Days 18 and 19

Day 18: RCMA

RCMA is an abreviation for "Redlands Christian Migrant Association." They are a childcare organization that offer quality care and education to the children of Florida's migrant farming families. They are based out of Immokalee, Florida (which, oddly, is where my husband is from) and they have branches in many farming communities across the state.

Their mission: Their website explains their vision and goals - "RCMA opens doors to opportunities through quality child care and education from crib to high school and beyond.

• To provide quality child care
• To provide children and their families with support services
• To provide educational opportunities and improve the health and general welfare of children and their families
• To involve parents in the educational process and in public policy decisions affecting their children and families
• To increase public awareness of the lifestyle of migrant and seasonal farm workers and the rural poor
• To provide opportunities and encourage the professional development of staff hired from the communities served."

They offer services to nearly 8,000 children ranging in ages from 6 weeks to 12 years. They offer charter schools, VPK and Head start programs, teen parents programs, and reading progams.

What you can do: You can donate financially to RCMA, or you can give to their reading program. They have a great emphasis on literacy and English proficiency, since many of the children who come to their programs come from Spanish-speaking homes. Many parents who speak only Spanish depend on the English proficiency of their children in order to communicate with non-Spanish speakers, so the literacy and fluency of these children are incredible assets to their families.

Elijah at about 1 month old

Day 19: Your Local NICU

So, here is another shameless plug in favor of a topic that is very personal for me. I don't have a link for you, because it has to be based on your own local hospital needs, but here's a little background.

NICUs are really dreary in a lot of ways. There's a lot of pain, fear, trauma, and other awful feelings and experiences that sort of bring the place down. There are so many sick, tiny, fragile babies and parents whose good spirits are in a similar state.

There are many things you can do for a NICU, depending on the hospital's policies. One thing is just to donate. (You can also look at my March of Dimes post, and I will be posting about a local group that I am a part of later called Mommies Little Miracles. There are many such organizations across the country). Hospitals run through money fast, so a good idea is to host a fundraiser or drive or otherwise try to raise a good chunk of money. There are other little things you can do, though, that are really nice and mean a lot to parents. You can donate clothes, blankets, toys, mobiles, swings (AND BATTERIES!), or other infant things. Because these babies are so fragile, you probably don't want to give them your used things - germs get around fast in hospitals, and it's best to limit contamination. I remember one day I came into Elijah's room and their was a little gift bag with a really nice burp cloth wrapped in ribbon. I have no idea who gave it to me - there was no note or card - but it was such a sweet gesture that I will never forget it.

Some hospitals also allow volunteers to come hold babies, especially ones that need more attention than the nurses have time to give (Elijah benefited from many such volunteer visits. He would holler pretty loudly if you weren't paying attention to him!). The hospital might prefer former or current nurses to hold the babies, but you can check their policies. It doesn't take much to really brighten the day of a baby or parent who is enduring a NICU stay of any length, so please keep these families on your mind as you do your Christmas shopping.