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With Father’s Day on Sunday, I couldn’t stop thinking about my dad who died 23 years ago. In particular, I found myself thinking about his business, Community Service Station. His father had named the business “Community” and for decades it proved to be an extension of their friendships and involvement in our township. While helping businesses and organizations through my newly-founded company, Online and In Person, LLC, I often talk about creating an online community to [...] Months after our vacation to Acadia National Park, I’m still struck by the astounding beauty of the rocky shorelines and mountain peaks. But another thought has grown in my mind and brought me to action. During one of our tours, the guide explained that over the years Acadia National Park was pieced together with donations of property. One individual gave away 4,000 acres of this prime real estate. The wealthy bought this property for their own use. [...] Yesterday I had the honor of attending the ribbon cutting for an apartment building. A nonprofit organization was able to purchase a vacant, foreclosed property in a neighborhood suffering from blight and renovate the building to provide homes for four families experiencing homelessness. Not only was this small apartment building going to help the four families, it could also begin to improve conditions on the street and eventually turn things around for the whole neighborhood. One of [...] Last week I spoke with elementary school students about homelessness. Every class I visit is always attentive for their “special guest” and our conversations can be an insightful treat. One second grade boy stopped me in my tracks when he asked “What would happen if there were no volunteers?” I find myself returning to his question every day. When I first answered him, I spoke about the concrete tasks which occur each day. We wouldn’t have [...] After church started on Easter Sunday, an Asian man in his 30’s sat down in the pew in front of me. I had the feeling he was homeless but it wasn’t obvious. I handed him my bulletin and showed him where we were. When it came time for the offering, I couldn’t help but watch. I worried because if I was right about him, this could be an uncomfortable situation. He opened his wallet and [...] “I know this is going to sound dumb, but I’m really going to miss all the emails, editing, and back-and-forth of working with you the last few weeks.” Wow! I didn’t know what to say to this volunteer. We had just sat down to celebrate the success of my organization’s annual fundraiser, but these simple words meant so much more to me than the event. He had lugged all his professional video equipment to three different [...] Last week I wondered. Why do I care about the historic preservation of a building? Why do I care if the affordable housing community is built? Why do I care that there are homeless people living on our streets? None of these outcomes will change my life directly. Most of the time, it’s not easy to care. When you really care, you take action. For these types of issues, you are often in the minority. Others [...] Yesterday my boys went to their first practice for the track team. My oldest ran up a steep hill three times with ease. The younger one kept smiling and running with enthusiasm. I was proud of their dedication. At the end the coach called the team together. There must be more than 80 kids from 1st grade through middle school. He asked them to form a big circle and face in one direction. At first I [...] Last year, my friend Christine gave me a book, Through the Eye of the Storm by Cholene Espinoza. She buys them by the case and gives them away because all the proceeds go to building a community education center to serve the Katrina survivors in Mississippi. The book is written by a phenomenal pilot who witnessed the devastation from the hurricane and was moved to action to help rebuild a community. Along the way she [...] If you had asked me last week if I could survive three additional boys living with us, I would have said no. I’m not that kind of person. Deep down in my heart, I know for sure I am not that kind of person. If I was, I would have had more kids! I tried to say I couldn’t take care of these kids for five days/six nights. All my friends knew I didn’t have the [...] |
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Copyright © 2012 Trying not to BNeg - All Rights Reserved |
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