Food Fun Family

A family lifestyle blog about food, family, entertainment, travel and family-friendly products.

  • Home
  • Food
    • All Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Desserts
    • Side Dishes
    • Vegetarian dishes
    • Delicious Dishes Recipe Party
    • Recipe Round Ups
    • 15 Minute Suppers
    • Recipe Box
  • Family
    • Tips for Moms
    • Family life
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Savvy Living
  • Creative Life
    • Crafts + projects
    • DIY Bath & Body Products
    • Printables and Activity Sheets
    • Photography Tutorials
    • Give Me Your Best Shot – Photostory Friday
  • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Giveaways
    • Book Club
    • Movies
    • Printables and Activity Sheets
    • Blog prompts
  • About
    • Contact Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Advertise
    • Site Map – Find Your Way Around
  • Lollidale Goats
    • Our Does
You are here: Home / Travels / Washington D.C. / 2013 Shot@Life Champion Summit

2013 Shot@Life Champion Summit

Thursday, February 14, 2013 by Lolli 10 Comments

Last night, my son’s scout troop headed to our city’s Town Hall to meet with the mayor and pass off a requirement for a citizenship badge. As I was driving him to his meeting, I asked him how much he knew about what I had been doing for the last 3 days. He knew I was down the road in Washington D.C. and that was about it. I used the 7 minute drive to attempt to impress upon his 12-year-old mind the importance of what I was doing there.

shot@life champions summit day on capitol hill

shot@life champions summit day on capitol hill

On a daily basis, my kids see me working at my computer. They know that I write, and they know that I receive fun things to review every now and then. Once in a while, I leave them at home with Dad to travel to a conference or a movie premiere or a brand event. In their eyes, I’m sure this week’s trip seemed just the same as all the rest. Mom was gone. Period.

But my time in at the Shot@Life Champion Summit this week was so much more than just a gathering of bloggers. We did something powerful in those 3 days together. We didn’t just talk about what we could do. We learned. We brainstormed. We planned. And we did it.

I want my children to know that I am fighting for children just like them – children who are loved by a mother just like me. I want my children to see me stand up for others who don’t have the opportunities and resources I have. I want them to see that I care.

Every child deserves a shot at life

I was introduced to Shot@Life a few times last year. It was after my second meeting, when I met the fabulous Jamie Whalen, that I felt drawn to become involved in the movement. I had donated some cash already, but I was ready to donate my time and my heart as well.

The goal of the Shot@Life campaign is to stop 1.5 million vaccine-preventable childhood deaths – a child dies every 20 seconds from a disease that could be eliminated with a simple vaccine. Instead of focusing on the 1.5 million, though, we were encouraged to focus on the ONE CHILD. One child – one advocacy meeting – one vaccine is important.

By providing 4 target life-saving vaccines (polio, measles, pneumococcal and rotavirus), we can provide children around the world with a shot at life. And, amazingly, just $20 will immunize a child against these four diseases.

Did you know that we are on the brink of eradicating polio for good? We are 99% of the way there, with polio only present in 3 countries around the world (Nigeria, Pakistan and Afganistan). If we don’t eradicate polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases, we will end up paying more in the future as we deal with their crippling effects.

Our journey to Capitol Hill

Our goal this week, beyond becoming trained as Shot@Life advocates, was to educate and inform our own state’s representatives about the movement and to ask for continued support. In approximately 4 hours, over 100 men and women met with over 100 congressional offices.

shot@life champions summit day on capitol hill

Our group of 7 Maryland women met with three of our representative’s offices: Senator Barbara Mikulski, Congressman Chris Van Hollen, and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer. We were fortunate to have representatives who were already very supportive of the cause, and so my first experience lobbying on Capitol Hill was a positive one.

shot@life champions summit day on capitol hill

shot@life champions summit day on capitol hill

What’s next? The last few days have left me with so many ideas (there is one partnership in the works that I am particularly excited about!) and so you will definitely be hearing more about Shot@Life here…but I am also going to be advocating right at home, with the hopes of getting my kids involved as well.

Remember that even a small effort – a small donation – will make a huge difference in a child’s life.

* Protect a child from polio and measles for his lifetime for only $5
* Pay for vaccines to protect a child from the two most deadly diseases — pneumonia and diarrhea for just $15
* Give a child a lifetime of immunity to protect her from pneumonia, diarrhea, polio and measles for a donation of $20
* Protect three children from these four diseases for $60

Donate now
Note: My accommodations were covered by Shot@Life, which is sponsored by the United Nations Foundation. They invested in us so that we could then turn around and use our voices, our influence, our time, and our passion to advocate for this cause. All opinions are my own.

© 2013 – 2025, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

About Lolli

Lolli has written 3740 post in this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. (Formerly Better in Bulk)

  • View all posts by Lolli →
  • Blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Washington D.C. Tagged With: Social Good, Washington DC

« 100 Congressional Offices Visited – Wordless Wednesday
Washington D.C. in Black and White – Give Me Your Best Shot #PSF »

Comments

  1. Erin says

    Monday, February 18, 2013 at 12:42 pm

    I love this part the most: “I want my children to know that I am fighting for children just like them – children who are loved by a mother just like me.” It’s one thing to tell kids that the world does not revolve around them (because if they lived that way as adults, they’d be miserable), it’s quite another to literally demonstrate it. Your work inspires me, Laura.

  2. Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 11:34 pm

    Ahh, I love you. Look at you. So inspiring xo

  3. Jessica @FoundtheMarbles says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    Such an incredible initiative. I really enjoyed following all the tweets while you guys were there. Great pics!

  4. Lolli says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 3:59 pm

    We talked about that, too. One of the main points I wanted to impress upon the representatives we met with was that Shot@Life gives kids the opportunity to have vaccines and life-saving health care. It’s not forced on them, ever. And these moms eagerly wait in lines that are hours long to get the vaccines.

  5. Jessica @Bkeepsushonest says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 3:53 pm

    I’m actually not a huge fan of all the vaccinations kids are required to have but I really love what Shot@Life is doing. Kids (and parents) deserve the best medical care possible and prevention is key.

  6. Annie @ Mama Dweeb says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 3:08 pm

    I am so proud of you Lolli. Shot@Life is an amazing cause and I am glad you had such a positive experience. I hope we can move this legislation foward!

  7. Lolli says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    I never thought I’d have the opportunity (and certainly not the influence!) to do something this important. I love that I could take part!

  8. Lolli says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 2:37 pm

    I wish you had been able to take the trip, too! It was so inspiring!

  9. Andrea (Lil-Kid-Things) says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 2:03 pm

    I so wanted to take this trip. I love Shot@Life and I am so happy that they are doing so many things. It’s such a great cause!

  10. Katja of Skimbaco says

    Friday, February 15, 2013 at 11:38 am

    What an amazing opportunity to make a difference and be part of something this big! Thank you for using your online influence for this cause.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.