Submitted by:  Jennifer Brown
Two of my boys were about to turn 4 & 6 and we started making plans to have a big pool party to celebrate their birthdays.  We wanted to invite all of our friends and family to the party but we did not want them to come just so the boys could get lots of "stuff".  So I sat the boys down and asked if they would think it was "cool" to have people bring the money that they would have spent on gifts and we would then take that money and donate it to a charity.  The boys thought that was a great idea.  They donated over $800 to the Plant Hope for Hearts Organization, which was created to help heal children born with congenital heart defects.  The third annual Erika Bender "Plant Hope For Hearts Day” will be held September 29th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at English Landing Park in Parkville, Missouri (www.planthopeforhearts.net)   Something that I was not aware of is that according to the American Heart Association, approximately 35,000 babies are born each year with some type of congenital heart defect. Out of 1000 births, 8 babies will have some form of congenital heart disorder. Please consider attending this wonderful day and donate to such an outstanding cause.  I think all of us need to look and our children and feel blessed that we have them with us every day.  We also need to teach them that the point of life is not how much "stuff" we can get but how much we can help other people.