It’s Birthday Time! Shot @ Life Celebrates One Year!

Did you hear? Shot @ Life is celebrating their first birthday! Do you remember how excited you were to celebrate the first birthday of your child? I do, and I am sure that all of the champions share in my excitement in the culmination of the first year of providing children in need with vaccinations to give them what so many of our children here in America have. Quality of life.

In order to help celebrate, I was able to interview a champion who has been active for a while now, Nancy Millard of Washington State.

Nancy is a mom of two, and grandmother of five who retired from Boeing a bit ago. She considers herself a professional volunteer (FINALLY, a name for it – and I will be using it) who has been with the General Federation of Women Clubs for the last 41 years. The GFWC is where she first heard about the Shot @ Life organization and what they do for children who aren’t privy to vaccinations like those in the United States of America. GFWC partnered with the UN Foundation and UNICEF during the 2012-2014 term, so just last year. In turn, the UN Foundation introduced the GFWC to the Shot @ Life organization.

Just so you can understand the magnitude of what I’ve just written, GFWC spans all fifty states has 3300 clubs, and over 100,000 members. That’s a LOT of people to talk to about Shot @ Life, and Nancy has definitely been doing her fair share of work. She was appointed the International Outreach Chairman for Partnership and attended a champion training in DC this past January.

I did have several questions for Nancy during our conversation, but I’ll just let you know, our interview flowed so well, that it was like speaking to an old friend.

Mrs. Houseful:
What is it about Shot @ Life that stands out to you?

Nancy:
I realized that those of us who live in the United States have taken for granted the diseases our children are protected from. Things that we don’t have to worry about are taking the lives of children in other countries. The groups that Shot @ Life has decided to work with along with their passion for the campaigns has really touched me. The statistics are shocking in regard to the amount of lives that COULD be saved just with a simple vaccination.

Mrs. Houseful:
What type of fundraising or events have you done for Shot @ Life?

Nancy:
Our Women’s Club had a Shot @ Life Wine Tasting and Dessert Function. We served dessert in shot glasses and collected $1200 to be donated in October of 2012. We’ve also had a State Convention where we raised $1300 to help fund a trip to Uganda.

Mrs. Houseful:
What responsibilities have you taken on through the GFWC as it pertains to Shot @ Life?

Nancy:
It is my responsibility to communicate with all 50 state Chairpeople about Shot @ Life and also provide written articles for the club magazine. I also participated in my very first twitter party!

Mrs. Houseful:
How long have you been a champion? (I guess that should have been my first question)

Nancy:
(laughter) I’ve been a champion for one full year.

Mrs. Houseful:
What sets makes you a great champion?

Nancy:
Hmmm, I think that my love of children makes me a great champion. I love all children, and really want to see them all have a chance to grow up and enjoy things in life that they are meant to. Kids should be playing and happy, and parents shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they will be able to provide a healthy life for their children. It’s just not something that should HAVE to be thought about. I did enjoy my trip to Uganda to work with the Health Ministry for Health Days with Shot @ Life. They were able to go to churches to speak to entire families who wanted vaccinations. I was able to connect with a young lady by the name of Harriet, who had previously lost a child, but was present to get her other children vaccinated against the same diseases that her deceased child had been infected with.

Mrs. Houseful:
I’m sure that you’re aware of the negative reputation that vaccinations have garnered in the United States of America. Have you had any push back from activists or any of your family members?

Nancy:
Luckily, I haven’t had any confrontations with my work, but I do know of a family who was greatly against their children getting vaccinated, and their child contracted measles from someone who wasn’t required to get the vaccine and they were upset. I feel that it’s definitely better to be protected and to protect your children.

As you have read, Nancy is very vested in her work, and is definitely using her expertise in volunteering to keep the movement going. Have you heard about what a little action will do to improve quality of life to children around the world? In order to get more information, click the button below and do what you can!