{Housewife Heart} is a project dedicated to educating myself and my readers on valuable causes. A few weeks ago, I asked friends and readers to send me causes and charities close to their heart. Out of those submitted, my husband and I chose a few that spoke to us in some way. I will highlight those and then let you, my readers, pick which cause receives a donation of $2,000. You can find further explanation of the project here.
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I was so touched by the thoughtful submissions to Housewife Heart. The Gorilla and I looked at every single one and narrowed it down to a few that stood out to us, and that we would be comfortable helping monetarily.
I will present the finalists here this week, giving each it's own post. After we've all heard all the information, I'll give you one week to vote for the cause that spoke to you or that you think would most benefit from a donation. I will also briefly highlight some of the great causes I learned about but that didn't make the short list for our family.
The hope is that by the end of this, we've all learned something and possibly even made a connection to a cause that could use our time or dollars.
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The first finalist for Housewife Heart is Father Martin's Ashley, a rehabilitation facility in Maryland treating those who struggle with alcohol or drug addiction. Father Martin's Ashley offers both in-patient and out-patient treatment based on the 12-step recovery method. Contrary to it's name, the facility is not affiliated with any religious organization.
In the past three years, both The Gorilla and I have been directly affected by loved ones with substance abuse problems. One was highly publicized, and the other was within our extended family. We know firsthand the havoc this wreaks on lives.
The HH reader who submitted Father Martin's wrote,
"The thing I think that you would understand about a place like this and how a donation would help is that addiction crosses everyone, poor, rich, male, female, children, black, white, etc. The one thing that is discriminatory is the cost of treatment."
Before it directly affected me, I didn't understand the complications of addiction. Diagnosing and treating it is not cut and dry. From the facilities website,
Father Martin's Ashley is located in beautiful Maryland, where The Gorilla went to high school.
A donation to the treatment center would make a difference in the lives of an addict and in the lives of addicts families.
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Make sure you check back, I'll be highlighting different causes all week in addition to my regular Hollywood Housewife content. Speaking of, let's reconvene for Mommy Monday later this afternoon.
