Following my article on personal branding last week and all your amazing feedback, I’ve found the courage to be brave and am going to share another side of my story with you.
I’m a mum-of-three, my daughter celebrated her fifth birthday at the weekend (I’m still finding glitter in every corner!) and my twin sons turned two-years-old in December.
If you follow me on Twitter @AllthingsIC you’ll have seen me Tweeting about #BakeItBetter, a campaign being led by the wonderful Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) @GreatOrmondSt in London.
The reason I’m raising money for them is because one of my twins has a rare congenital heart defect (congenital means he was born with it). I’ve never shared this online, not even on my personal Facebook page.
Despite writing 1000+ blog posts over the past eight years, I seldom reveal information about my family, as their privacy is important to me.
But in the spirit of being authentic, as I wrote last week, this is part of our lives, and therefore part of my story. It’s why I make certain decisions e.g. not travelling.
I held a bake sale on Friday morning (pictured) for my local neighbours in West London, and the school crowd.
I’m delighted to say we raised £500 for GOSH from donations on the day and online pledges. Thank you to everyone for their generosity with cakes and cash.
When we reached £500, which is double the target I set myself, it made me burst into tears. In a really good way!
How you can help
Only family and close friends know my news.
I’m sharing it because I hope you can help.
As current patients at GOSH I know they will use the money wisely to enable them to invest in more services. I’m certain he – and we – are in the very best hands. It’s our small way of saying thank you to them.
Walking through the hospital’s front doors earlier this year was terrifying. What made the difference for me were the greeters. In front of us were people whose role it was to welcome us and make sure we knew where we needed to go.
That simple act of communication made the world of difference.
To know I can help fund their work to enable other people to feel that same reassurance, is worth doing.
So as it’s #BakeItBetter week, I have a simple request for you. Two actually.
- Please don’t treat me any differently now you know. It’s important to me that we keep on keeping on. We don’t view him any differently, but are determined to focus energy into making the right decisions to help make things easier for him so he can run around in the same way his twin does. Not that it stops him!
- If you could find a way to support #BakeItBetter please do, whether that’s supporting a sale local to you or donating to my page. I’m discovering first-hand just how vital their support and care is, and would like other children and families to benefit too.
Thank you.
Rachel
Post author: Rachel Miller
First published on the All Things IC blog 22 May 2017.
This is a really brave, authentic and inspiring post.
Thank you Emily.