Update: You’re Crazy Enough to Care, Too

Jun 012011
 

The story of Andrew Benson Greene, Dreams for Kids, Keisha Luce, Kirk Torregrossa and the children of Sierra Leone’s amputees continues to move forward and take some of us along for the ride.  (see my last post for details.)

About a week ago, I posted an article with a crazy request….  a short, 48-hour window in which to raise the balance of the funds Andrew needs to attend a peace and conflict resolution program at Brandeis in the fall.

Here’s the update.  A number of people responded quickly… and through their generosity we have a small scholarship fund at Dreams for Kids.  We have raised enough to cover the deposit and the Student Visa fee.

What remains is the big ticket item — round trip airfare from Sierra Leone to Boston.  I’ve started shopping around and have asked for help from an expert in the use of Frequent Flier miles.  So, with a slightly longer deadline we are now working on a combination of “deals” on international airfare and some way we may be able to use reward miles.  I’ll keep you updated here or on my Facebook page.

Their story captivates me.  It is an extraordinary example of extracting the best from extreme human suffering…. of love, generosity and hard work overcoming enormous difficulty.  It’s a “Four Foundations in action” story.

In the meanwhile, if you’d like to contribute to Andrew’s travel fund, please visit Dreams for Kids.  To make sure that your donation is earmarked for this project, contributions should be made to the “general” fund and followed with an e-mail to shellyg@dreamsforkids.org

 

Andrew and the children of Sierra Leone amputees

Does Motive Matter?

Jun 072010
 


It’s no secret that I believe one of the important characteristics shared by truly successful people is a commitment to giving.  Most of the people I’ve interviewed on the topic get as excited about sharing the results of their efforts as they do by the actual accomplishments that put them in a position to share.

One of the ways to teach our kids about giving is to model it.  Another, to notice and talk about the ways that others who give.  This can lead to great conversations about the ‘hows’ and the ‘whats’ of giving.  For example, if you liked the recent baseball post,  you might have a conversation about Galarraga giving Joyce the benefit of the doubt.  Or Joyce giving his honesty.  We can give our time, our money, our awareness, our support, our best effort, our full attention….  the list long.  And a long list helps bring giving ‘into the now’ rather than making it a ‘someday, far-away’ goal.

A couple of months ago I was intrigued by a headline reading “Unemployed Man Gives Away $10 Every Day.”  Reading on I discovered that Reed Sandridge had lost his job at a DC non-profit and decided to explore the concept of ‘giving’ in this manner.  Known by close friends as a ‘sometimes skeptic’ I delayed sharing the story, waiting to see if he would follow through.

Reed is almost halfway through his ‘Year of Giving’ and has been blogging about it here.

It looks like he is about halfway through his experiment and has been faithful to his commitment.  It also seems that he has, from time-to-time, had a little trouble keeping his blog updated.  I think there are lots of people who can relate to that!

As I read through some of the comments, the ‘sometimes skeptic’ softened a bit as a number of people questioned his motives.  The comments led me to a question of my own:  Do motives matter?  When teaching our kids to be givers, does it matter why they give?

How about giving us your thoughts on the subject?

Love and Grief

May 272010
 

Some time ago I wrote this post about artist Kaziah Hancock and Project Compassion.

I had seen a news report and was touched by the compassion as she reached out to the parents and spouses of fallen soldiers, providing them with gallery quality portraits of a lost loved one.

In the course of checking for updates, I discovered that Project Compassion has grown to include 5 artists — each completing a minimum of one of these exquisite memorial portraits each week.

There is also a new film documenting this loving work. To quote the filmmakers’ site “proof that one person can make a difference.”

I believe that you will find Kaziah’s contribution to these families deeply moving and especially appropriate as we head toward Memorial Day.

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