charitymatters, Author at Charity Matters

Charity Matters Quotes March 17, 2016

Charity Matters: Connection

“To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground.”

Stephen Covey

What is that magical thing we call connection? More than a word, a feeling, it is belonging and a place of feeling at home. It is that unique ability to connect to one another and create community that causes change.

I have witnessed time and time again, as non-profit founders bring circles of people together for a common cause. It is that intrinsic connection that creates the force for good. It may be sparked by one, but it is the connections that keep it together and growing.

There is no greater gift than to connect to one another, especially to touch the soul of another.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration March 15, 2016

Connecting

Charity Matter Founder, Gotta Have Sole Founder, Nicholas Lowinger and PGK Founder, Molly Yuska

I am a connector, or so I’ve been told. Bringing people together brings me great joy, and bringing people together who do great work, to make our world better, is simply THE best! This weekend, I had the privilege of being with an uber connector, my friend Molly Yuska of Project Giving Kids.

Project Giving Kids is the ultimate example of what happens when people collaborate, to simply do good for others. PGK’s mission is to cultivate empathy in children by connecting them to age-appropriate service opportunities at a critical time in their development.

This past weekend, Molly brought together over eighteen non-profits under one roof, to celebrate their work and what happens when we all work towards a common goal. Everyone from food pantries, to animal shelters, environmental causes and everything in between. It was an evening to celebrate collaboration and so many non-profits and their selfless work.

The night’s honoree was eighteen year old Nicholas Lowinger, of Gotta Have Sole. A non-profit founder, at the age of 13, who has now provided shoes for over 20,000 homeless children across 47 states. It was a night to be reminded how one person CAN make a difference and that connecting good is what truly matters.

Charity Matters.

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What Matters? March 9, 2016

What to do when the watch stops?

I have a watch that no longer keeps time. An unusual problem to have in today’s world of iPhones and apple watches. The other day, when my watch stopped for the umpteenth time, I didn’t get grumpy. I just thought, what a gift to have time stop even for just a moment.

Of course, it doesn’t. Rather time simply goes faster…or at least that’s how many of us feel. Time has always gone at the same pace, my watch never ticked faster or slower and yet, it doesn’t feel that way. The simple act of my watch stopping, stopped me.

It made me take a pause, a moment to think at how fast we are all moving. Why? What do we get at the end of the race? More time? I don’t think so. Our time is now. So, rather than fixing my watch, I’m going to leave it this way for just a little longer, as a reminder to slow down and hope that time can simply stand still.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Quotes March 7, 2016

Charity Matters Quotes: Heart

“If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”

Bob Hope

As we said goodbye to February last week and ushered in March, this seemed a fitting quote to close out heart month and look forward to spring. For many March is the beginning of school fundraisers, benefits and a renewed season of giving.

A time of longer spring days, of hope, love and charity.

Charity Matters.

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Grief March 2, 2016

I love Lucy

The day after the Super Bowl we put our dog down, her name was Lucy. I have not been able to write about this, much less even process the loss until now. However, every time I walk in the door and there is no one to greet me, wag their tail and beam full of love, I feel the most horrible loss.

She came to us via the pound, 13 years ago as mutt, on death row at the Humane Society. She had been adopted twice and not picked up, but when we saw her, we knew she belonged to us. My youngest son’s first memory was having a playdate at the pound with Lucy to make sure we were a “match” and never had there been a better one.

She was needy, I’m sure from being abandoned at 6 months old. All Lucy wanted was love. She didn’t jump or lick all over you but she just smiled wagged her tail and made you feel as if you were the center of her world. She loved our three sons and was crazy protective of all of us. Sure, in the early days, she ate a lot of furniture, she loved cushions and upholstery, but after that…she was as great of a dog as anyone could ever ask for.

