Dear Addie,
I'm sure you are well aware of our family motto by now, One Team One Dream (OTOD). It's pretty simple really. We are better together in all we do. Support, love, and encouragement leads to not only ones individual success, but success everyone can take part in and be proud of.
Well this week my dear, Our dream team started something new
Before I explain, let me start with one of my favorite quotes,
"Help others without any reason and give without the expectation of receiving anything in return." -Roy T. Bennett
Addie, we have been shown so much kindness, love, and support from not only friends & family, but even strangers. With such generosity - we are always looking for ways to give back and pay it forward.
As you know, we are back in the full swing of school around here and big sister Clara is fulfilling her service hour requirements for religion class.
Throughout the year we do our best to continually contribute to church drives and food pantries, but this encourages us to dig a little deeper. We find ourselves on a hunt for new opportunities not just for Clara, but things we can do together as a family, OTOD style!
Talking with our dear friend Chantal (your surfing buddy), we found out about a little thing called Charity Miles.
This seemed Perfect…or at least worth a try!
We download the app, picked a charity and start moving!
Yes, it is really that simple..
Moving with a purpose! For every mile we run, jog, bike, or walk a company sponsors us and donates money based on our distance achieved.
What an awesome idea and a great way to encourage others to help out!
You see Addie, the simple act of volunteering, helping, or donating can have great benefits to not only those on the receiving end of such kindness, but those giving as well.
It has been heavily documented that Psychologically there is great mental reward in such generosity. Lending a helping hand to someone provides a natural sense of accomplishment, pride and identity. Boosting how we feel about ourselves, therefore improving our overall self-worth.
Sounds like a win-win to me :)
There are even multiple studies that have found those with a giving spirit were less prone to depression, thanks to the satisfaction, mood lift, and well-being gained through volunteer work.
While these things are obviously great, it can also have a great impact on your own personal health and physical activity. There are many different ways to volunteer or help others and some activities involve more physical movement such as races or walks than others. The CDC actually recommends walking 10,000 steps per day – or almost five miles to stay healthy. That’s A LOT Addie!
Not only does Charity Miles help our charities of choice and our health it also be very helpful for you with your autism and more importantly your Sensory Processing Disorder as well!
You are always moving! Fact. Forever working on ways to help your Vestibular (movement and balance sense) and Proprioceptive (the ability to know where our body is in space)senses for daily functioning. You have hyposensitivity to both, so you are always moving and constantly seeking deep pressure to feel grounded. Swinging is your favorite vestibular activity hands down. Pretty sure our neighbors can attest to this as well;) While swinging might be your favorite and If it was an Olympic sport you’d be sure to take home a gold medal, autism comes with a side order of “avoiding change.” Unfortunately for you, changing up your routine, helps you become more adaptable to living in our forever changing world.
Change not being your favorite, but necessary and good, we put swinging on the back burner for a second and laced up our running shoes. Time to try a new vestibular movement activity with a healthy dose of proprioceptive joint and muscle awareness!
We picked our charity and away we went! We got this!
Seeing it was being done with all of us (OTOD style), and let’s be honest I prefer eating over exercise most days, we weren’t exactly in marathon mode, but we did it!
A little running, a little walking, we kept moving for almost 2 miles! I was so proud of all of us…especially you! You never even asked me to “Hold you’s” as you ever so sweetly say when you want me to pick up all of your almost 70lbs because you’re tired.
So this week we learned to pay it forward, by running ahead!
The next Usain Bolt perhaps? Ha! Only time will tell.
It always feel good to give back Addie. Very proud of you and our dream team.
Love,
Mom
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