“Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.”
George Washington
The other day in looking through quotes from past presidents I was so inspired by these wise men, that it was hard to choose just one to share today. These quotes got me thinking about our country, who we are as a nation and where we began.
I am inspired in knowing that our forefathers knew we have to take care of one another and in the knowledge that as many things have changed, that need has not. We are our brother’s keepers and George Washington knew that, “Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.”
“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”
Scott Adams
With Valentines Day on Tuesday, who knew that we had another day to celebrate this week? Today, is National Random Acts of Kindness day…I know, who knew? This is actually such a wonderful way to start the long holiday weekend by doing a random act of kindness for someone. It can be as simple as a smile, putting coins in someone’s parking meter or even giving someone a compliment.
In case you need a few ideas or inspiration there is a non-profit called Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.org that has tips, ideas, lesson plans for simple ways to be kind and here is a video to get you thinking about how you can celebrate today and the act of kindness.
The most beautiful gift you can give is a little piece of yourself to make someone else’s day better. It will make you feel great and create a chain reaction of kindness. Imagine if our world was like this everyday, not just today…
So, here is wishing you a day filled with giving and receiving random acts of kindness. As the quote says, ” Remember there is no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”
Today is Valentine’s Day, a day loved by some and despised by others. Regardless of where you sit on the Valentine’s spectrum it is a day to think about those you love, and what could be so bad about that?
I know, I know, Hallmark has commercialized the holiday but Valentine’s Day is nothing new, it has been celebrated since about 270 AD. The history goes that Pope Gelasius was not a huge fan of the pagan fertility celebration and decided to re-invent the day, so to speak, by honoring St. Valentine’s death instead…not so romantic…
The first Valentine’s cards or letters began in the 1400s. In Great Britain Valentine’s Day began to be celebrated around the 17th century and Americans began exchanging hand-made valentines, as early as the early 1700s.
According to the Greeting Card Association, it is estimated that 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards will be sent this year and according to Forbes, Americans will spend 18 billion dollars on Valentines purchases today.
So, whether you are a fan of the holiday or not. Acknowledging those we love on this day, is something human beings have been doing for centuries. We could all use a little more love in our world…regardless of your feelings about the holiday.
As Thoreau said, “There is no remedy for love but to love more.”
Since this week’s theme is teamwork, it seemed like the perfect time to share one of the most fun team building activities to hit the philanthropic world in a long time…The Do Good Bus. Last spring, I was at an event for Project Giving Kids and was introduced to this amazing woman named Rebecca Pontius . When I found out what she does, I knew I had to share with each of you…because it is just the coolest most fun thing EVER!
Rebecca is the founder of the non-profit, The Do Good Bus. The Do Good Bus idea came together when Rebecca and her brother were on a party bus for a 30th birthday party. They had friends from everywhere, who didn’t know one another and she and her brother surprised all the guests with the destination of the party last-minute. The party was such a success that Rebecca and her brother had an idea that they could use this same format to connect volunteers and non-profits, making volunteering fun. Their mission was to give people an opportunity to get involved, do good together and learn more about their community.
Here is how it works:
Today, almost six years later, the Do Good Bus has taken over 180 rides with almost 5,000 do gooders to over 109 causes. I asked Rebecca, if she knew when she had made a difference, and her answer was, “Every time you get on the bus and see strangers connecting, rolling up their sleeves to volunteer and do something great for a non-profit in need and then share stories together like old friends..that’s when I know we have made a difference.”
As Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
For all of you that have followed Charity Matters over the past few years, most of you know that I truly enjoy being the storyteller. I am Irish after all, so I guess it comes naturally? However, when the Good News Only site called Hooplaha.com approached me about doing a story on Charity Matters….well, the tables were turned.
The Hooplaha team and I share a common belief that people are innately good and more than that, good news and stories about good people doing great work need to be shared. So with that in mind, if this so inspires you, please feel free to share. The world needs more kindness and goodness, so thanks for spreading some and check out Hooplaha if you need a little happy news to brighten your day.
