One way that Jenni has found to give back to the community is by donating blood. However, as a result of her recent diagnosis, she has been informed that, for the time being, she should “hang onto her own blood.” This news has been quite upsetting for her, and being the wonderful advisor that he is, Bruce Compas volunteered to donate blood during the time that Jenni isn’t able. This is how "Go Big" was born… Jenni got to thinking that it would be wonderful if people could go above and beyond just covering her part. For those of you who are able to, donating blood would be the perfect way to Go Big. If you are not able to donate, encourage those who can.
As luck (or fate) would have it, there are three blood drives on Vanderbilt's campus in the next couple of weeks...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008. 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
Vanderbilt Children's Hospital – Children's Theater (2nd floor)
Appointments to donate are scheduled every 15 minutes from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
To set your own appointment, go to www.givelife.org and use sponsor code Vandy19
Friday, March 21, 2008. 11:00 am - 4:00 pm
Vanderbilt University Student Life Center
325 25th Avenue South
Monday, March 24, 2008. 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Vanderbilt University Law School, Law Parking Lot
131 21st. Avenue South
To make appointments or for more information on any of these blood drives or other Red Cross Blood Donation sites near you, visit www.givelife.org
Go Big for Jenni!
Showing posts with label P. Show all posts
Showing posts with label P. Show all posts
Friday, March 14, 2008
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My Vision for Go Big!
On March 7, 2008 my life got turned upside down. I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a brain tumor which was so not on my to do list! Equally unexpectedly, I had neurosurgery on March 20 and the results of the biopsy indicated that the tumor was benign. Thank God! Along this journey, I have taken solace in the fact that this is a huge opportunity for us all.
I am a clinical psychology doctoral student at Vanderbilt University. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to make a huge difference in the world. For a couple of days, I actually feared that I had wished this scary and chaotic experience on myself and my loved ones, but then I was reminded that "life prepares life" and it all started making a bit more sense.
In a whirlwind of pre-operative appointments, Dr. Kyle Weaver, my neurosurgeon, told me that I should "hold onto my blood" which was a huge blow to me as I try to be a regular blood donor. Without skipping a beat, however, my advisor, Dr. Bruce Compas, made me an offer to "pick up the slack" which I believe was the impetus for this whole GO BIG challenge as it struck me then that perhaps we can all be doing just a little more.
As a person who hopes to make a profession and a life of helping children and families, I'm committed to helping others in the best way I know how. Consistently, I work with parents and children teaching them to praise the good and ignore the bad. Not my idea, but it is a behavioral principle that works. Now, don't get me wrong--I'm not blind to the evil in this world. In fact, I'm struck by our culture's fascination with drama, hurt, despair, and scandal. It absolutely blows my mind that these negatives suck so much of our attention that we can relatively easily forget all of the 1000's acts of kindness that are going on right this very minute.
My hope is that this website can be a central location for all of us to capture all of the really awesome things that we are already doing and that we can all be inspired by each other's goodness. It's not an original or courageous idea (although some have called it that), it is just an opportunity to do something that I've always wanted to do. And, I'll bet that if I'm anything like you, I'm just doing the best that I can in this moment. Sometimes that means that I offend people. We are all imperfectly perfect and I know that that is where the true beauty lies.
There are no absolute rules because I couldn't possibly predict the creative and imaginative ways that we can each help one another. Well, that's a lie. There is really just one rule: do what you feel in your heart! Try not to feel like what you do doesn't matter. It does! If you don't believe me, read the postings for yourself and see what you think. To somebody in that moment, you will have made a difference and for that I am eternally grateful.
So if you feel it in your heart or your head or whatever pushes you to act, try to do something. Nothing is too small and nothing is too big. Just put one foot in front of the other, and if you wish, take a risk.
Overwhelmed with a sea of emotions and an outpouring of support from our community, Austin, the love of my life, and I have felt so very blessed. I believe that there is always meaning out there in this precious world of ours, sometimes you just have to squint to find it. This past several weeks has been a truly rock ride and my guess is that life always will be. So, step aboard if you are up for the challenge and let's see how far we can get this good to spread.
With great gratitude,
