“Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold.”
Judith Olney
Happy Halloween!
Trick or Treat
Since Halloween is quickly approaching and the children are getting excited about their costumes, parties and candy. I thought it might be fun to share a special Halloween idea this year.
Unicef, has been Trick or Treating to help children all over the world for over 60 years. UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) is a global organization that saves kids’ lives in over 150 countries by providing clean water, nutrition, medicines, education and aid in emergencies.
They are asking families to go to their website and there is a variety of fun activities from sending in photos for a virtual costume party, having a party that helps others or trick or treating for a cause.
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After all, while candy is sweet, showing our children how to give makes life even sweeter. Happy Halloween!
Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.
Blood Cancer
With the arrival of Halloween comes all the blood and horror. While we all love to get ghoulish this time of year, the scary reality for many is that blood cancer or leukemia is a living nightmare for approximately 40,000 people each year. There is nothing more terrifying than trying to save someone you love who has been diagnosed with blood cancer.
In 1990 when Katherina Harf’s mother was diagnosed with blood cancer there were only 3,000 people world-wide registered for bone marrow transplants. Katrina’s father, Peter Harf worked tirelessly to save his wife and had 68,000 people register in one year alone. After losing her mom at 14, Katherina and her father decided to start DKMS.
The DKMS mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients.
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DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world. DKMS donors have provided marrow and stem cells (PBSC) for more than 27,000 transplants and now has over 2.9 million registered bone marrow donors.
Katherina was recently asked the most important thing she has learned in her journey to help others and her answer was, “Passion can move mountains and human kindness has no limits.” Now that is taking something scary and making it something beautiful.
Charity Matters.
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Service
“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. ”
Martin Luther King
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Kindness Girl
“What Wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?”
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Kindness. Just the word makes the corners of your mouth turn up just a bit into a smile. Without kindness there would be no charity or non-profits. It all starts with kindness.
So the other day as I was reading a magazine I came across the story of Patience Salgado, the Kindness Girl.
While, Patience doesn’t run a non-profit she helps people spread her message of random acts of kindness through her blog KindnessGirl.com. She shares basic ideas that she calls Guerrilla Goodness, which she describes as “intentional, anonymous acts of kindness performed in playful, creative ways for strangers, friends and family. Take a look.
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Patience recently said in an interview, “The beauty and power of kindness, is that it doesn’t take a lot of money. It takes a willing heart.” That is Charity that matters in its truest form. Kindness and a willing heart.
Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.
Autumn
“Take time for gratitude…This is the gift, to have the wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, and wonder.”
–Abraham Maslow
Generation On
I am involved with a number of non-profits but the ones that inspire me the most are the organizations that plant the seeds of compassion in our children. Generation On is just that.
October 16th-22nd is Make Your Mark Week at Generation On. They are asking our kids to visit their website, pick a cause (Animals, Homeless, Hunger, Literacy) and make a difference. The site gives children simple ways to impact others.
Maybe your children want to Make their Mark this weekend, it’s never too late to help someone.
Charity Matters
Homeboy Industries
Here in LA, Father Greg Boyle is a bit of a local legend. I had the opportunity to meet him yesterday and hear his incredible message of hope. He spoke to my Alma Matter and said, “We are all called to create a community of kinship.”
Father Greg has created that “community of kinship” with thousands of local gang members in Los Angeles. He not only gives them a chance for a fresh start after life on the streets or in prison but a chance to feel their worth.
He started Homeboy Industries in 1988 as a job project through the Dolores Mission. Their motto is “Nothing Stops a bullet like a job.” Homeboy serves as a place of hope and opportunity for those trying to leave gang life where there is no other way out.
Homeboy Industries is recognized as the largest gang intervention and re-entry program in the county and has become a national model. Father Greg has created a community of kinship and at the end of the day isn’t that what we all want to be a part of?
Copyright © 2011 Charity Matters. This article may not be reproduced without explicit written permission; if you are not reading this in your newsreader, the site you are viewing is illegally infringing our copyright. We would be grateful if you contact us.
I’m Going to Love You through It
Sometimes, there are just not words….when someone you love is sick and diagnosed with breast cancer.
I think this just says it all.
Remember to love those through it.
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LiveStrong
I’m married to a cyclist, a crazy passionate cyclist. He not only loves cycling but also Lance Armstrong. As a result, I have read Lance Armstrong’s book, It’s Not About the Bike, I spend the month of July every year waking to the Tour de France, I have washed countless loads of spandex cycling clothing and I have even been to Paris to watch Lance Armstrong win his fifth Tour de France.
Lance is a hero in our house. My sons love him and he is an American hero. His heroism is more about his fight with cancer than about his cycling. He is a man who just refuses to give up. This past Sunday, Oct. 2nd, was the 15th anniversary of Lance Armstrong’s cancer diagnosis.
He has taken his story, his suffering and created an example for fighting this disease and inspiring thousands of others to join him. Lance’s LiveStrong Foundation has changed lives and the term Live Strong has become a part of our everyday vocabulary.
Ultimately, a real hero is someone who makes a difference. That is exactly what Lance Armstrong has done.
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Children Mending Hearts
I am always amazed at how all of these causes come to me in such different ways. The beauty of this is that each day becomes a filter for all the goodness in this world, something we all need.
Children Mending Hearts is no exception. I was so intrigued by the concept of homeless and impoverished children in the United States being empowered by helping those children, even less fortunate than they are, in other countries. The purpose of Children Mending Hearts is to give children worldwide the power to find and use their voices through creative expression.
If a homeless child creates something for a child refugee who doesn’t just have a hole in his/her shoe but is shoeless, then this disadvantaged child goes from victim to victorious. Children gain a sense of being an advocate and knowing that even the simplest actions can make a difference.
They discover that their lives can feel different and that is what it’s all about.
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The Birthday Box Project
My 10 year old came home from school recently excited about his Student Council project entitled The Birthday Box Project. The children in his class will help this LA based organization provide birthdays for homeless children.
The concept is so simple and yet so powerful. A parent is given a box full of cake mix, frosting, candles, wrapping paper, a toy and a disposable camera. The parent then uses these items to create a special birthday for their child.
A memory, a moment and a celebration of life and all its blessings. Now that is a Happy Birthday!
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Network for Good
There is just goodness everywhere and it seems that our cultural pendulum is beginning to swing in really positive directions. The simple act of helping another has been around since the beginning of time but technology keeps coming up with innovative ways to help us, help others.
That’s exactly what Network for Good has done. They have brought together both places to volunteer and places to donate to over 1 million charities creating an amazing Network for Good.
This is just Good!
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Gabby Krause
Time and again I am inspired by those who take adversity and turn it into something beautiful. Kindness never gets old and always seems to multiply once it is delivered. A perfect example of this is Tammy Krause.
Tammy lost her 6-year-old daughter, Gabby, in September 2004 to brain cancer after a 19-month long battle. In her loss, she was determined to honor her daughter’s legacy in a meaningful way. Gabby always brought her “Bag of Fun” to the hospital for her chemo treatments. It was her wish that other children should have them too. As a result, the Gabby Krause Foundation was launched by her family.
Gabby Krause has been gone for 7 years now but her legacy has delivered thousands and thousands of sick children bags of fun.