Charity Matters Inspiration Archives - Page 35 of 37

Charity Matters Inspiration May 13, 2013

The Chocolate Bar Book

Sometimes inspiration comes from the craziest places. Yet, I continue to revel and delight when I am touched and inspired by loving acts of kindness and friendship. This story is as sweet as its name and the angels who created it. This is the story of The Chocolate Bar Book.

The story begins with two best friends, named Dylan and Jonah. These six-year-old boys are not exactly like average little boys because Jonah suffers from a very rare liver condition called Glycogen Storage Disease 1b. Dylan wanted to help his best friend find a cure for the rare disease and had an idea to write a book as a fundraiser. He wrote The Chocolate Bar Book in hopes of raising one million dollars to help find a cure. “Chocolate Bar” is Dylan’s and Jonah’s code word for awesome, which is exactly what these two are.

To date these two pint sized wonders have raised over $200,000 and counting. Dylan’s hope is that his words and pictures will help change the world, one book at a time. I think he has already accomplished that goal. How sweet is that?

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Charity Matters Inspiration May 3, 2013

And the Medal goes to….

On Wednesday, I shared the beautiful story of Brent Cunningham’s giving his Boston Marathon medal to a stranger who hadn’t finished due to the terrorist attack. That story lead me to this and it seems that medals bring out the best in everyone.

Something that Dr. Steven Isenberg realized the day after he finished the 2003 Chicago Marathon, and went to visit a friend who was hospitalized. Unsure of what to say, even as a surgeon, Dr. Isenberg pulled his finishers’ medal from his pocket and placed it around his friend’s neck. “I want you to have this,” he said. “You are running a much more difficult marathon than the one I completed.”

Sadly, his friend didn’t win his race but had told Dr. Isenberg how much he treasured the medal. Those words were the inspiration to start Medals4Mettle. So in 2005, Dr. Isenberg formed the non-profit, to collect runner’s medals which could be donated to those who are battling serious illnesses and who have demonstrated courage and mettle in fighting their battle.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj_WeXtK5XM]

Today, Medals4Mettle had awarded over 18,000 medals to recipients across the world. Medals have been awarded by Indy 500 race car drivers, Olympic athletes and individuals who want to experience the incredible joy of giving their hard-earned finisher’s medals to courageous human beings.

Currently, Medals4Mettle is humbly accepting donations of Boston Marathon finishers’ medals from this year, or past years, to be sent to their Boston area chapters. They will then place Medals4Mettle ribbons on them and award them to the courageous victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon and the first responders that raced to help them while respecting the privacy of all victims and family members.

I think everyone is a winner in this race.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration May 1, 2013

Love always wins, especially in Boston

As I have mentioned before my husband is both a tri-athlete and a marathon runner. He has never run the Boston Marathon but when he saw this story on Facebook, as many of you did, he shared it.

This was Laura Wellington’s Facebook post, about her experience moments from the finish line in the Boston Marathon.

As some of you know, I was 1/2 mile from the finish line when the explosion went off. I had no idea what was going on until I finally stopped and asked someone. Knowing that my family was at the finish line waiting for me, I started panicking, trying to call them. I started walking down Mass Ave towards Symphony Hall still not knowing where my family was.

I was able to get in touch with Bryan and found out he was with my family and they were safe. I was just so happy to hear his voice that I sat down and started crying. Just couldn’t hold it back. At that moment, a couple walking by stopped. The woman took the space tent off her husband, who had finished the marathon, and wrapped it around me.

She asked me if I was okay, if I knew where my family was. I reassured her I knew where they were and I would be ok. The man then asked me if I finished to which I nodded “no.” He then proceeded to take the medal off from around his neck and placed it around mine. He told me “you are a finisher in my eyes.” I was barely able to choke out a “thank you” between my tears.

Odds are I will never see this couple again, but I’m reaching out with the slim chance that I will be able to express to them just what this gesture meant to me. I was so in need of a familiar face at that point in time. This couple reassured me that even though such a terrible thing had happened, everything was going to be ok.

That couple was Brent Cunningham and his wife, from Sitka, Alaska. After Laura’s post went viral, ABC News tracked him down and Brent flew back to Boston to meet the stranger once again. Brent gave a tearful Laura a huge hug and said, “Evil may have won the battle but they’re not gonna win the war. Love wins. Game over.”

Charity Matters.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/boston-marathon-bombing-evil-win-19006669

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Charity Matters Inspiration April 10, 2013

Prom night

You remember your prom don’t you? The big hair, cheap tux, taffeta and a whole lot of memories. This is my pic and memory above, both are fuzzy. Well, my oldest son has his prom this weekend and the expense of the whole shindig got me thinking. How do families do this?

