I have decided to run for my first (legitimate) contest title. On October 13, I will be running for the title of Glitter Bear at the Not Your Average Bear contest hosted by the Klondykes of the Ohio Valley. Aside from “Most Huggable” at Midwest Bearfest, this is the only other title I have ever considered running for.
The theme for the contest is “Out of the Toy Box.” I will not be able to attend the raffle portion of the contest weekend on Friday evening. Generally, I am not very good at selling raffle tickets, anyways. But I do have another solution to this and I need to explain why I am taking the route that I am.
See, during my K-12 school years, I never did very well with my work. I barely graduated. Pretty sure I was just shoved through. Later when I returned to college, I struggled with every single class I had despite me working my tail off. It wasn’t until my academic adviser suggested I may have a learning deficiency. After many, many tests, two psychologists explained to me that I have a learning deficiency known as Aphasia. More specifically, Receptive and Anomic. With Receptive Aphasia, I can hear speech and read text just fine, but understanding it takes some work. With Anomic Aphasia, I have difficulty choosing the correct words I want to use to speak and to write effectively.
Neither physician, two different therapists, nor myself known why I have this condition. We have all come to the conclusion it is most likely due to my lack of familial upbringing and that I was never really encouraged to read. I didn’t have access to books when I was younger except for the school library and no one ever pushed me to read or take advantage of library books. Even today, it take a large amount of energy for me to read something simple like a Harry Potter book.
And now we have come full circle…
Instead of asking for donations via a raffle, I have decided to ask for your help by making a charitable donation in the form of a book drive. The books that I collect will then be donated to women’s shelters so that mothers will have the ability to give their child books to read while they are being cared for. I have created a list on Amazon where you can purchase a book and have it sent to me.
Below is the link to the Amazon Gift List I have created. I chose books that are important for children to develop reading and comprehension skills early on in their life. The books range in price from $3-7, with a few in the $8 range.
http://a.co/0vka5nU
If you decide you would rather donate other items suitable for a Women’s Shelter, I am more than happy to accept those. I will also accept currency via PayPal or Zillow. Currency donations will then be converted into me purchasing books with those funds.
