From the Heart of a Young Entrepreneur

The other day someone told me that I didn’t look a day over eighteen, so I thought it would be okay if I referred to myself as young.

MIHI had an amazing week! Here are some of the highlights: I hired my first employee,  who is a Catholic Counselor. She is going to be helping me design the first Catholic online program for women struggling with eating disorders. I will have her information posted next week. She will also be available for phone counseling. I purchased a website for MIHI, which is www.madeinHisimage.org. Together with my accountant, we completed all of the paper work necessary by the IRS, for a non-profit. This was a huge accomplishment, and one that I’m thrilled about. MIHI is now a tax-deductible organization and I can now accept donations on-line! Today, I received my first on-line donation!

I want to share a story with you. Over the summer of 2011, I received some sorrowful news. A friend of mine had just been admitted into the Psychiatric unit of the hospital on suicide watch with an eating disorder. With a heavy heart I went to bed and tried to sleep, but couldn’t. Having myself recovered from an eating disorder, I could taste this young woman’s pain. I prayed the Rosary and begged our Blessed Mother to ask her Son for His healing Hands to touch this woman.

I wrote her a note, which she was able to read the following morning. She called me after. I called her back while on a break at work and asked about visiting hours at the hospital. She said they were allowed to see friends and family on Saturday afternoons. I asked for the afternoon off and went to see her.

With racing thoughts, I walked into the hospital and signed in. One of the nurses slid her hand firmly over the three Gerber Daisies I was holding, feeling for any sharp objects. Then she slid her ID to open the double doors which led back to the visitation room. We walked in silence down the long hallway. Upon opening the door, my eyes were instantaneously drawn to a young woman sitting behind my friend who weighed about eighty pounds. My heart was riddled with pain.

I sat down next to my friend and considered it a privilege that I wasn’t worthy of. Her courage was astounding. She talked for a while, and I listened. She asked me some questions, and I shared my story with her. We cried together.

I am alive today because of God. I desire to spend the rest of my time on earth giving back to Him and helping other women find the freedom He has given me. To do this, I believe it is vital that girls and women receive treatment at a center that is faith-based and will educate women about their dignity as daughter’s of God, God the Father’s love, mercy and forgiveness. Upon walking into this center, patients and visitors will be greeted by a statue of the Blessed Mother and Saint Maximilian Kolbe who is one of the patron saints of eating disorders. This center will be a place for immense healing, education and peace. It will be a place of beauty, as God’s daughter’s come together and learn about the depths of the Father’s love.

To build this medical center for women will require millions of dollars, which I will be applying for through grants. But in the mean time, I’m in dire need of your financial support to keep MIHI running. I have given my whole savings to this organization and have nothing more to give. There are countless things that I desire to do for these women which require your financial assistance. I would like to ask you to please consider giving to MIHI, perhaps tithing. Or maybe you know someone who is financially able to give: could you please reach out to them and tell them about MIHI. This work will save lives and I want you to be apart of it.

I’m confident that God will provide and I trust Him. I humbly ask you to please pray for the funding of MIHI. I’m so incredibly grateful for your generosity. I also gladly accept Trader Joe’s gift cards so I can buy food for myself 🙂