ANGEL AID’s 14 Miracles from 2020

When I reflect on 2020, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude.  

Amidst a global pandemic, I had the great fortune to witness the incredible generosity of the human spirit.  

Your generosity.  Despite your own struggles, you opened your hearts to ANGEL AID.  

With ‘RELIEF’ as the promise you gave your time, your words, your money ~ you opened doors, shared stories, asked for support ~ all to help women who need it most.  

For some, that ‘woman’ is you.

I saw it all and it makes me weep.

Rare Mothers encouraging Rare Mothers in their most desperate and breakthrough moments.

Donors, volunteers, interns, partners, suppliers, consultants ~ working together ~ generating thousands of acts of compassion in service to our community of women.

There were so many miracles for ANGEL AID in 2020, so many generous and heartfelt acts of kindness, so many moments of relief for our Rare Mothers that it is impossible to list them all. 

I’ll make an attempt to list them, knowing I will inadvertently miss someone or some moment inadvertently.  Please know every one of you is appreciated.

In honor of my husband Jim and our daughter Chloe’s 14th year on the planet, here are 

ANGEL AID’s Top 14 Miracles from 2020: 

1. The original 7 Rare Mothers who helped us grow to 319 Rare Mothers across 9 countries: Lynn Hopkins, Sarah Chisholm, Jamie Derosier, Erin Popp, Anika Atkins, Monica Harding and the mother-of-all-Rare-Mothers, Phyllis Barrett Reusche.

2. Microsoft Employee Volunteers who dedicated over 400 Hours and generated $35,000 (via the Microsoft Hack for Good program) to digitize all our services so we could reach more mothers globally.  

3. UCLA Pi Beta Phi Sorority Sisters (you know who you are) who founded ANGEL AID in 2000.  That is 20 Years of Philanthropy with an amazing group of women I am privileged to call friends.

4. In Summer 2020, we launched ANGEL AID’s First Business Leadership Internship with 8 amazing Interns, primarily from Impact++ ~ University of Washington Computer Science Student Group

5. Received capacity-building support and best practices from Global Genes ~ particularly leaders in Rare Global Alliance Leadership Council (RGALS) and various Foundation Alliance Members, particularly:  SYNGAP1, MPS, SATB2, XLH, IFOP, Ehlers-Danlos Society and more.

6. Launched our first Employee Wellness program with BioMarin Pharmaceuticals featuring UCSF’s Dr. Elissa Epel, author of The Telomere Effect and StressRX.

7. Initiated a world class Board of Directors: Stacey Bailey (Kavli Foundation), Amy Ranking-Williams (SF COVID Command Center), Nicole Boice (Global Genes/Rare-X), Debi Struzan (Amazon), Allison Skrinar (Ultragenyx), Lisa Burke (Radio-Television Luxembourg), Dauray Tannahill (Wildflower Apothecary), Phyllis Barrett Reusche (The Bear Facts), Maria Picone (Trend-Community) and Wendy Horng Brawer (Intune Collective).  

8. Launched innovative sponsored programs with Horizon Therapeutics ~ particularly Dakota Fischer-Vance ~ who helped bring Traumaless Needle Pokes: 7 Steps to Easier Injections, Blood Draws & IVs and Who Am I? Young Adult Graphic Novel programs to the light.  

9. Daily contributions of our ANGEL AID Programs, Marketing & Communications Team:  Amanda Longstreth, Brooke Stephenson, Susan Schroeder, Carolynn Santos, Whitney Cicero, Regan Ural, Sharon Stahl, Nicole DeAvilla and Sydney Norman.

10. Expert-led, self-care events shared with loving intention by our Health & Wellness Practitioner Network: Pamela Alma Weymouth, Mimia Arbelaez, Padma Gordon, Nicole DeAvilla, Elissa Epel, Kelly White-Chaplin, Lynn Lizarraga, Dauray Tannahill, Christa Santangelo, Renee Schwann and particularly Laura Riordan, author of our foundational training methodology The Sustainable Mom.

11. My husband Jim and our #1 Volunteer Chloe and hundreds of our colleagues, friends and family, particularly Barrett/O’Loughlin/Giles/Finley Clans, AT&T team, MarinOTB, Indian Princess, NCL Marin+VillaParkOrange, UCLA/Pi Beta Phis, END06Mamas, ELMO89, Leopardi Writers, The Hivery/Queen Bees ~ too many to list, but every single one appreciated beyond words.

12. Our key Suppliers, Consultants, Experts & Mentors

    1. Chris Looney, Blake Reiser @ CCS Fundraising

    2. Blake Goldstein @ FUNraise

    3. Annie Morf @ Emoro (ANGEL AID gifts/kits)

    4. Marny Sumrall @ Mighty Networks

    5. Lisa Rueff & Jennifer Freas @ Collective Hearts

    6. Charlie Oppenheimer 

    7. Autumn Strier @ MiraclesForKids

13. Our Foundation Partners who believe in ANGEL AID and support our work, namely Dauray Tannahill/Tides Foundation, MOCA Foundation, Network for Good, Benevity, Fidelity Charitable Trust and Facebook Foundation.

14. A very special thank you to our Rare Mother Ambassadors:  Ashley Kinney, Davita Greenwald, Robin Powers, Gisela Victoria and dozens of other Rare Mothers who have actively invited other mothers into our Sisterhood.

Oprah calls it ‘flow’.  

Athletes call it being ‘in the zone’.  

Coaches call it ‘momentum’.

At ANGEL AID we call them miracles and miracles beget miracles.

The miracles are you.  

With gratitude, 

Cristol