Love

147,000,000.

It's a big number, right?

It's the number of kids who are orphans in the world. Right now.

That's like everybody who lives in Russia... EVERYBODY... is a little child without a mommy or a daddy. All alone in the world. Nobody to love them or care for them. When they are sick, they lie alone with no one to rock them. When they are scared, they huddle with no one to protect them. When they are sad, they cry with no one to hug them.

I can't fix that.

I can't adopt one. I don't have the money, or in all honesty, the patience to be a mother to more than 2 kids (and I already have those.) I know my personal limitations are keeping me from saving one.

Fortunately there are better people than me out there and their personal limitations are NOT keeping them from saving one. They have also set up a number of organizations to allow people like me to make whatever contribution they can make.

Today I'm wearing my Project Hopeful t-shirt. It says 147 MILLION across the front, and CHOOSE 1 across the back. People have asked me what it means and I often stutter trying to explain it. It seems so far away from me and the people I meet in my every day life. But then I look at my kids and I realize that a baby crying or a child hurting shouldn't seem far away - it should tug at our hearts and make us tear up, too.

I know there's a lot of heartache in the world, and a lot of need. I know that we can't all support every charitable group or organization we encounter. But I do know that my $40 t-shirt makes me smile every time I wear it, because for that day I remember those kids, and my guilt for not doing more to help them is a little bit assuaged.

If you're seeking an opportunity to make a difference today, and you've got a couple of twenties in your pocket, please visit www.projecthopeful.org to make a donation and learn more.