Shot@Life – 5:00 Fridays TM

I am delighted to be a Shot@Life Champion. Advocating for global health and immunizations is right in line with what fires me up. I am happy to support anything that leads to the health and safety of children. It matters not if said children are in my zip code or in a time zone I might never step foot in.

I believe in integrated health. When I tutor at my sons’ school I tell the kids that when they eat healthy they are actually feeding their brain, not their belly. I tell my own sons this, which is why today’s post-Valentine’s candy crash is going to be particularly mind numbing. My apologies to their teachers.

Sidebar: I’ve always found it difficult to reconcile the fierce Republican zeal to protect an unborn zygote while discarding a live baby’s needs. But, this post is not meant to be politically inclined.

I simply mean that my own zeal to protect kids focuses on integrated issues – vaccinations, protection from child abuse, hunger relief. I proudly serve on the board of SAFEchild, my county’s only organization dedicated to eliminating child abuse. (You can donate to support this amazing organization any time!) I work with other parents at my sons’ school to run the Backpack Buddies program. Just today Bird and Deal helped me deliver bags of food after school. This parlays perfectly into my work as a social media ambassador for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (where it’s also super easy to donate!). Food insecurity has hit hard in this state, and the food bank plays an integral role in ensuring that families can eat. If the kids don’t eat, their brains power down. We all know how that translates in terms of grades, behavior, attention, health, etc. An abused or neglected child exhibits similar behaviors, and the physical and emotional scars don’t heal on their own. These children need and deserve our help.

What I’m trying to convey here in way too many words is that I believe in giving children a shot at life. Vaccinations. Protection. Food.

I just returned from the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life Champion summit. I’m overwhelmed and fired up. All my advocacy gears are working in concert, and I feel like I am actually making a difference. My voice, scratchy, high-pitched, twangy, and loud as it may be, matters. We don’t know what we can accomplish if we give nothing a shot.

Shot@Life
4 ounces pineapple juice
1 ounce vanilla vodka
splash of champagne or prosecco

Pour pineapple juice into a champagne flute. Add vanilla vodka and top off with champagne.

The perfect antidote to a parched throat caused by using your voice. Cheers!