My quest lead me to many amazing organizations that help assist with prom but one in particular really spoke to me and that was Becca’s Closet. The person behind this non-profit was then 16-year-old Rebecca Kirtman. Becca, had heard about kids who had started a prom dress drive at another school and she wanted to bring it to her high school, as a freshman. By her sophomore year Becca had already provided over 250 dresses for girls less fortunate.

Then on August 20, 2003 a tragic car accident took Becca’s life at just 16. It became clear that keeping Becca’s dream alive would become her legacy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYX_y9sWt8g]

Today, Becca’s Closet has over 81 chapters across the country and their mission has expanded to offer additional opportunities for deserving young people. Becca’s Closet also awards educational scholarships to young men and women who demonstrate Becca’s spirit of generosity in their own communities.

Prom season may come and go but just like our memories of those fun-filled days, Becca Kirtman’s spirit lives on in all those lives she continues to touch with her legacy of compassion.

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Charity Matters Inspiration April 5, 2013

Anne Frank

I am sometimes haunted by certain things that simply stay with me. Reading about Anne Frank’s tree the other day did just that, haunted me. Perhaps, haunted is too strong of a word but stayed with me, nonetheless.

So, as a result I found myself going back to some of the amazing, beautiful and yes, haunting writings of Anne Frank. For such a young girl, she was wise beyond her years. I came across this and thought I would leave you with this thought for your weekend.

“It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.
It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more”

– July 15, 1944

I hope this weekend gives you cause to look up at the sky and feel that everything will change for the better. I know I will.

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Charity Matters Inspiration April 3, 2013

Tree of hope

I read something today that moved me to tears, although anything involving the Holocaust and Anne Frank usually does. The story that I read told about the Chestnut tree which was in front of Anne Frank’s Amsterdam Annex, during her two years of hiding from the Nazis. This beloved tree which was one of Anne Frank’s few comforts, died in August of 2010.

However, the tree will live on just as Anne Frank does. Seeds from the tree have now turned into saplings and the Anne Frank Center USA, has chosen the recipients of these saplings from a pool of applicants. These saplings will find new homes in a park in lower Manhattan honoring the victims of September 11th, as well as Little Rock’s Central High School, (a landmark for our country’s desegregation battle) and various Holocaust centers across the country.

In 1977, Anne Frank’s father, Otto Frank, founded the non-profit Anne Frank Center USA as a partner to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The center’s mission is to use the spirit of Anne Frank as a unique tool to advance her legacy. The goal is to educate young people and communities in the U.S. and Canada about the dangers of intolerance, anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination, and to inspire the next generation to build a world based on equal rights and mutual respect.

I think both Anne and her father would be thrilled that her beloved tree’s legacy will continue just as theirs has. Anne said it best in her diary when she said, “The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature’s beauty and simplicity. As long as this exists, and that should be forever, I know that there will be solace for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances. I firmly believe that nature can bring comfort to all who suffer.”

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Causes March 27, 2013

Operation Photo Rescue

As we begin to get organized for Spring Break, a bunch of items start coming out for packing, the most important being the camera. Capturing memories of precious moments spent with loved ones is a universal tie that binds us all together. The nostalgia of past trips and looking back at photo albums (yes, real books….a thing of the past, I know!) lead me to this amazing story.

In 2006, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, one Kansas woman decided an important way she could help families suffering from their enormous loss and grief of the storm’s aftermath. She would restore some of their damaged photographs. That kind gesture turned into the non-profit Operation Photo Rescue.

When a natural disaster strikes, what is the first item we rush to save? Our photos, which hold the key to our history, our past and our lives. Once victims are safe and have their basic needs met, they begin the process of searching for any remaining possessions. At this point Operation Photo Rescue starts their online fundraising efforts to underwrite their work.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO1QyyceRwA]

What began as a simple gesture has today turned into a global initiative. This entirely volunteer run organization now has a network of over 2,000 volunteers representing 77 countries where high end cameras digitally copy the damaged photos for restoration. Over 9,000 images have been restored in the past eight years.

The organization’s motto is, “Insurance doesn’t restore memories but we do,” The group’s President, Margie Hayes said recently, “As so often happens when people bring in their damaged photos, you learn that some of the photos are the only ones left of a relative that is no longer living. To be able to restore that memory is beyond words.”

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Charity Matters Inspiration March 6, 2013

Tell me “No” I dare you!

Twitter is a miraculous platform for those of you who have not yet jumped into the social media deep end. Last week, a random or perhaps, purposeful connection on Twitter lead me to this man, Scott Silverman and his remarkable story.

In 1984, Scott an upcoming executive sitting by an open window 44 floors up in a New York City skyscraper ready to jump, when a co-worker walked in and asked him what he was doing. Scott broke down, cried and realized he was an addict and needed help. That moment was his first, second chance.

