Comments Count! One Reader’s Has Already Saved Lives.
This post is my contribution to the UN Foundation’s Shot @ Life Blog Relay. Thirty bloggers are participating in this relay and I’m #6. The first 1,500 comments left on the previous five relay posts have already raised $30,000 for childhood vaccines ($20 per comment) in a matter of days! $20 is what it costs for one child to receive four life-saving vaccines: measles, pneumonia, diarrhea and polio; preventable diseases like these take the life of a child every 20 seconds. Even though the initial donation has already been reached, new fundraising efforts have been started (like by Anne Geddes) to continue to match each comment with $20. [Update: a new donor has stepped in and contributed $170,000 in extra funding to match comments left throughout the Shot @ Life Blog Relay. So the comments left already on this post did count. You raised $2,000+ already!!! Thank you. In addition to the original $30,000 funding, a total of 10,000 vaccines (worth $200k) will be provided if y’all keep commenting on THIS POST (that is new) and relay members’ posts through the end of the month. Each one of your comments means $20 in vaccines are donated. YAYAY!]
As part of the Shot @ Life Blog Relay, the 30 of us bloggers are writing about someone whose comments have lifted us and/or inspired us in our blogging journey. When I read our blog relay challenge, my mind immediately jumped to a post written several years ago by Amalah on her Pregnancy Calendar.
Amalah is the pseudonym of Amy Corbett Storch, who has contributed to our site from day one. During her second pregnancy with her now preschooler son Ezra, I asked Amy to write about it in the form of a weekly pregnancy calendar. It was an instant hit and continues to be a source of great information and inspiration to expectant moms even years later.
During “Week 32” of Amalah’s Pregnancy Calendar, Amy focused on pre-term labor and emergency visits to the hospital. She tells the story of visiting Labor & Delivery during the evening and how she, too, grappled with the common should-I-shouldn’t-I-go to the emergency room that many expectant moms face. BUT! Amy’s common sense words and authoritative, yet friendly, tone said it all:
And then, came the most important reader comment that we have ever received at Alpha Mom:
That comment, combined with Amalah’s trusty advice, led to this:
AND this:
AND, we received an email from a mom sharing that she too went to the hospital based on remembering these words and it saved the lives of her and her newborn.
I can’t tell you how proud I am of Amy for her writing here on Alpha Mom. But that one Pregnancy Calendar entry, that one comment from Lauren, that has saved lives. Damn, that brings tears to my eyes.
You guys are essential to making this place helpful. You push us to make sure we’re thinking critically about things. You add perspective to what we share. Your words, your comments count.
Thank you.
But, I’m not done yet. Because of this Shot @ Life Blog Relay you can also help save lives with your comments. As I indicated above, $30,000 has already been raised for vaccines for 1,5000 children in developing countries (in just a few days!) and new funds are currently being raised (like through this effort by famous photographer Anne Geddes) to continue to match the comments you leave here on this post and on other blog relay posts through the month of August.
So please leave a comment and tell us about a blog or website you read where the comments teach and inspire you.
You can leave a comment on the other posts as well. Tomorrow, I’m passing the virtual donations baton to Tiany Davis of Social Savvy Mom. Visit her site and leave a comment there too, and fingers crossed, they will all be funded, giving more children a shot at life.
[Update: starting at 10am EST on Thurs, Aug 9, please continue to leave your comments on this blog as they will CONTINUE TO COUNT for vaccine grant money (there is now funding of and additional $170k for a total of $200k). EACH ONE OF YOUR COMMENTS IS WORTH $20 in children’s vaccines. Thank you for your support!]
