Have you ever been inspired to make a difference?

I have!

It all started about 4 years ago.  I became a member of an online site filled with discussion boards.  One of the discussion boards was parenting related.  I had joined the site around the time when I was pregnant with my son and after posting and replying with the same group of women for months on end, you start to feel like a little family, despite never actually meeting each other in person. 

Just a little under 3 years ago, one of the moms shared the story of her little girl's birth.  Her daughter's name was Sophia and she was born a healthy, beautiful little girl. 10 fingers, 10 toes, just what every parent hopes for.  Over the next few months we learned that Sophia was not meeting her milestones.  She wasn't moving her legs as much as her mom thought she should be.  She wasn't lifting her head up as much as should be expected.  At first she was diagnosed with "low muscle tone" as many babies are.  A little physical therapy should correct that right away.  After finding that physical therapy was not making a difference, the doctor began doing some testing.  One of the tests they did on Sophia was to  find out if she had a genetic disorder called SMA.  It was going to take several weeks to get the results.

I had never heard of SMA so my fingers took to Google to find out what it was all about.  SMA stands for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  The more you read about it, the more you just want to cry. There is no cure or treatment for it.   It is the leading genetic killer of children under the age of 2.  Babies that are diagnosed with this disorder are basically given less than 2 years of survival.  The body is missing the gene that produces a protein to build muscles.  All of the muscles that babies are born with begin to atrophy and they never develop any new muscles.  This includes muscles that control head movement, arms, and legs.  Then it begins to affect the  muscles involved in eating and swallowing as well as the muscles that control breathing. 

As a parent of a young child, my heart was broken.  To be told to take your baby home and love them, that they would most likely not live to see their 2nd birthday, was absolutely heartbreaking to me.  I could not even imagine.  Sophia's parents didn't just sit around.  They created a foundation called "Sophia's Cure Foundation" to raise money in the hopes of finding a cure for SMA.  Over the course of time, after months and month of communicating online with Sophia's mother, after reading about Sophia and how she was doing, I decided that I wanted to make a difference. 

But the question was, how?  I wasn't a good fundraiser, I didn't like to ask people for money.  I didn't really have any marketable skills....or did I?

When my son first started at daycare, I realized that I loved making cupcakes.  I would sign up for making cupcakes for every single party he had in his class.  My wonderful husband saw how much I loved this (although I was making them from a box mix and can of frosting at the time) and he sent me to a cupcake workshop for Christmas one year so that I could learn more about how to make cupcakes properly!  Once I went through the class, I began making cupcakes and frosting from scratch.  And then someone suggested I sell cupcakes and call it "Cupcakes for Sophia's Cure". 

My vehicle to make a difference was born!  This was it!  I wouldn't be asking people to simply donate...I would be providing them with a service, with cupcakes for an event in exchange for their payment in which all proceeds would go directly to the Foundation. 

I had a friend make a logo for me.  I created a Facebook page.  I put a flyer in every cubby at my children's daycare telling the parents about my goal to raise money for Sophia and that I was going to do it by selling cupcakes.  My husband got me a second refrigerator and cupcake boxes so that I could make a lot!  And the most amazing part was that the parents at the daycare responded!  They started ordering cupcakes for their children's birthday parties in school!  I have since made cupcakes for a lot of birthday parties, children's parties, 30th birthday parties, baby showers, corporate gifts around the holidays, and lots more!

My original goal when I first started this endeavor was to try and raise $500 in cupcake sales.  Since I began in May of 2011, I have raised $2250 and have no plans on stopping any time soon! 

As for Sophia, she is completely paralyzed with the exception of a little movement in her fingers.  She was recently given a tracheotomy because she was no longer able to breathe on her own.  She will be turning 3 in 3 short days!  Sophia is obviously a fighter.  She has surpassed the expectations of her doctors.  She is living life to the fullest thanks to her wonderful parents.  I have the honor of making cupcakes next month for her birthday party and couldn't be more exicted to be able to celebrate with her.  If Sophia can fight every day for her life, I can do my little part and help raise money for her foundation.  She is my inspiration!

My goal for 2012 is to somehow donate more money to Sophia's Cure Foundation than I did in 2011.  Here's to being inspired!