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Charity Matters Inspiration

One Veteran’s mission to help Veteran’s get a job

The beauty that is Charity Matters, is the incredible people who I have the privilege of meeting and telling their stories. Mark Brenner is one of them. A few months back, when I attended a non-profit seminar I was fortunate enough to be seated with this dynamic man, with a huge smile, a zest for life and an unlikely non-profit founder.

Mark told me that in the end of 2013, he had recently sold his recruiting business and attempted to play golf for a few months, but knew there was something missing. A life long connector and recruiter he knew he still had people that he could help with his skill set.

In 1967 at 19 years old, Mark served in Vietnam, and was a Veteran. When Mark came home from Vietnam, they threw rocks at him as he stepped foot in the U.S. for the first time in a year from being away. He said,”The way I was treated coming back from Vietnam, I knew I didn’t want anyone else to ever go through that.”

More than that, Mark had learned recent statistics on Veteran’s unemployment  and thought, “Now this is something I can help with, I know how to get people jobs.” His help turned into a 501c3, non-profit called Veterans Career Xchange. His mission to coach veterans to get full-time employment and to retain their jobs.

Today, Mark is working harder than ever. He and his team at Veterans Career Xchange have coached, mentored and gainfully employed hundreds veterans, with over 80% who have remained employed. His passion for helping these men and women who have served our country is simply contagious. Mark said, “When the Veterans you serve get a job and donate back to your cause and tell you that they have purpose and are happy again, it makes you just want to keep going.”

While I don’t typically do follow-up stories, I think we are just at the first chapter with this one and I can’t wait to share with all of you what is next for this remarkable man and organization. Mark is proof that regardless of where you are in life you, you always have something to give.

 

Charity Matters.

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

800….who would of thought?

In 2011, I had a dream. A dream to tell the stories of people who inspire me, who make our world better each and everyday and who are truly unsung heroes…non-profit founders. This dream, woke me up in the middle of the night and was so real that I wrote it all down. That dream became Charity Matters.

No matter what has been happening in my life, good or bad, I have not given up on that dream. I interview, I write and I search for these people and their organizations out in every spare minute I have. A strange hobby perhaps, but it has become my mission, a daily reminder of gratitude, perseverance, the joy of giving and my purpose.

As Leo Rosten said,”I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think that the purpose of life is to be useful, responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.”

So today, I take a small pause to recognize the 800th post and to thank you for being here with me along for the ride. I am beyond grateful for each of you, your friendship, loyalty and generosity in sharing these posts and spreading the word that Charity Matters.

 

 

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

To persevere…

 “When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a little, suddenly the work will finish itself.”

Isak Dinesen

Years ago when a group of friends and I set out to create a nonprofit to provide chaplains at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, we did so with the singular goal that if we just helped one child then we would have been successful. Our motto was and is, “One spirit, one soul, one child at a time.”  The goal was huge and yet small and realistic. 

There were so many things that made our goal achievable and yet there was one characteristic that was critical to our success and that was perseverance.  We refused to give up until we had accomplished our goal. A trait I am confident that every nonprofit founder would agree is necessary to create change.

This week Charity Matters has another milestone and because I am a big believer in celebrating each step along the journey, we will celebrate this one on Thursday. In looking back, it is clear that perseverance, tenacity and simply putting one step in front of another…is what moves us forward. Sometimes slowly, but eventually we get there and that is worth acknowledging.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Everyone loves a good story…

Let’s face it, we all love hearing a good story. Last week I attended a fantastic seminar on story telling. I questioned whether I should go or not, because being Irish, I felt that I had a bit of an advantage over most of the attendees….just sayin. However, I went to learn how to perfect the art of story telling, knowing that there is always room for improvement.

The seminar was specifically designed for non-profits to learn how to tell their stories, although it really applies to everyone…whether you are telling your own story or your businesses. Being a storyteller, I was fascinated. Our leader, Andy Goodman of the Goodman Center, told us,” that the story is the most powerful tool we have.” and I couldn’t agree more.

