It is officially the month of May! Say what?!

This means that I’m rapidly approaching the last few days of my acts of kindness challenge…though I certainly do have some ideas on how to keep the positive vibes going in the near future.

Speaking of, I think that Wednesday’s act of kindness will definitely help me make that happen…

Wednesday, 4/29 – Act of Kindness #24: So this one’s really special to me. For months now, I’ve expressed to many people how I want to become a better diabetes advocate. Sure, I have this blog and it’s one form of raising diabetes awareness, but I want to do more. I started looking into some options on Wednesday and it brought me to the T1International website. I’ve had a vague awareness of T1International and their work for some time now – that website is where I purchased my awesome #Insulin4All sweatshirt – but I wanted to understand what they do to a greater extent.

Turns out, they have a pretty awesome mission: T1International works to support local communities by giving them the tools they need to stand up for their rights so that access to insulin and diabetes supplies becomes a reality for all.

After clicking around their website some more, I found out that they are seeking digital advocates who can help spread the word about their organization and its goals…so I decided to sign up to become a digital advocate for T1International and I couldn’t be more thrilled about it.

I’m learning more about what I will specifically be doing this weekend, but as for now, I’m just excited about the chance to advocate for a cause that I’m very passionate about, which is access to insulin for all. Because like it says on the T1International website, life with diabetes is complicated enough…nobody should have to worry about access to vital insulin, diabetes supplies, or medical care on top of it.

Thursday, 4/30 – Act of Kindness #25: You know what else everyone should have access to, but unfortunately, many people in the world do not? Clean water.

Access to clean drinking water is absolutely something that I take for granted…and it’s simply unfathomable to me that 785 million people – which is to say, 1 in 9 – lack access to safe water. How wild is that? Water is crucial to so many aspects of life, and there isn’t one single human on this planet that can survive without it.

So after a conversation with my mom yesterday about causes that are near and dear to our hearts, in which she reminded me that for years now she’s been hoping to build a water well in a place that it’s greatly needed, I donated to water.org. Talking with my mom and hearing the dedication in her voice made me want to do what I could to help her support a cause that means a lot to her, so I happily made the donation in her name and even got to send her an eCard notifying her of it. Hopefully, it makes her smile and reminds her that she does have the ability to get that well built one day because those closest to her will support her every step of the way.

Whether it’s insulin, water, food, shelter…there are simple basic needs that all human beings deserve to have access to, and its an injustice that they don’t. Fortunately, there are amazing organizations out there like T1International and Water.org that work tirelessly to change this, and it’s humbling to be able to support them in any capacity. I linked to their websites in this post – hover over their names above – I encourage you to check them out and consider the ways you might be able to help them, too.