Walfrido's "Labor of Love" Essay Contest Winners!
This promotion has now ended. Thank you for all your great submissions, Walfrido has chosen the winners. Check our their entries below to see who won these amazing prizes:
1st Place Prize Winner: Melissa C. - An 11"x14" Open Edition, Signed Giclee on Canvas of "Living Aloha" + a Brush and Palette Abstract by Walfrido.
"I have a job unlike any other. My role is to speak to families at hospitals within our designated service area that are unfortunately losing loved ones. After learning of their loved ones poor prognosis I sit and speak to these families and offer them the option of their loved one being an organ donor and saving lives. It is a very emotional conversation and the majority of the time families agree as they see the opportunity for something good to come out of something tragic. We guide our families through the donation process, offering them support the entire time which can sometimes be a couple days. We leave our own families for hours on end, days at times, to care for families that are not our own. It becomes challenging for the majority of us that are mother’s, being away from our babies. It’s emotionally and physically draining. However, I’m quite often asked why I continue doing this job. My answer: through all the grief our families are going through, as we are walking their loved one to the operating room, right before we enter the room our families have a smile on their face knowing their loved one will be a hero and continue living on. That smile would not have been there had our team not presented them with this amazing option. That smile makes it all worth it. Together with our donor family and with our amazing donor hero, we save lives each and every day! We get to witness the most selfless gift. Through all the grief our families are going through they see past that and are able to think of others and the lives they can save. Do I have the dream job? Yes, I do."
- Melissa C.
2nd Place Prize Winner: Kim D. - An 11"x14" Open Edition, Signed Giclee on Canvas of "Living Aloha".
"My first thought when I read that I could write, "Up to 300 words," was there is no possible way that I can summarize my job and why I love it so much in 300 words! I could literally write a book about why my job is the best. I am the Program Coordinator for a children's group home agency (foster care). Our logo is "Planting seeds and helping them grow." Isn't that what we are supposed to do? Plant seeds of love and faith in our children, "water" and care for them and watch them bloom? Well, I get to do that for 50 children! I oversee 5 homes, with 10 children in each home. Mostly girls, 1 years old to 18 years old but our main focus is trying to keep siblings together, so we have a few boys in the mix too. People don't realize that when a child is removed from home due to abuse of neglect, they not only lose their home, but they are usually separated from their siblings too, getting to see them once a week for a couple of hours. Our homes focus on keeping those kiddos together, whether there are only 2 of them or 6 of them, we want them to stay together and strengthen their family bond. Family (whether blood or not) is everything. My kiddos have had rough lives, full of stress and trauma. And ALL of my kiddos are amazing, strong and resilient. I get the privilege of taking care of them during a difficult and scary time in their lives. I get to love on them, show them what healthy relationships look like, watch their choir concerts and help them grow into who they are meant to be. I can't imagine doing anything else."
- Kim D.
3rd Place Prize Winner: Joey B. - An 8"x10" Open Edition, Signed Giclee on Canvas of "Living Aloha".
"My eyes open this morning. I don't know where I am. I don't know what day it is. And I don't know what I will do today. A stranger comes in an says "Good morning", gets me dressed and brings me breakfast to get me started. I didn't know it, but it's just what I needed. After I eat, I wonder down the hall to where I am greeted with another "Good morning"... I guess it is, I think to myself, so I greet them with "Good morning". I hear piano music coming from a distance. I follow the joyous sound to a room full of strangers singing, but it's ok... Because they are so welcoming and I begin to sing with them. It is always so amazing because it brings back memories from when I was younger. I feel like a child again as I sing and dance as if I were at my high school prom again. But this couldn't be my high school prom again...Could It? Am I still in high school? I think so... Maybe...I don't know. I'm confused, but I know I'm having fun with everyone else. Oh look... A flower. And over there is a butterfly... Everything is just so fast and confusing, but the people here make me feel good and happy. Sometimes my family visits, I think? I'm not really sure, but they look familiar and make me happy when I see them. Welcome to my World... Activities Director at a Nursing Home. I get to meet the most amazing people from the Greatest Generation."
- Joey B.
Honorable Mentions: Liz B., Christopher B., Tatiana S., Vanessa L., and Nina G. - A 11"x14" Matted Paper Print of "Living Aloha".
"Living Aloha" is a ohana collaboration painting by tropical Hawaii artists Walfrido, Edgardo F. Garcia, and Edgardo Garcia II. It features a stunning view of an island waterfall with turtles swimming below.