The Blog

Let them LOL intern Jason

It has been almost a year since Jason volunteered to be an intern for let them LOL. He has spent countless hours donating his time to help those he has never met. Always, willing, always wearing a smile and ltlol gear, Jason has been a huge part of a very fruitful year here at let them LOL.

We recently asked Jason why he’s involved:

“I remember about one and a half years ago seeing people wearing the black LOL shirts. I think that was what originally attracted me to the organization as strange as that sounds. I really just thought the t-shirts were cool. After asking about them and visiting the website I found out that the profits from the shirts went to build clean water wells in Sierra Leone, Africa.  I remember thinking that it was the coolest thing that I could get some cool clothes and also help someone else. Plus the ringtone is priceless.

I had also been thinking of something else I could do to help people. I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or how to go about it. A lot of the purpose behind what I was going to do was that it had to be completely selfless. I really felt called to serve somewhere and help people where I could in no way say that my time or money was in any way benefiting me or that I could use the word “my” in describing the cause. So it wasn’t going to be something to help my city or my family or my church or my friends. I’m pretty sure that after seeing a video and hanging out with some of let them LOL’s volunteers at a meeting after they returned from Sierra Leone I knew that this was the right organization to serve with. It turns out that all of the things I thought wouldn’t be affected by serving with LOL really were. I see the change in a lot of people in the city I live in, a different bond in the church I go to, a whole new group of awesome friends that I get to serve with, and a family that also wants to help out and support an amazing cause.”

 

Tonawanda 2 June 17-18

June 17-18 8am-2pm

100 Walter Ave

contact for donation drop off: nikki.noto@yahoo.com

Lockport June 17-18

Friday & Saturday 8am-2pm

6611 Emily Lane

for donation drop off, contact: mlvandriel@yahoo.com

Amherst, June 16-17

Thursday/Friday June 16 & 17

8am-3pm

for donation drop of contact: cowartsfive@gmail.com

Tonawanda June 18th

Sat. June 18th only
8am-2pm
contact number: home phone~ 873-1886
drop offs can begin 2 weekends before the sale
host: Patti Frank
address: 165 Cable Street, Tonawanda, 14223
needs: donations, volunteers

North Buffalo June 17-18

Friday and Sat. June 17~18
8am-2pm
Contact number: cell phone~ text or call: 572-4055 (leave message)
drop offs can start the weekend before the sale
host: Orin Helfrich
address: 609 Starin Avenue, North Buffalo

East Amherst June 17 & 18

8672 Stahley Rd, East Amherst

Fri June 17 & Sat June 18

8am-2pm

Items we have: baby boy clothes, crib, toys & more

To drop off items for donation, contact info@ltlol.com

In Memory of Bryan Johnson

Bryan Johnson was a loving husband and father. He cared a lot for his family and wanted to give them all he could. We miss Bryan right now but we are sure we will see him again one day. When you looked at Bryan’s love for his family and friends  you saw the love of Jesus shining through. He showed us how to put others before ourselves and always supported us when we would go out and serve God in any way, whether at church or in another country. Bryan was a big supporter of missions and that is why we ask instead of sending flowers  that you support  Let Them LOL because it is a cause that our family supports and loves. Donations will go to the new let them LOL Children’s Home. Donate here.

 

Why I’m Involved, [Dr. Jayson Roland]

My name is Jayson Roland, and I am a pediatrician in the western NY area.   I am married and have three beautiful girls.   I have been involved in several medical missions trips, including the countries of Kazakhstan, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the  Dominican Republic.   On each of these trips, I encountered people in the worst poverty.   I saw people living in garbage dumps and huts with no electricity or running water.   Always nearby, there was the “other half” of people who had money and a house that you could find on any street in Buffalo.   I was always struck by the tragedy of the gap between them and wanted to do anything I could to help.
I first heard about Sierra Leone through some friends that were involved in Let Them LOL.   I saw the pictures of the children and heard their stories and just had to get involved.   Once I got there, I found out I was completely unprepared for what I saw.   In Sierra Leone, the people started in abject poverty and then were devastated by a decade of civil war.   There are no “other half” people there.   The infrastructure has been taken back to the stone age.   There is no medical care and no hope for any improvement in their lifestyle.   The life expectancy there is half what we experience in North America.   I could go on for hours about the physical and emotional pain and suffering that we saw there.   During our time there, the medical team was able to help hundreds of people in very significant ways, but that is just the beginning.

I know from my medical training the key to starting the process of providing hope for the children there is the water.   Drinking the contaminated well water makes them sick with dysentery, typhoid, and other water borne diseases.   When they are sick with these conditions, their immune system is down making them more susceptible to other diseases like pneumonia and malaria.   This means they miss school and can’t work.   When the people can’t work, they can’t produce or buy enough food.   The resulting malnutrition makes them even more susceptible to disease.   The cycle continues.   The death rate for children is sickening.   As important as the medical care I can provide is, clean water is critical.

I have become fully invested in the people of Sierra Leone with my time and efforts, my finances and my heart.   I hope that you can join in this effort to help the people.   I have spoken of them in general terms, but I tend to think of them specifically.   I think of Violet, the single mother laboring in the fields for $1.25 a day to support her three girls.   I think of little baby Musa who at 21months of age weighed only 11 pounds (the size of the average 3-4 month old N. American child) because his mother can only afford to feed him rice once a day.   I see their faces and I have to offer them some hope.    I am looking forward to going back and continue to support this project.

 

Why I’m Involved

Someone recently asked me why I’m so passionate about the work we are doing at let them LOL. I think I can probably give many answers to that question but the first thing that comes to mind is ACTION. let them LOL gets things done…and quickly! I first connected with Kate and Joe in October 2009 when they launched let them LOL. I was amazed that the funds for the first well were raised in less than two months! I knew then that I wanted to be a part of what they were doing. Their passion is contagious and that’s obvious when you think of how incredible it is that in a year and a half, the let them LOL community has raised the funds for 23 wells! That’s not wishful thinking…that’s love in action and it’s exciting.

The second thing that grabs me is the idea of COMMUNITY. Let them LOL isn’t just an organization, it’s a movement. It is a community here for a community there. I love the idea of bridging the divide between a group of caring people with means to help, here in the US and a group of strong, amazing survivors who lack the basic necessities that we take for granted here. I love that when someone here donates funds for a well they can look on the website and see a picture of the village where their hard earned dollars are going to bring life-giving water to a community on the other side of the world. How cool is that?

The third and most important thing on a list that could go on and on is simply WATER. Water is life. They don’t have clean water so they are dying. Little children are dying…every day. That’s just so wrong. It’s a simple thing. It’s something we have so much access to that its hard to comprehend living in a world without it. But that is what the people of Sierra Leone struggle with daily. They are behind before they can even get started. It’s not just unfair, it’s inhumane and now that I have seen their faces, now that I know their names and have been in their homes, I can’t forget them. I have to help them. Their water supply is deadly and they have no choice but to drink it…until let them LOL comes to their village and puts in a clean water well. Not everyone can go to Africa so please take my word on this…there is nothing to compare with the feeling you get when you see clean water cascading down the face of a little boy who has been thirsty his whole life. The sheer delight in his eyes as he realizes he can have as much as he wants…that’s just a powerful thing.

People have told me that they think it’s wonderful that I donate my time and money to let them LOL. They say things like, “You’re really brave to go to Africa.” Or something along those lines and I know they mean well. But I am not brave or extraordinary in any way. I am humbled by the privilege I’ve been given…to play a small part in making a BIG difference.

Rebekah

let them LOL Volunteer Coordinator