Writer's Block

I need to tackle nutrition. I know I need to, but I don't know where to start. There's so much that goes into it, so much research to wade through. And then there's the emotion that goes along with it, in particular a certain diet with false promises that has led to pain for people I know. It's a topic where my two roles--PE advocate and natural birth advocate--collide, and it's not pretty. I want to present the facts without the stain of emotion, but at the same time, the emotional impact must be made clear.

Sigh.

So I'm taking a few more days to work on it. Tomorrow's post is a Survivor Saturday, so that buys me some time. And for tonight, I'll present some fundraiser tips. Really, just one.

Use regular mail.

I've found I get very little response from e-mails, Facebook, blogging. I've heard a lot of fundraising experts talk about "tapping into the resources of social media", but I don't think it works out as well as they think it will. It's too easy to see a request in your feed, think, "Oh, I should send them something," and move right on to what someone ate for dinner or the funny thing their kid did.

But an actual letter? In the actual mail? It sits on their desk, calling to them. When they sit down to pay the bills, they might just add a check for your cause. And if you include a self addressed stamped envelope to mail it in, well, they can't let that stamp go to waste, can they?

I am blessed to be a part of a very generous family, church family, and social circle. I sent out 200 letters last week, and I'm already more than 40% to my goal (though I don't need to stop at $5000). I am so thankful for everyone who has donated and is considering donating.

This week, the online support group at the Preeclampsia Foundation saw a woman welcome her baby after a very scary few weeks. We were all praying for them both. We also welcomed a woman who just lost her sister to eclampsia and is wondering how to help her brother-in-law raise a motherless baby, and a grandmother whose daughter lost a baby and nearly died herself, and is now pregnant again and having panic attacks. My hope is that my children will not need to spend their pregnancies waiting for a ticking timebomb to go off, that my grandchildren will not be growth restricted or born too soon. And every dollar brings us closer to that goal.