A week before Christmas, when we were days from our move, she didn’t seem right, so we took her to the vet. They told us she needed spinal surgery and put her on cortisone. Shortly after, she bounced back and seemed almost herself. In reality, I think she knew it was her time and just held on a little longer because of the move. She always thought about everyone but herself.

Almost a month from the move, things suddenly were not ok. The vet said it was time to say goodbye to Lucy and came to the house for us. The boys faced timed the dog from college to say goodbye and she just kept looking for them. The three of us sat around her and told her we loved her and it was ok to go.

Old Yeller wasn’t half as sad as this moment. She kept trying to get one last look, not wanting to leave us, our protector until the end. Saying goodbye is never easy but saying goodbye to a member of your family whose sole mission was to provide love, is impossible.

Thank you sweet Lucy for showing us that love is boundless and forever. I loved you so Lucy.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration February 29, 2016

And the Oscar goes to…

A Girl in the River:The Price of Forgiveness for Documentary Short film, a movie I never saw. For that matter I didn’t even see one of the documentary short films. Did you? Where would you even go to see it, if you wanted too? I honestly have no idea.

I love the Academy Awards. The glamor, the red carpet, the films…I love it all. The power a film has to tell a story, to make us think, to feel and reflect upon our human condition, is pure magic. The art of storytelling can create change.

As I watched last nights show, along with billions of others, I was inspired by the woman from Pakistan, Sharmeen Chinoy, whose film told a story, that has done just that. One woman used her gift to inspire others. You don’t need to start a non-profit to make a difference, you simply have to use your gifts to help another. That is who the real winners are.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Quotes February 24, 2016

Simplicity

“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough. “

Author Unknown

I have always been a more is more sort of person. I’m not sure if that is the American way or the just way I am wired. Regardless, it is how I am…until recently. I have had a shift in the appreciation of simplicity and the beauty that comes from it.

Trying to simplify life is just not that simple.

However, when we begin to use our edit button, beauty appears everywhere. As the editing process of my life continues, the more that goes, it seems the more abundance there is.

Perplexing how life works when you keep things simple.

Charity Matters.

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What Matters? February 22, 2016

A place for everything

A place for everything and everything in its place, was a phrase I heard over and over as a child. To be honest, I don’t think I really understood this saying until very recently. Most of us spent the month of January and February cleaning out and purging after the holidays, an annual ritual for many. For me, the process of cleaning out and really finding a permanent place for everything has just begun.

What began as a simple task has become more of a metaphor for life. It seems that just when things are “put away,” that is when that crazy thing called change sneaks up, shifts everything and things become unsettled and somehow without place. Change is a pattern and rhythm of life that simply can’t be avoided.

However, once the dust settles. It is time to pick everything up and begin finding a proper place for it. Do I hold on to this? What stays and what goes? The joy that follows releasing what must be let go, is surprising. When you find the proper place for things, something magical happens, a shift. When you think about it, there is the permanence with place.

We all crave it and I am finally finding mine, one drawer at a time.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration February 17, 2016

Beautiful music

Let me begin by saying I believe in signs. Have you ever exited a freeway off ramp to find someone standing there with a sign? It can be anything from need food, homeless please help….you know the ones. Every time, I feel uncomfortable, I feel guilty and often, even ashamed when I do not roll down the window and give.

I have interviewed many founders and executive directors of homeless shelters and all have advised me never, ever give in this way, and so for the most part I haven’t. I have also learned from past experience. A time at USC when I ran across the street and used my allowance to buy a hungry man groceries, only to be yelled at that he didn’t want the food. A blind man, who took my money and then loaded up his wheelchair in his van and drove away.

I’m sure my experiences are exceptions but nonetheless, experiences that changed my giving in this manner….until the other day. It was the long holiday weekend and we pulled off the freeway and missed the light. So there we were, trapped with a handsome young man and a sign. I tried to turn my head away to avoid eye contact, feeling that creeping feeling of shame, when the most unexpected thing happened.

