After many months (2 years actually) of praying, planning, tossing and turning, planning some more, rallying the community and fundraising among members of communities that span across the country… we’re finally HERE!

The BUNA BOXES are booming!

And now we’re breaking new grounds on to our HOPE VACAY GETAWAYS!

We have big plans to make quarterly drawings for one day getaways and vacay getaways. However, we wanted to start off with a BANG, especially for the holidays.

We’re really reaching for the stars on this one! We’re making dreams come true for families just when they need it most. And today, we figured we’d start with surprising one deserving family drawn from our lot,  hoping to play even just a small part of their hopes and dreams … just in time for CHRISTMAS!!!!.

IT’S ALL THANKS TO YOU!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL

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If you’d read our previous blog, we rallied an ELF BRIGADE, sharing our posts and requests for family recipients to be added to the WEDNESDAY NIGHT drawing for the VACAY GETAWAY.    We prayed over each and every story that came in.  Every story was unique and every story touched our hearts deeply.

We ensure that if these ballot entries haven’t already received a BUNA BOX, they will, while also remaining forever on our prayer list and in the TEAM BUNA prayer intention book.

However, on WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, at 3pm, all ballot entries closed and the “JR.Board of committee members” (my children) after their orthodontic appointments and their early dinner, bath and getting cozy in pajamas…

helped me fold and crumple each entry into the blue chevron mailing envelope, and prepared for our very formal  pajama meeting on the couch to draw the names of the very first recipient.

That’s one of the many joys of this non-profit!  It’s designed to be created by families- for families.  So when the founder is feeling too sick to go in to the office for the big drawing, then she takes the “jr.committee” home for an impromptu pajama video shooting from her hubbie’s iPhone at home.  Because it works and its real.  And that’s the kind of families that we serve, and that’s the kind of family that we are among the others who have rallied with us to make BUNA’s HOPE what it is.

See our pajama meeting/ name drawing  in the video link below (ha!):

CLICK ABOVE PICTURE FOR OUR “PAJAMA PARTY – NAME DRAWING” VIDEO

So the big SECRET WRAPPED UP IN THAT LITTLE PIECE OF PAPER??

The name on that paper melted my heart.

This was the name of a woman who endured much, and continues to.

I understand this woman on many levels.

Her name is CHRIS MEYER and has a  family of 4.

This woman’s mother, Jeannine, nominated her.  I’d met them both in the infusion suite at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center on her very first day of chemo since her recent diagnosis of Breast Cancer, as nurses brought her over to me to talk about what this was all going to be like.  It was as if I was some kind of YODA in the situation.  I don’t know anything but how we do what we do, and I told her that. I’m not expert, I just give it to God and take things one day at at time.  Often times, I live minute by minute, really!  Yet we chatted, and laughed, and continue to cheer each other on.

She’s moved here for her husband’s job, recently knowing absolutely  and is often on her own as he works long hard hours as a college football coach.  Her children are new to the area and are new to making friends.  Not long after they broke new grounds in their home and schools… she found the lump.  She was diagnosed with breast cancer, lost her hair, all the while beginning the fast track of chemo, with plans for radiation, surgeries to come… the works!  Yet this has woman barely flinched.  She’s a rockstar in my book, yet as any mother knows…. it’s an utter heart breaker on her children, and thus on herself, and even her mother  (as she was nominated by her own mother).  This is what Buna’s Hope is all about.  The WHOLE family.  We know that when ONE family member is affected in challenges of life, the WHOLE family is affected.  That is exactly why our organization was formed.  We’re here to help bring joy, laughter, love, faith, and hope to the WHOLE family.

Jeannine,  I hope that this gift to your daughter and her family brings JOY to you this Christmas.

We are proud to announce that from the cumulative efforts of fundraising and donations of the TEAM BUNA/BUNA’s HOPE, LLC “family”,

we are ALL able to gift the

MEYERS FAMILY WITH A TRIP TO DISNEY WORLD:

THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!

I wish I could be more tech savvy to download our FaceTime call, so share the utter joy, the shock, and the speechless gratitude of the children’s screams and the thankful tears of their mother, Chris.   But, it’s just as well. Some moments are best left untouched.  Truly, this will be a trip they will cherish.

Now they can go on and enjoy their Christmas deliberating over which time of year they’d like to go, which rides, which restaurants, etc., etc., etc.

Then as January and February come, we’ll get down to the nitty gritties and  work out the details of their dates and trip plans and choose a package accordingly.

The key thought is that this family will get to focus now on the very thought that,

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There are a TON of people out there that have loved enough to do something so special as this, and after prayers over the ballots before our video began that afternoon, GOD knew that they needed to be chosen this time around.  Thats pretty cool. 

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That they have a guaranteed week away  from all the medical junk and moreover, in the happiest place on earth

-3–

They will be  together.

Just hearing their voices and seeing their smiles yesterday, felt like the best Christmas gift ever to me.  I just wanted to share that with all of YOU.

