Why This Mission Is Personal to Jan.

I know from personal experience what it is like for a child to grow up without reliable access to basic healthcare.

My mother died when I was seven which left my father and grandmothers to raise me and my three siblings.  Healthcare was something our family simply could not afford.

When we got sick, we often just had to wait it out.  I remember suffering from painful earaches, and instead of going to a doctor, we relied on the home remedies people believed in at the time—including having smoke blown into my ear. There were no routine trips to the doctor for any illness or concern.

Those early experiences gave me a heart for children and an understanding of how important basic healthcare, preventive care and early intervention can be in a child's life.

Many years later, that understanding became even more personal.

Through my church, I had the privilege of helping care for a little girl with CHARGE syndrome, a complex condition that affected many aspects of her health.  She had significant weakness in her neck, hearing loss, serious respiratory issues and needed to tube-fed.  I loved holding and cuddling her, especially during feedings when she needed to be held carefully because of problems with regurgitation.

But what has stayed with me most was watching her mother.  Caring for her medically fragile daughter was a full-time responsibility, yet she also had to continually advocate and fight for access to the essential healthcare services her child needed.

No parent caring for a medically vulnerable child should also have to fight to get that child essential care.

That is why I raise money so fervently for Children’s Benefit League.  For 80 years, this all-volunteer-run Long Beach nonprofit has raised funds to expand the reach of five trusted nonprofit partners, helping local children and families overcome barriers to essential healthcare and specialized services.

I know what it was like to be a child without access to healthcare, and I have seen what it is like for a parent to fight for the care her child desperately needs.  That is why this mission is so personal to me.

I hope you’ll join me in supporting Children’s Benefit League through Long Beach Gives.  Every dollar raised helps make essential care more accessible to local children and families.

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