What can you do?

By Sidne O'Reilly

Saturday Night I went to a Fountain Valley California Stake reunion in American Fork, UT. It was really fun. It was a reminder of how old I really am though. I saw friends that my sons and daughters use to hang out with when they were about 14 and 15 years old. Some of them now have children that same age. In spite of that it was a shear joy to see them after all these years.

I must share something very special I learned about one of my son’s friend’s daughter. She is only 13 years old and has been making a difference for others for over a year. Part of the Twelve Week Challenge is Purple, Service. What a great example this young girl is of someone who decided that she could do something for someone else. Her name is Meagan Hilmo. Her mother confided in me that at one time Meagan was feeling that because she was not interested in sports, did not excel at music or some other traditional form of talent that she somehow did not measure up. Meagan is a very talented and gifted person. Her talents are just not as obvious as some who perform on stage or field.

She was expressing her feelings of inadequacy to her mother one day. Her mother suggested that she look outside herself to see if she could make a difference for someone else. Meagan came up with an ingenious idea. When she was twelve she did a master project about Florence Nightingale. She was inspired by the fact that Ms. Nightingale gave a doll to a sick child. Meagan took that idea a couple of steps further and improved on it. She sews dolls and fashions kits that can be put together and assembled by other youth or service organizations. The dolls are then distributed to hospitals and shelters. But these are not ordinary dolls. These dolls come without a face, a washable marker and a poem that she wrote herself. The poem says it all:

A doll for you from a special place
Take the marker and draw a face
Happy, sad - whatever you feel
Then wash it - change it - as you heal.
With love from, A child who cares

What an inspiration for all of us. She is a great example of what we can do when we plumb the depths and strive to go beyond ourselves.

Thank you Meagan for sharing your gifts and talents in such a special way!

I am cheering for you!

You can find out more about Meagan and her project at: http://www.nightingaledolls.blogspot.com/