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
Helen Keller
I hope you had a great weekend and that your team won last night….my team didn’t make it to the Superbowl this year, but at least made it to the photo above. In watching the Superbowl, you had to admire the teamwork that both the Patriots and the Falcons put into their game. It is the key to success in most things, not just in football. Every non-profit comes with its team.
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to get to spend time with my team. We worked, played, debated, problem solved and ultimately came together to develop new goals for our organization. The key was team work.
So this post is dedicated to the 1.9 million non-profit teams in this country. You are all winners and together we can do anything!
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” Arnold H. Glasow
Since we started the week talking about resolutions and goals, I thought it only fitting that we would end it on a somewhat similar note. Being that Superbowl 51 (don’t ask me to try the roman numeral version of 51) is upon us, I think it is worth noting what each of these extraordinary athletes has committed to their goal.
Raising three sons, all who played football, I am guessing that these athletes started young with their goal setting. Like all of us, each year theses athletes’ goals and dreams expanded. An enormous amount of hard work, dedication and commitment is bringing each of these football players to that moment…when a dream becomes reality.
Meanwhile, all of us, will be rooting for our teams (Atlanta Falcons or the New England Patriots), catching up with friends, watching the great ads and hopefully, taking a small internal moment to realize that each of these athletes have worked towards their goals or goal post. Perhaps, maybe taking a small moment to ask ourselves, if we know where our own goal posts are?
Today is February 1st and the beginning of heart month. Over the years, I have interviewed a number of non-profit founders who have started incredible organizations to find a cure for congenital heart disease, which is the number one birth defect in the world.
This month, I will share some of those stories with you and re-visit some old Charity Matters friends to update you on their progress. I came across musician and heart transplant recipient, Paul Cardall’s video the other day and thought it sets the stage for this important month.
So, as we begin the month of February, let’s all remember to keep our hearts open to those who suffer with this horrible disease.
As January comes to a close, I realize it really has been quite a month. The post holiday recovery, a busy time for my non-profit day job, a new President, and few needed holidays. So it makes perfect sense that with all of this going on, that I have not really had time to make my New Year’s resolutions. It is better late than never!
While I could barely get a parking spot at the gym, the first few weeks of the month…it seems that those well-intentioned souls are already beginning to slack off on their resolutions, which seems like the perfect time for me to kick in with mine. To help me along, I pulled out my trusty copy of Write It Down, Make It Happen by author, Henriette Anne Klauser. The book’s author believes and proves that writing down your goals in life is the first step in achieving them.
The author tells stories of people who have done just that, and the way they began to realize their dreams. What I love the most about this book is that, in addition to asking you questions that slowly unravel your goals, each chapter ends with a little homework assignment. So as we say goodbye to January and hello to February, I have a clarity as to which direction I am headed in 2017. That in itself is an amazing resolution!
On a rain soaked day, a couple of weeks ago I met the most remarkable woman for lunch, her name is Katie Quintas. Katie is a living example of C.S. Lewis quote, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” Katie’s hardship re-routed her destiny.
Katie’s life was fantastic. She had a husband, Silvio, she adored. A wonderful son, Bryan and a fantastic career consulting non-profits. Then all of that changed in 2006, when her husband Silvio was diagnosed with leukemia and six months later, her only child Bryan, was diagnosed with Stage Four Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma at age 16.
Katie’s employer was supportive as she tried to manage a full-time job and the two most important people in her life’s cancers. What Katie didn’t realize was how was she going to manage to cook, clean, do laundry, grocery shop, update everyone on Bryan and Silvio’s conditions, deal with the offers for help, all while working and driving between two hospitals over an hour apart from each other? She was overwhelmed, wondered how families manage and didn’t even know where to look for help.
It turns out that she was not alone.
As 2007 came to an end, and both Katie’s husband and son were finishing up their cancer treatments, she began looking for organizations that help families through daily life during an illness, especially the illness of a child. In 2009, when she still hadn’t found an organization that fit the need, she began discussing the idea of creating one with her husband Silvio. With her husband’s encouragement, she did just that launching Here to Serve.org in 2011.
The Quintas family had been through so much but realized that there were so many people who had less. With Silvio’s support Katie set up her non-profit to connect and create online care communities that come in at the beginning of the health crisis to organize, friends, resources, medical information, funding, support all without overwhelming the caregiver, who is typically the parent.
