Helping Children In Need

My firstborn son, Donald Edward Stidham the Fourth, already had my namesake and was destined to be the smartest child ever born.  He would play sports and conquer his opponents.  He would learn music and become a skilled musician.  He would know multiple languages.  He would choose a profession where several years of college would mold him into a successful person.  When he was born that reality froze.  Doctors took him to a helicopter and flew him a hundred miles away to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  Tubes were placed in him.  Pneumonia plagued his lungs and tomorrow wasn’t promised.

I could only touch my son in that warming bed.  My fingers glided down his back, careful not to touch the tubes supporting his life.  I bought him  a small lion and placed it next to him, not to protect him, but to inspire him to be like the lion and find strength.  I prayed for him constantly.

Nearly six years later he is strong and courageous like the lion.  He is smart and kind.  That future that I wished for him is still possible.  Stories like this happen all the time thanks to children’s hospitals around the world.  St. Jude’s and Arkansas Children’s Hospital save lives.  I’ve talked about it since I started writing and I always said that I would donate to these organizations once I published my first book.  That day has finally come.

Today I contacted St. Jude’s and Arkansas Children’s Hospitals and spoke with their fundraising departments.  The ball is rolling.  I don’t know how long it will take to make it official, but those who purchase Breath of Life will know that 10% of anything I make will go to St. Jude’s.  Another 10% will go to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.  This donation process will happen for the lifetime of the book, which is forever.  The giving will not stop here.  My second novel, Pieces, will do the same thing to two different charities.  My third novel will do the same and so on.  I want to help change the world.  I want you to know that you are helping right along side of me.

If you have any ideas for charities I would like to know about them.  I will research them and they could possibly land on my list to give to.  Writing has a lot of self-fulfillment involved in the process.  It’s therapy.  I’ve been blessed with the ability to create stories and I want to share that blessing with organizations that help others.  It doesn’t matter if only one book is sold each month.  Twenty percent of that will go to saving children’s lives.

Thank you for your support.

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