February, 2010

Dear Friends,

If I know what love is it's because of you.

Herman Hesse

February 14th is now Valentine's Day... but before the 14th was Valentine's Day, it was only an ordinary day, another day in the dark of winter. Then suddenly, somewhere by the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes.

An 'ordinary day' for a parent of a terminally ill child with HIV/AIDS, involves a constant awareness, that their child is at higher risk for some forms of cancer, that they fight to maintain body weight due to long-term poor appetite and other infections related to HIV. Even the slightest infection can become life threatening and must be quickly treated. The greatest factor in an 'ordinary day' of these families is the unrelenting presence of isolation and fear.

Some children caught in the realities of HIV/AIDS are alone in their fight. Carrie, a young teenager, states, "Yeah... I am in and out of foster care, in and out of trouble but I'm getting help through REACH. REACH is my family. I didn't have a 'real family'... but now REACH is my family, my father and my mother - for the first time in my life I feel loved and it's because of you."

It was just another ordinary day in the life of Carrie when one day, someone decided to make a difference in her life.

We can do that. We can, REACH transforms ordinary days into days of love. We can and do make a difference in children's lives.

Sincerely,

Susan K. Slonaker

Together we can be that someone, here. Now.
We can change the lives of children who suffer the absence of a defending voice. Please support a child of REACH with a monthly gift of $35. For $125 you can sponsor a terminally-ill child with mentoring, case management and activities throughout the year. WE NEED YOUR HELP in sustaining this amazing ministry!