The Longest Day fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association in celebration of the dedication and strength is takes to live with and care for people with Alzheimer’s every day. In honor of the Alzheimer’s Association and The Longest Day, I am interviewing Volunteer Services Manager Keelea LeJeune of Alzheimer’s Family Services, Inc and Covenant Hospice . If you want to work with older people, you can contact your local hospice or Area Agency on Aging by visiting www.eldercare.gov or calling 1-800-677-1116 to find ongoing opportunities to celebrate and support older Americans.   1. Alzheimer's Family Services, Inc. (AFS) provides support to families coping with Alzheimer's disease. Tell us a little about yourself and what services AFS provides. My name is Keelea LeJeune and I am the Volunteer Services Manager for both Covenant Hospice and Alzheimer’s Family Services in Pensacola, Florida, an agency that provides support to families d...