My Causes!

December 12, 2005

I already mentioned in my Christmas letter that I am still the Number One Fan of AGAPE Child and Family Services here in Memphis. I am so proud of this agency and so thankful to be a part of their work. Last week, the other Board members and I served the Memphis staff a wonderful breakfast in appreciation of the hard work they do all year long; this week, we will take the Jackson, TN, staff to lunch for the same reason. The people who work as social workers, counselors, administrators, coordinators, assistants, and interns amaze me at all they do for children and families. They are in the trenches daily helping to rescue children and make a difference in the lives of families all over this part of the MidSouth. As one of the Board members said last week, "My husband is a firefighter...and he says that every day his job is to 'put out fires and save lives.' Well, that, my friends, is what you do everyday, too...you 'put out fires and save the lives' of children and families...and those fires are the kind that can last a lifetime if someone doesn't put them out with agape, God's love." May God continue to bless AGAPE Child and Family Services!

I am also dedicated to learn more and more about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (aka, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome). You should know that this disorder is well on its way to becoming one of the most horrible blights on our society...and it is totally preventable!! Babies whose mothers drink ANY AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL during ANY TIME OF PREGNANCY, from the moment of conception to the moment of birth can suffer a myriad of problems ranging from severe mental retardation to mild forms of learning disabilities. The babies literally swim in the alcohol inutero...and their brains simply cannot develop normally. It is tragic, my friends...and I'm just about ready to march around the Tennessee capital and maybe right on to Washington. You must help me get the word out that it is estimated that hundreds of babies are born every day with FASD...that many of the criminals in our society suffer from this disorder and probably don't even know it...that women and men are totally careless about the possibility of conceiving a child while under the influence of alcohol...and thus we as a society will be paying for the education and care of these children/adults, many of them for their entire lives. There is a support group here in Memphis, made up of parents of children with FASD;I am honored to be among them as a supporter of AGAPE and also one who has family members who've experienced the challenges of FASD in their adopted children. Countries like Russia (and many others) with a high rate of alcoholism and a high rate of orphaned or discarded children have an equally high rate of FASD children. But don't get too comfortable about the USA...we have a huge problem here, too, stemming from a society that condones "free sex" (nothing about it is free when it is not within the confines that God prepared for us) and alcohol consumption as a way of life. Please do your part to spread the word to anyone you know who drinks and is considering getting pregnant...or anyone who is considering adoption, especially from any of the former Soviet Union countries...or teenagers who think it is cool to have sex with anyone and drink, too, just for fun...and, well...just ANYBODY WHO WILL LISTEN! Together, let's do our part to stop this preventable horrible thing from happening to innocent little babies....please. Two sites for you to visit: www.drfederici.com, www.fascenter.samhsa.gov/index.cfm There's much more if you want to continue researching.