As some of you may know from mentions in the past (or from the very large logo in the sidebar!) I’m part of a group on Facebook for dad bloggers. I was invited to be a part of that group by one of my fellow bloggers by the name of Oren Miller – aka ‘A Blogger and a Father‘
Whilst I don’t want to gush unnecessarily, joining this group has properly revolutionised my experience as a blogger. Meeting a bunch of like-minded (or at least sensible!) dads who are going through the same things as me, learning from them, networking and generally having fun – the benefits of being in this group are too numerous to count.
So it was a massive shock to all of us when Oren was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. If you click that link you’ll be taken to Oren’s own telling of the story – you might want to get some kleenex ready.
Soon after the initial shock of the news, something awesome happened. A group of my blogging brethren decided that it would be only fair for Oren and his family to experience an epic vacation – both to get away from the stresses of his treatment and to spend some much-needed quality time together.
A crowd-funding page was quickly setup on GiveForward and the donations began to fly in. I’d challenge any of you to read Oren’s post and NOT feel like throwing a few pounds into the pot yourself. Go on, just try.
The initial fundraising target was quickly exceeded, and the fund is now getting towards being enough to help pay for some of the treatments and associated medical bills.
I’ve heard a few of my fellow bloggers talking about the ‘bystander effect’, which I think basically means we need to stop standing around and hoping that somebody else will help – it’s the old “I’m sure somebody else will donate, especially if I tell them about it – then I’m helping, right?”
I’ve actually spoken at great length (often with contentious effect) about my opinion on how people help charities and causes – the ‘No make-up selfie’ campaign caught my eye in particular. But my view on this is quite easy to summarise: if you don’t help others when you can, how can you possibly expect others to help you when it’s your time of need?
I know that’s pretty obvious really, but I honestly believe it’s true – it’s just good Karma, basically.
So if you can put yourself in Oren’s shoes for a moment (I know I’ve tried to do that myself over the past few weeks) and think about what you’d be going through, please do. And then click the link below and throw a few quid his way: