I spoke at my daughter’s (Nicole & Dani) school earlier this week and I can’t tell you how glad I was that I did. Prior to leaving the house in the morning, my daughters both wanted assurance that I would not “embarrass” them and I assured them I would do no such thing (of course my fingers were crossed). I just went up there, told my story, a couple of jokes, showed a video of Camp Hope, and did I mention embarrass the heck out of my girls? Ahhhhh! It was the perfect opportunity for Dad to even up the score with my two little munchkins for not listening to Daddy.. How sweet it was!

I fully expected my girls to pummel me when I arrived home that evening. What happened instead will remain with me for the rest of my life. Both gave me a hug and told me some of the things their classmates had to say: “Your Dad is cool”, “Your Dad is so funny”, “Your Dad made me feel different about people with disabilities”, “You are really lucky to have a Dad like that”. Of course I assured both of them that I already knew all of that (yeah right). I thanked them both for telling me what their friends said and acted as though I had an urgent need to go into the other room. Tears welled in my eyes and I thanked God for what I had just heard. I had always dreamed of my kids telling me something like that but thought that had been forever lost when I broke my neck. Until you become disabled, you will never truly understand what goes through the mind and heart as it relates to your children being proud of you. My biggest fear was that the kids would tease my girls, saying “your Dad walks funny”, “your Dad is a cripple”, “your Dad is scary”. Now, allow me to detour here and say what everyone of you are thinking. “Dan, they thought that about you before your accident” (real funny!). I had prayed hard that my daughter’s friends would be accepting of me and they would see me as a regular old Dad. On that day, my fears vanished and my prayers were answered. The only bad part was that I now felt guilty for embarrassing my daughters.

One extra bonus that day was when a first grader came up to me and said he didn’t have money with him, but he wanted to give money to Whitney Hope. I gave him the web site and he promised to faithfully give. Here is a kid 6+ years old and he has already gained an appreciation for being blessed and wanting to give to the less fortunate. I was amazed by his actions and it helped to “re-start” my engines and keep going full speed ahead with Whitney Hope. I guess I would be embarrassed to continually ask for donations if it were for any other cause. But when it comes to children, especially those with physical challenges, my pride takes a backseat and my heart continues to reach out. I hope that as you read this, you think about a special end of the year gift, a monthly pledge of any amount (no amount is too small), that you will remember us for your 2004 giving plan, or that you will think of Whitney Hope when you learn of an opportunity, whether you are directly or indirectly involved, in applying for a grant. I personally draw zero monies from Whitney Hope and our family is committed to supporting a part of this cause with our annual giving. But, I have to tell you that there is one full-time person that relies on Whitney Hope for his income. To date, we have not met the budget for the dollars that are to be allocated to his salary because there is always some extra expenses. He and his family suffer every month as they remain committed to Whitney Hope and these children. Please+please+please don’t toss this letter aside and think that someone else will give the money needed to support Whitney Hope. 2003 was tough on all non-profit foundations, but we hope to make it through because many of you will be involved. We will carry a large debt forward into 2004 and so we ask for your financial support at this current time. It begins with YOU and God will bless you for your giving. I am certain that helping others helps to balance our lives.

I want to close with a little story. About six months ago I was approached at church by a man that told me he wanted to give to Whitney Hope. He had been successful in his current employment and wanted to open up a storage business. His motivation was to be able to take any profits from this new business and give it to a worthy cause. He chose Whitney Hope and has faithfully donated. I am humbled by his faith. When I look at him, I see a man and his family that “get it” and actively show their appreciation for their many blessings. I guarantee if you met him, he would tell you he has only been blessed more since he made his commitment. It doesn’t get better than that.

THANKS for your faithfulness and prayers!

Dan