When we check out at our local grocery stores, we often hear the same question, “Would you like to donate a dollar to [fill in the blank with any organization name].” Sometimes we give; other times – when money is tight and the food run was budgeted to the penny – we decline. But, when Laura Vollbrecht saw the face of this little boy posted on a balloon in the store, she decided to turn that $1 into $100 and donate it to the Children’s Miracle Network. The location of your donation determines which community hospital receives the funds, and for Laura, this was The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the nation’s first hospital devoted exclusively to caring for children.
“I could sense the lady behind me in line was getting impatient with the wait, but I went ahead a mad the donation anyways,” says Laura. “The clerk needed to ask the manager for help because no one really makes a donation higher than $1. And the woman behind me grew even more agitated. They figured out the transaction, thanked me for the donation, and I pulled out of the aisle to arrange my bags. It felt great to be able to give, but what made me more happy was when I saw that lady make her own donation.”
[By Laura Volbrecht]