HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!
If you found your way here before the end of the year, HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!... and Thank You for coming! :) I know it was a long shot to share the link with less than a day left... and to hope someone might see it before 2015... but I decided there was nothing to lose in trying. There's still time to make a tax deductible donation in the final moments of 2014... one that will help not only my family, but other patients and their families as well, and our community.
At the same time, if you've come for the first time in 2015, I couldn't be more grateful than to have you here to help me start the New Year... and, HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's all still Tax Deductible for what is now 2015 and this year's taxes! :)
You can read more about "The Gift That Keeps On Giving", below... it's a copy of my project from earlier this year, (minus the picture that wouldn't post), which is continuing the same as it was before the contest came along, everything out of pocket. More about everything is on my website at mariacostellonow.com.
The Gift That Keeps On Giving - Pittsburgh, PA
If you relate to ONE or BOTH of the following, than you will LOVE this project! It not only helps the community, but helps others at the same time!
#1 - Have YOU, or ANYONE YOU KNOW, ever been faced with a health challenge that changed your life and all you knew it to be? Have you ever had to travel for treatment, not knowing for how long? You’re already faced with one of the scariest times in your life and now you have to leave your home, your family, your friends...and if that weren’t enough, WHERE are you going to stay? And HOW are you going to pay for it?!
What if you could have a beautiful furnished Apt. waiting to welcome you as your “home away from home”? Your own “healing space” after a day at the hospitals, designed to help you mentally, emotionally and physically...for less than the discounted hospital hotel rates?...AND you could even apply for financial aid through the foundation supporting it!
Or...
Are you someone who knows this person and wishes you could help in some way?! Wishes there was ONE thing you could do to make their day easier, to take their mind off of everything medical and help them escape to a FUN, HAPPY place for even a moment :), but you feel helpless to do so?
What if you weren’t?...
#2 - I don’t know about you, but moving around a lot, I’ve always loved that special place in the community that’s like an extension of everyone’s backyard, where you all know each other and feel safe and at home.
What if the latest addition to the project helped with ALL of the above, ONLY BETTER?! How awesome if that place were a corner coffee shop, but more than that it supported the dreams of your local talents, helping to share the gifts in your community with all the world...photography, handmade jewelry, live music, even an afternoon yoga class...the possibilities are endless! It’s going to be a vegan/vegetarian cafe, mostly non-GMO, with all organic coffee and tea’s... A unique bonus that will attract visitors and bring positive area growth! AND THAT’S NOT ALL...
While supporting the community, having fun, and welcoming visitors to feel at home as well, a percentage of the cafe’s net profits will go to the foundation that supports the furnished apt’s for patients and their families.
My dream started after my own 16th surgery, which led my family to permanently relocate to Pittsburgh for possible re-transplant and ongoing care. After 7 yrs of travel, hospitals and multiple accommodations, I dreamt of a home and community myself. We found it in my favorite historic district.
We have the spaces needed for the coffee shop and the first furnished Apt., doing what we can DIY little by little, our only hold up... “FINANCES”! The #GiveBackChallenge is the miracle that could turn dream into reality! PLEASE HELP US!
It’s The Gift That Keeps On Giving!