The reason is because stories help us to connect to something bigger, engage us in common emotions, and most importantly put us in touch with our humanity. The story below, is one example that Andy shared, which brought us all to tears…so get the kleenex.

You might ask, why am I sharing this? The reason is simple, each week when I tell the story of a non-profit founder’s journey, you are moved, inspired and uplifted. As long as you are connected, then I have told the story properly. That is the power of story telling and of being Irish……

Charity Matters.

P.S. Only story tellers like the Goodman Center would want to tell my story, so if you want another story here it is…

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Cell Phones for Soldiers

 

As many of you know I run a non-profit youth leadership organization as my day job. One of the things I love the most about my job is having the privileged position to inspire thousands of middle school students each year by teaching them how to serve others. In order to do that effectively, we look for non-profit partnerships with amazing causes. This year we partnered with a remarkable organization called Cell Phones for Soldiers, that was started by two kids, brother and sister, Rob and Brittany Berquist in 2004.

These two heard about a soldier with an $8,000 cell phone bill and decided that just wasn’t right. What these two siblings did next was even more surprising and the most inspiring story to inspire thousands of today’s kids.

Rob, who is now 27 ,and still runs Cell Phones for Soldiers has continued his mission to ensure that no military service person should ever have to pay to call home.  Today, his sister Brittany works in marketing for the Kind Company. To date Cell Phones for Soldiers has donated over 300 million minutes in free talk time, recycled more than 15 million cell phones and still mails about 1,500 calling cards to service men and women around the globe per week.

This past January, Robbie and Brittany were honored by Forbes Magazine in their 30 under 30 issue for their incredible, vision, service and mission.  What began simply because a brother and a sister saw an injustice and wanted to right a wrong, turned into something, so very right.

 

Charity Matters.

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single flame….

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

Buddha

I am constantly inspired of how goodness creates more goodness.

The past eight weeks I have been in the privileged position of working with thousands of middle school students to teach them about service. This year our organization talked to our students about an amazing non-profit called Cell Phone for Soldiers, that was started by two teenagers in 2004……you all will hear their story on Wednesday.

What was magical, was sharing a real life story about two kids who made a difference and how quickly, their story inspired thousands to do the same. Goodness does create goodness and thousands of candles can be lit from a single flame.

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration

There is a reason its viral

I often find myself mindlessly scrolling Facebook, when I’m standing in line, bored or looking for some type of meaningful distraction. The key word being meaningful. So as I sat down to write and came across this video from the other say, I knew my writing direction had taken a swift turn.

The story is about a young Muslim man, named Ibn Ali Miller, who came upon two young men who were beginning  a fight. A crowd was gathered to watch the neighborhood street fight, when Ibn interrupted to talk to the two young adversaries. He calmed them both and drew the crowd’s attention, who naturally, filmed the entire thing.

It was not the words he spoke to the boys that touched my heart but rather the words he shared with the press, about growing up in poverty, his mother, staying on the right path and the best way to use his 15 minutes of fame.

Every week I bring inspiring people to your attention. This amazing soul reminds us all that charity starts at home, in our neighborhoods and most importantly inside our hearts.

 

Charity Matters.

 

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Causes

Soaring Valor

My grandmother and mother used to cut articles out of the newspaper and send them to me. Nowadays, my sweet mother-in-law sends links instead. I received this link from her recently and it coincided with a dear friend’s dad being honored as a veteran of WWII.

As I watched the video below, tears streamed from my face and I was so touched to learn about all the work, actor Gary Sinise has done to support our veterans.  Coming from a military family he had always done work for Veteran’s causes going back as early as the 1970s. After September 11th, 2001 Gary decided to focus all his efforts on helping those who serve our country, whether first responders or members of our military.  In 2011, Gary decided to establish the Gary Sinise Foundation, with a mission to continue to “spread the word about the importance of service and sacrifice.”