Scott got out of rehab and began volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul in San Diego, where he saw people like himself (recovering addicts) most coming out of prison and beginning the cycle all over again. He realized that there were thousands who also needed a second chance. But Scott told me it really started with helping one homeless man. The man listened to Scott, got a haircut, then clean clothes and eventually a job. He came back three months later and said, “What can I do to pay you back?” Scott’s answer was simply,”Pay it forward.”

After 4 years of volunteering Scott saw a problem that needed a solution and that was the beginning of the non-profit, Second Chance. He started out with a small dilapidated building, a few donations and a whole lot of hutspa. Scott had seen a tv show on tough love and decided that is exactly what his clients needed to get employed. So he incorporated a readiness program called STRIVE that teaches appropriate workplace behavior, interviewing skills, job search techniques, and a positive outlook toward working and more importantly to employment.

(click the link below)

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2008/03/19/heroes.scott.silverman.cnn?iref=videosearch

Today, Second Chance operates out of large facility, has graduated over 5,000 individuals and helped over 30,000 with everything from clothing to housing and everything in between. 70% of Second Chance graduates do not return to jail, instead they are now contributing members of society, earning wages and paying taxes.

Almost twenty years later, the organization still runs on donations but is now a national model for turning unemployment into employment. Scott, whose life motto, is “Tell me NO I dare you!” Continues to change lives, inspire, motivate and give second chances. Isn’t is amazing the difference one tweet can make?

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration February 27, 2013

A Reason To Survive: ARTS

As the buzz from Sunday nights Oscars begins to wind down, there is one small movie that’s buzz continues to grow. The Oscar-winning film, “Inocente” which won for Best Documentary Short Film. “Innocente” told the story of a homeless child named Inocente Izucar and the cause that saved her. That cause was A Reason To Survive or ARTS.

The film’s goal was to put a face on the homeless children in the United States and the fact that 1 out of 45 children in this country are homeless. These children need a reason to survive. Inocente is that face.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=008ZofyIRHo]

It was children just like Inocente that Matt D’Arrigo set out to help, when he founded ARTS in 2001. Although Matt had never been homeless, he too had a moment in his life when he needed a reason to survive. That moment was in 1992 when his mother and sister both battled cancer. Painting and music were his refuge and gave him that reason. Just as the arts helped him during one of the most difficult times of his life, Matt wanted to provide that same opportunity to other kids facing their own personal crises.

In 2001 he founded ARTS on his philosophy that the arts can heal and change lives. Matt began with an outreach program at Ronald McDonald House by bringing art to the children there. Soon, community agencies began to request ARTS services.

By 2007, that vision expanded and ARTS opened the 7,000 sq ft Pat D’Arrigo ARTS Center which includes a music room, media arts lab, performance space, ceramics studio, printmaking and mixed media studio, painting studio, and a gallery to showcase and sell the kids work.

Today, ARTS serves 5,000 San Diego youth ages 3-22 from more than 42 partner organizations such as hospitals, foster care agencies, schools, homeless and domestic violence shelters.

As Matt D’Arrigo said, “We are here not only to heal these young lives through the arts, but to also inspire and empower them to overcome obstacles and thrive in this world – to become compassionate, creative human beings who make a difference not only in themselves, but in the world they live in.”

Innocente did just that as she stood on the Academy’s stage Sunday night. A year ago she was homeless and today, she has a home, an Oscar award-winning movie about her life and A Reason To Survive.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration January 30, 2013

Foresight Ski Guides

Did I mention that I’m in Colorado this week for a little snow and family time? As you are reading this I hope to be swishing down a mountain somewhere with a big smile on my face.

Our trip made me think about something I saw a few years back that fascinated me, a blind skier. I know it sounds like a bad joke but truly it is the most remarkable and amazing gift to someone who has lost their sight, the ability to do something challenging that they once did when they had the gift of vision.

Skiing gives you a sense of freedom and accomplishment, a feeling that is often missing when you lose your sight. Mark Davis had this experience when he lost his vision in his forties due to a rare symptom of Multiple Sclerosis.

He was successful financial professional and a life long skier when his life took an unexpected turn with his illness. Determined to overcome the grief and depression that followed his loss of sight Mark was motivated to not let his handicap keep him from the slopes.

Instead, he approached the Colorado Ski School for the Blind and Mark was back on the mountain with renewed passion for skiing. That experience inspired Mark to replicate it for others and as a result he created Foresight Ski Guides.Org, in 2001.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zht9xhaFEYk]

Since then, thousands of visually impaired have been able to experience the thrill and excitement of skiing blind. It is amazing how clearly Mark Davis’s vision has impacted so many. This season I won’t be the only skier with a big smile on my face swishing down the mountain.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration January 23, 2013

Brotherly Love

As the mother of three sons, this story moved me beyond words. You may have already seen it or read about it somewhere but if you haven’t this is a truly beautiful story about one 9-year-old boy’s love for his younger brother with cerebral palsy. Connor and Cayden Long are an inspiration for all.

