Cards for Gabbi

The spirit of November’s Holiday Hands project continues, as our Gabbi and her amazing mom were profiled on the Today Show this week:

Here is an excerpt from Today.com:

Last month, Gabbie came home and told her mom she saw her classmates getting cards at school. The girl was devastated that she didn’t get one and asked her mom, “Why doesn’t anyone give me cards?”

Sejas was thinking about her daughter’s struggles one night as she logged on to “Monkee See – Monkee Do,” a non-profit that matches up families in need with people who’d like to help. Sejas had participated before, supporting a family during the holidays, but now she decided it was her turn to ask for help.

In her entry, titled “Cards for Gabbie,” Sejas simply appealed for people to send cards to her daughter.

“There are some things that money cannot buy, and that is feeling like you are loved and accepted. That is what I want for my baby girl,” Sejas wrote.

She was one of more than 300 people who posted wishes during this year’s Holiday Hands campaign on “Monkee See – Monkee Do,” said Glennon Doyle Melton, head of the non-profit and founder of the popular blog Momastery.

“You are awesome!” 15-year-old Lena Kennedy-Tinti, who has been bullied herself in the past, creates a card for Gabbie after her mom read Gabbie’s story online.

Many families ask for help with things they can’t afford, but it’s the non-monetary requests, like the Cards for Gabbie, that are often the most touching, Melton added. She was convinced her community would respond in a big way.

“You can really see how lonely people are and how easy it is to ease some of that loneliness,” Melton said.

Click here to see the full story, and here to read Gabbi’s mom’s heartfelt letter to Glennon.