The actor’s most recent focus has been to collect and preserve the oral histories of our WWII veterans. He has been bringing soldiers to WWII museum in Louisiana, to collect these stories before they are gone.

Since the foundation has been established in 2011 they have:

  • Served and provided for over 5,775 children of fallen families
  • Served over 83,000 veterans meals
  • Collected over 8,000 oral histories from WWII Veterans
  • Provided over 5,800 veterans nights out for art and theater
  • Performed over 365 concerts for veterans
  • Adapted 51 veterans homes and counting to be handicap accessible

This work in service of those who have given their life to serve and protect us, is beyond inspiring. As Gary Sinise said, “While we can never do enough to show our gratitude to our nation’s defenders, we can always do a little more.” Thank you Gary Sinise for showing us what service is all about.

 

Charity Matters.

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

A little inspiration

“Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men.”

Gandhi

 

I have to confess, that despite the sunshine, I had a little dark cloud cross my path the other day.

The weather was spectacular and my heart full of gratitude and anticipation for something I have been working on for quite sometime. Then an unexpected text, sent my mood in a totally different direction.

In my somewhat emotional state, I began looking for quotes of inspiration and landed on an article about Gandhi….a sign or just luck, who knows?

As I read about this amazing man and his message of service, I realized that somehow I was calming down.

It was reading this that brought me back to what matters:

“And when you see the good in people it becomes easier to motivate yourself to be of service to them.

By being of service to other people, by giving them value you not only make their lives better.

Over time you tend to get what you give.

And the people you help may feel more inclined to help other people.

And so you, together, create an upward spiral of positive change that grows and becomes stronger.”

Sometimes, life is funny the way it throws us curves. If we stay focused on our course, we can learn to roll with the curves and know that we always have the power to make others lives better….. and our own.

Charity Matters.

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Circling back and moving forward

If you have been a long time reader of Charity Matters, you know I have certain causes, as we all do, that are near and dear to my heart. As a result, I love to re-visit these from time to time. In 2014, I wrote a post on a most remarkable young man from Verbum Dei High School in Watts (a favorite cause of mine for sure) and his name was Caylin Moore.

Last week, while I was at TCU, this inspiring young man and I had a few minutes to connect and hear about his incredible life in the service of others. Caylin grew up in Compton, with a strong single mother, two siblings and a deep faith. He attended Verbum Dei High School, where he was a scholar student and star athlete. After high school graduation he headed to Marist College on a full scholarship to play football. He became a Fulbright Scholar and then  transferred to TCU and walked onto the football team.

I came across a Charity Matters post from 2014, which opens with Caylin being asked where he sees himself in five years. His answer was insightful, as were his feelings about college. He said, “You go to college to change the world.”

Today, Caylin is still studying hard, working on a book, running his campus organization called SPARK (Strong Players Are Reaching Kids) where he and fellow athletes are inspiring the underserved youth of Fort Worth to be their very best and to dream big.  Caylin is also getting ready to head to Oxford, England as a Rhodes Scholar.

I can’t wait to circle back in a few more years and see how this remarkable man continues to inspire so many in his faith and service to others. A force in forward motion and compassion.

 

Charity Matters.

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Let the light shine

“Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone, and as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  

Marianne Williamson

As March arrived, I started to get excited about seeing the sun again. We have had a very rainy cloudy winter here in LA. Thoughts of sun and warmth and light have been on my mind.

The more I pondered the topic of light, the more I began to think of light as an internal concept not just external. My mind went to those people who have an internal light that shines all the time. You know the ones that light up a room the moment they enter it?

I ran into one of those very special people last week in Texas and will be sharing that story on Wednesday. As we enter into spring and get ready for light, let’s think about trying to turn on our internal light and by doing so give others permission to do the same.

Let the sunshine….

Charity Matters.