Click the link below to see their remarkable story.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vptX99LcmTY]

There is not a better example of love than this.

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Charity Matters Inspiration January 9, 2013

Brotherhood

What is the measure of a life well lived? Is it how many lives you touched or impacted? Is it the number of people who come to your funeral or the number of people you leave behind that are lost without you? Is is what you have or what you give?

Last week I attended a memorial service for an amazing man named Victor McClinton. A man whose life was measured by the incredible impact he left on our community. Victor McClinton was a local hero in Pasadena and was tragically shot on Christmas Day. He was 49 and a leaves behind a wife and two teenage sons.

What made Victor a hero? What he gave, his commitment to his community and the underserved kids in it.

I know this because he directly impacted my family, teaching my son football, a passion that continues to be a driving force in his life today. Victor brought our city together regardless of address and taught our children as early as age 3 that we are one community regardless of circumstances.

He grew up without a father and attended Verbum Dei High School in Watts. It was there, that Victor started coaching as a Senior in high school and was hooked from that moment on. Twelve years ago he brought the Brotherhood Crusade program to Pasadena creating a youth sports league whose mission was to provide the children of the community with a quality youth sports program. His philosophy was everyone plays, everyone wins.

Victor had a full-time job, Brotherhood was what he did on the side. Every weekend, every night after his own long day he was there, waiting for a single mom to get off work to pick up her child from practice. He never stopped giving.

Victor’s life was a gift to all who knew him. I think the legacy he leaves is “everyone plays, everyone wins.” We were all winners for knowing Victor. The measure of a life well lived is the impact that you make while you are here, the lives you touch and what you give. Thank you Victor for reminding us all.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration November 16, 2012

Friday Night Club

One of the best things about writing about inspiring people, who take life’s challenges and turn them into magic, is that my friends are always excited to share when they meet someone inspiring.

Last week, I was with a girlfriend who told me about an incredible young lady named, Natalie Cernius. Natalie, a senior at Newport Harbor High School, came to speak at her daughter’s NCL program to share a program she started called Friday Night Club. Natalie has a younger brother, Andrew, with autism and she is getting ready to leave for college next year and began to worry about who was going to be friends with her younger brother once she left?

Natalie and Andrew have two older siblings who are already away at college. Andrew had such a hard time when they left because his siblings are his closest friends. Natalie realized that she would soon be heading off to school as well and needed to do something to help her brother fill the void.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adyJcoo8OC4&sns=em]

Through The Friday Night Club, special needs teens like Andrew can hang out and have fun with volunteers Natalie has recruited with the help of local schools, the autism support group Talk About Curing Autism, and the National Charity League. The group started meting at Natalie’s house but now gathers at United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County’s headquarters in Irvine.

Andrew is enjoying himself and making new friends at the Friday Night club, thanks to his sister. Natalie is busy applying to college, playing in the orchestra and varsity tennis. When she leaves home next year, she leaves not only a happy brother but a legacy of compassion that is a beautiful gift.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration November 14, 2012

National Philanthropy Day

I was raised by a mother who believed that thank you notes should be written for most everything. If someone performed a random act of kindness or a thoughtful unexpected gesture, then a note must have been sent immediately to acknowledge this.

People are innately good and decent and kind. We all give and do what we can from the goodness within us. We do not do anything for the acknowledgement, attention or a note. In all of my years in the non-profit world, the most generous were also those who did not need recognition. We do not give for a note. We give because we care.

Tomorrow is a day that basically tries to give “thank you notes” or recognition to those that give. The irony is of course that each of us gives our time or talent to whatever it is that speaks to who we are. We are not required to give, we give because we are human and we care for one another. The power of philanthropy or charity is that it is driven purely by our own unique goodness to make our world a better place.

In 2012, more than 125 communities and 50,000 people around the world will participate in National Philanthropy Day events and celebrations. These events include award ceremonies, galas, luncheons, seminars and other special events. Outstanding donors, volunteers, corporations, foundations, small businesses, youth in philanthropy and others will be honored on NPD in recognition of their work in improving their communities and their world every day. It is sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D__GyC0sY9I&feature=youtu.be]

Whether you receive a “thank you note”, an award, an acknowledgment or more likely…do not. Consider yourself thanked right here and now. You are acknowledged for your incredible compassion, kindness, humanity, service and love for your fellow-man. It isn’t the note, or the money, or the time, it is the gift of you to another.

Congratulations to you. Charity Matters.

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