As I sat at lunch and listened to Katie’s story, it was almost too much to process what she had been through but even more to grasp what she does for others. When we both went onto her web-site together and I saw what a care community looked like for a family, it was unbelievable. Once I was part of a sick patients community, I could sign up for everything from walking the dog, bringing a meal, doing laundry, running an errand, donating groceries and the list goes on. The services Here to Serve provides is everything that Katie needed when she went through this and didn’t have.
Sadly, Katie lost her beloved husband to cancer, but she said his memory still keeps her going. Katie told me, “I can’t imagine not doing this. Here to Serve gets me up in the morning, it motivates me and I was created to do this work. This is my purpose.”
This past week, you would have to be hiding under a rock to know there has been a lot of talk about empowerment, but today I would like to share with you an inspiring non-political, good old-fashioned kind of empowerment. It’s the story of a young woman named Veronika Scott, who in 2010 found herself in a college class with an assignment to create a product that would fill a need in her Detroit community. An assignment that would change her life and empower so many more.
Veronika was the daughter of parents who had struggled with addiction and unemployment. So she found herself in a warming center for Detroit’s homeless with an idea to create a coat the could also become a sleeping bag. While she was working on her design, a homeless woman angrily confronted her and said, “We don’t need coats, we need jobs.” It was that moment that Veronika realized she could do both. She said, ” I wanted to create an opportunity, that I wish my parents had when I was a kid.”
In 2012, she created the Detroit based non-profit The Empowerment Plan, to elevate families from the generational cycle of homelessness. Veronika began hiring single parents from the local shelters, trained them as seamstresses to make the coats to meet the needs of the homeless community. More than that, she gave these women a purpose, a job, education, full-time employment and a chance to regain their independence.
Today, Veronika at age 27, has founded the non-profit The Empowerment Plan, employed 39 homeless women and made and distributed over 15,000 coats since 2011. As C.S. Lewis said, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” Veronika is a living example when she said, “No matter what you’ve gone through, you still can do a lot with what you have.”
Each week I meet, interview, and discover the most amazing people, whose stories I share here.
What makes them extraordinary, is what each of them does with the hand they were dealt. The choice that they made to turn something negative into something positive.
The singular thread is that these remarkable people will do anything to ensure that the next person that comes along who is dealt that same hand, now has the resources that they did not.
It is a privilege to get to know these people, to tell their stories and to share them with each of you.
“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
Aaron Siskind
I live in a house full of photographers. Not just the modern-day iPhone everyday amateur photographer, like myself, but a husband and three sons who truly love the art, the skill, the process and the gear. They are all passionate about their images and were long before there was an Instagram.
I came across a non-profit recently,that I will share with you later this week, that helps families restore their images after a flood or natural disaster. Just thinking about losing my photos had me thinking about how truly precious they are.
We may live in a digital world but it is still the ability to freeze those precious moments in time that continues to capture us all. As Marc Riboud said, “Taking pictures is savoring life intensely every hundredth of a second.” I think this year I will add becoming a better photographer to my New Year’s resolutions along with savoring life more intently.
It seems that the entire planet was happy to see 2016 come to an end. Over and over, everyone is saying goodbye to 2016 and hello 2017. What is it that we are all looking for this year that will be so very different from the last?
How could one year truly disappoint us so much? But it seems unanimous, that we are all SO over last year and looking ahead. 2017 is off to a great start, we get an extra day off, which in my book is a most excellent beginning. Lets be honest, we all really need it and it has been a busy few weeks as we try to catching up on sleep, life and friends.
So, as we begin to ponder about what we want from this new start, let me suggest a few thoughts….in the planning stage of resolutions. First, what went so wrong last year that you want to be different this year? How might you change that? What is the one thing you really want to accomplish this year? What are a few simple ways to start working towards that goal? How can you be kinder to those you love this year? And lastly, how can you be kinder to yourself in the next 365 days?
Why I do not yet have the answers, these questions are where I will begin…..that and heading off to the Rose Bowl to cheer on my team. Here is to a magical, joyous, prosperous and very Happy New Year to all!