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Charity Matters Inspiration

Nothing sweeter than Girl Scouts

Late February and early March may be a gloomy time of the year in most parts of the country, but if there is one thing that brightens all of our lives it is the beginning of Girl Scout cookie season. Half of the year I suffer from a mild depression when my freezer no longer contains thin mints and don’t get me started on how much I love tagalongs.  This year, there is something really special about all of this, its the 100th Anniversary of the Girl Scout cookie and their sales. Who knew a cookie could make such a difference in all of our lives?

The other day with my cookie order on my mind,  I had a great conversation with a friend, who told me I needed to meet one of his dear friends, an amazing woman named Frances Hesselbein. My friend, author Mike Stallard, began describing this incredible woman who transformed the Girl Scouts and so many more lives.  I knew I needed to know more about this amazing woman and how she has used her life to inspire so many others…

Frances, the mother of one son, went from Girl Scout troop leader to CEO of the Girl Scouts and was accredited with turning the organization around. She grew the organization to over 2,25 million girls and had a volunteer workforce of 780,000 during her time. In 1998 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work with the Girl Scouts.

In November, 2011 she told Forbes Magazine, “When I left the Girl Scouts in 1990, it was the largest organization for girls and women in the world. Six weeks later I found myself CEO of the Drucker Foundation, with no money, no staff and just a powerful vision. Peter encouraged us to focus on the type of change that will determine whether or not we are, all of us, a part of the future.”

Today the Girl Scouts is the world’s most successful organization dedicated to creating girl leaders with 3.2 million active members and over 59 million alumni! Truly nothing sweeter than using your life to make others better. Frances will be 102 in November.

 

Charity Matters.

 

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Matters of the heart

As  February comes to a close I wanted to make sure that the last post of the month was about the heart. As many of you know I became friends with a wonderful family, the Pages thorough my work at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. They are an inspirational family and despite the adversity they have faced in light of their son’s congenital heart disease, they always find a way to turn a negative into something positive for someone else.

Some of you may remember Max, as young Darth Vadar in the infamous Volkswagen commercial a few years back. I received an email from Jennifer the other day about a new campaign Max is helping shine some light on, called Mended Little Hearts.

This inspiring organization began in 2004, when four heart patients came together in Boston to discuss their heart surgery experiences.  Out of that meeting came the recognition to support these families of children born with heart defects and heart disease.

 

Today, Mended Little Hearts has over 10,000 members and over 80 Chapters in the U.S. and Mexico. Proof that one heart can heal so many others.

 

Charity Matters.

 

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Charity Matters Inspiration

The heart warming follow up of Saving Tiny Hearts

“If someone had raised funds for research for us 30 years ago and our baby was given a chance to live. Ten years from now will be a whole different ball game into medicine, science and technology into heart defect research.  We don’t want to wait for what doctors say ‘will be….’ we want to fund research to change the future for ‘what can be…’ for all children, like my beautiful Joshua suffering from heart disease.  Out of our heartache, there is hope….”

The words above were sent to me five years ago from non-profit founder, mother and champion for families dealing with congenital heart disease, Francie Paul.  I spoke with Francie and board chair of Saving Tiny Hearts, Larry Kluge, to see what has happened since they began this journey over a decade ago to bring awareness and research to Congenital heart disease .

CM: What do you want people to know about Congenital Heart Disease?

Francie: I want people to know that twice as many children die from heart disease versus all pediatric cancers combined and that cancer receives five times the funding for research.

Larry: Over a million children are born each year with congenital heart disease.

CM: What is your goal at Saving Tiny Hearts?

Francie: Our goal is to fund a project that will not only save our son’s life but to ensure that no one else should ever have to go through this.

Larry: We have been able to fund over 30 research projects that keep getting us closer to making this a dream a reality. We want to find the answer that makes Saving Tiny Hearts obsolete.

CM: What keeps you going?

Larry: The love, passion and support of our community is extraordinary and the researchers we support.

Francie: People carry you through your darkest days and they have made our journey all the more humbling. It is the heart, hope and passion of our team. We are all a part of this.

As Francie said, five years ago “Out of our heartache there is hope.”

 

Charity Matters.

 

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