Keep The Faith

A while back, I posted a letter (that I'm too lazy to link to) about a walk I'm participating in. The walk is for the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). The walk is tomorrow.
As of yesterday morning, I had raised zero funds...which is all fine and dandy. You aren't REQUIRED to raise funds, but my gut (and heart) felt very disappointed in myself. If I could afford to contribute monetarily, I probably wouldn't be doing the walk (who am I kidding, of COURSE I'd be doing the walk, I digress).
I turned to people who I rarely turn to for support...My family.
I put together a short email pleading for help, but telling them I understood that money is tight so as not to make them feel obligated. I hoped to get a response, but my faith was running on empty.

A little about the cause...
I grew up in Roseville, MN. It is nestled between Saint Paul and Minneapolis (AKA The Twin Cities)..Roseville is the closest thing to a metropolis without being a metropolis. It has a small town feel while maintaining a large population, great shopping, entertainment and restaurants. In a nutshell, Roseville is awesome.
Aaron lived less than a half mile from my home. We were never great friends, but we definitely knew each other. He was the boy every single girl had a crush on, with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and boyish (amazing) good looks. He was a prankster, and very intelligent. He was Aaron.
Last spring, Aaron lost his battle with Schizophrenia, a battle he had been fighting for a few years.
His death was the second death from my neighborhood in less than a year, as another Roseville native had passed away suddenly from acute onset leukemia seven months prior.
The mother of a Roseville native, and close friends of both families who had lost their sons, organized a team to walk in Aaron's name. She found a corporate sponsor, MelloSmello, to match ALL donations made to Team Johnson. She has kept us pumped up about the cause, and for this I am thankful.

Where is this long winded story going?

After I sent the email begging for support from my family, I heard nothing. Hours went by, and not even a phone call from a family member....nada.

At 10pm I received an email. It was from the NAMI website...I had received a donation.

$100.00 from an anonymous donor that left a message saying "Keep the faith". I broke down in tears.

I'll be honest, I know who the anonymous donor is, and I will allow the donor to remain anonymous...but the words left in that message will ALWAYS resonate in my heart.

So I sit here, on this gloomy Friday morning...Keeping the faith.

I know EVERYONE has a cause they love to support. Everyone is hit up at an alarming rate, being asked for donations to this fundraiser or that charity.

I don't expect anyone else to contribute, but if you have an extra dollar, it would really be appreciated. It's a safe, credible site. A little really does go a long way.

Happy Friday,
Keep the faith.