A Writer With a Story

If you have read my book, The Difference a Day Makes, or pursued the suggestions I used to post at BenevolentPlanet.com, you know that I advocate personal action over cash donations. But today, a writing colleague is in dire need, and I'd like you to consider helping in any way you can. Lori Hall Steele is a prolific, talented writer and single mom who, just this past June, published an essay in the Washington Post that poignantly explored her young son's questions about death and separation. A few months later, Lori began having troubling symptoms that included a growing paralysis. She is now confined to a hospital bed and breathing support, diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Unable to work, she is in danger of losing the home she provides for 7-year-old Jack, and her mounting medical bills are staggering.

I've never met Lori, but I "know" her through the online writers' group I belong to. I have often marveled at the generosity of this group of virtual friends, and they are now mounting an extraordinary effort on behalf of Lori and her son. It is a testament to what we can do when we join forces with a shared purpose. Please read Lori's essay, visit her Web site, follow the blog, then find out what you can do to help -- from writing to her Michigan state representatives, to joining the effort's Facebook group, to passing the word to the other Everyday Altruists you know.

It's not often that we get to connect a face, and a very personal story, with a charitable act. Lori's story may be one among many, but it's one we can all sign our names to, as collaborators in compassion and faith.