He picked up a cello, which was broken and patched together, that I hadn’t seen, and began to play. I rolled down the window to hear and he smiled a beautiful smile and told us he wrote the piece and started playing at the age of 11. We were entranced, as were all the other motorist around us. We couldn’t open our wallets fast enough and when the light turned green, we wanted to cry and never wanted his beautiful music to end.

The joy this beautiful music brought was a gift and a sign. A sign to open my heart, my eyes and my ears to all that is around me. When I do that, beauty is everywhere, you just need to look and listen to the signs.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Quotes February 15, 2016

Happy President’s Day!

“I do the very best I know how-the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.”

Abraham Lincoln

I hope that today finds you celebrating our great nation, our freedom and forefathers with a day off of work. Reading through the many quotes by the people who made our country great was a fun and inspiring exercise. I think all of the Presidents that we celebrate and honor today did their very best. At the end, isn’t that all that really matters?

Simply doing your very best.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration February 11, 2016

Kind

Being married to an entrepreneur, I am always fascinated by what motivates people to start a business, even a non-profit. When someone comes along who creates a great product and business combined with doing good, well in my book, that is about as good as it gets. The man who has done just that, is Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of Kind Snacks.

Daniel Lubetzky is the son of a holocaust survivor, who grew up in Mexico City before moving to the United States with his family. After graduating from Stanford, he became fascinated with finding a way to resolve the Israel-Palenstine conflict through business. He created an international movement called OneVoice and then a food company called Peaceworks that promotes economic cooperation in the Middle East.

It was in 2004, when Daniel was unhappy with the unhealthy snack choices Americans had, as well as the rise of obesity, that he developed the Kind Bar. His concept was that we can be “kind to our bodies and to the world.” Last week he took his kindness to a new level, by creating a new corporate foundation that will give $1 million in cash prizes to individuals who are making a difference in their communities by kindness.

The Kind Foundation will accept nominations through March 31st and five kind individuals will win $100,000 and one grand winner will win $500,000. The company is known for its generous support to a host of non-profits that are voted on through the companies web-site each month.

When asked about his motivation for giving, in a recent interview in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Daniel cited his father’s experiences during the holocaust.”I don’t see it as philanthropy so much as a duty,” he said.

Taking Kindness to a whole new level.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Quotes February 8, 2016

Charity Matters Quotes:Kindness

“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”

Seneca

I hope everyone had a great Super Bowl Sunday.

Many of us have been divided lately, whether from Broncos vs. Panthers or the crazy Presidential race, it seems like a good time, to take a moment to simply be kind.

It sounds so basic, and yet it is a choice each of us make multiple times a day.

So lets make the choice to be kind.

Have a great week!

Charity Matters.

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Charity Profile February 5, 2016

Superbowl Sunday

Its seems that the Superbowl and I will both be celebrating big birthdays this year, this sunday the Superbowl will turn 50. We all know that this weekend’s Superbowl game will be the Denver Broncos versus the Carolina Panthers. What you probably didn’t know is that the NFL was a non-profit organization from 1942 until just last April. Who knew?

For reasons still a mystery to some, the NFL decided to remove their tax-exempt non-profit status. However, despite your opinion on the controversial decision, the NFL Foundation still exists. The Foundation was created to support the health of the NFL athletes, youth football and communities that support the sport. The foundation has donated more than $368 million dollars since 1973, served 3.1 million people through grants given since 2011, awarded 364 players grants in 2011 and built over 356 fields since 1998.

So regardless of who you are cheering on this weekend, know that the NFL is still doing its part to support players, youth sports and communities. That is something everyone can root for.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Quotes February 1, 2016

Charity Matters Quotes: February

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

Helen Keller

I’m not sure how it happened, but its official, February is here!

It snuck in while we were all snuggled up last month hibernating from the holidays. I don’t know about you but I already miss January.

So here is to a great month filled with love and all of the most important things in life….those that we can not see, but feel with our hearts.

Happy February!

Charity Matters.

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