Because this isn’t all on ME by ANY means.  This is absolutely because of each and every one of YOU.

So thank you, TEAM BUNA for making BUNA’s HOPE become a reality.

We can’t wait to keep this dream going and bless more families in the future.

This is only the beginning.

Now next week, back to packing’ those BUNA BOXES...

(keep sending in those requests to teambuna@gmail.com)

Until then…

MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y’ALL.

AND A BLESSED, HAPPY, AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR.

This is totally me.  I have terrible insomnia during chemotherapy, but I also am ridiculously excited about what I’m about to tell you!! My wheels have been spinning constantly about this next step in our non-profit, BUNA’S HOPE.

You may recall how a little over a month ago, we did an all-call to gather supplies for our care packages (BUNA BOXES), holding our first “packing day” family event to sort and pack what turned out to be 135 boxes to be shipped out to families all over the country, filled with goodies for family game nights, movie nights, prayer time, and messages of love, laughter, faith and hope.  To say the least, with our original goal of packing 50 boxes, this event was a definite success!

These boxes have blessed families facing challenges of all varieties including those facing both adult or childhood cancers,  deaths in the family, loss of home due to flood or fire, recovery from major accidents/injury,  treatment for various illnesses at St.Jude’s hospital/Children’s hospital/MD Anderson/MaryBird Perkins Cancer Center,  families reunited after sex trafficking,  families staying together while missing  a member to incarceration, … the list goes on.  It’s both overwhelming and very exciting to know that we can play just a small part in families lives that are struggling in such unthinkable ways.

While sitting in my infusion chair now, or recovering from my many surgeries over the past two years,  I’ve been at such unrest over the floods of emails and posts that I see about the many families that are all dealing with their own “cancers” in their lives, whether or not it actually be a cancer diagnosis.  We all have our challenges.  Yet, amazingly enough, we all have been given two hands and one heart, with which to hold on, to reach out, and to pray for our families and for one another. While also, doing whatever we can, whenever we can to give each other a hand.

And it feels so good when we do.

…………………..

Back to BUNA’s HOPE:

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First, we began the first leg of our outreach, BUNA BOXES…

… which will continue.   Supplies will be kept in stock.  Periodically, we’ll announce more donation drives, packing days, and continue to keep blessing families around the country.  Stay tuned by checking in on our BUNA’S HOPE page. 

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NOW…  We’re raising funds for our first official drawing for both a HOPE VACAY GETAWAY for a  deserving family!

We’ve already raised a decent amount through the PayPal link on our BUNA’s HOPE page, but we want to shoot for the stars here.  The more we raise, the greater we can bless families out there (and the more families we can bless in the future)!!!    We’ve researched other  non-profit groups that “grant wishes” through similar fundraising is this, and hope to bless our BUNA’s HOPE families as well through:

………………….

-holding a drawing of family name recipients

-contacting the families to announce the big surprise

-announcing the week, before CHRISTMAS!

-planning the details of their GETAWAY over the next two months to tailor it to their needs, wishes, and desires… making this fun and stress free for the WHOLE family.

*Our long-term plan is to continue to make these drawings quarterly and add-on single “Hope DAY Getaways” as additional drawings as well.  Again, the more we raise, the more we can achieve our long-term goals and keep it going!

……………………

I can’t wait to hear their excitement when we call to make this big Christmas surprise!

*We’ll be posting a video as we make the drawing!*

So who’s with me?  

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How do you suggest a family to be considered for the drawing?

You can comment here (I won’t make your comment public, keeping their names private while we draw, if you’d like).  Or, email us at teambuna@gmail.com

PLEASE INCLUDE:

Family name, parents’ name, contact phone # and email, # of family members, brief bio on family as to why you’d like to nominate them.  Please let us know whether or not they’re ok with us announcing they’re names as winners. 

*All recipient suggestions need to be in by WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21ST @ 3PM.

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GIVE A LIL’ CHRISTMAS CHEER:

(Proceeds go primarily to Hope Day/Vacay Getaways; with smaller portions towards shipping costs and needs for Buna Boxes and packing days)

Donate:

or

mail checks payable to “Buna’s Hope” , mail to:

Buna’s Hope, LLC

Aint Life Grand Investments

1950 N. Highway 190

Covington, La 70433

Every penny counts and can make a difference in spreading some Christmas cheer this time of year to families out there, waiting to hear of a little joy coming their way and know that there’s a whole lot of love, laughter, and hope just for them this season and always!

Thank you for joining our BUNA’S HOPE CHRISTMAS ELF BRIGADE!!!

LET’S RALLY & SPREAD A LIL’ CHRISTMAS CHEER.

Like I tell my kiddos,

Jesus is the reason for the season.  It’s His birthday, and He wants nothing more than to share His b-day presents with everyone on Christmas Day.  So why can’t we do the same?

Let’s do this.