Thursday, April 18, 2019

Raining money

Money does NOT rain down from the sky - we all realize that, but sometimes it might seem that way. Arson destroyed several Louisiana churches that were pillars of the African American community. On Sunday, an online fundraiser to help those churches rebuild, had raised just below $50,000. By yesterday morning, the total had skyrocketed to $1 million, following the horrible fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral. What a huge increase!  As I write this, it stands at $1,905,749. Yesterday I mentioned here that money is pouring in to help rebuild and repair the Cathedral. All of this is wonderful, right?
 
Here is my concern:  if we have that kind of money, couldn't we wipe out hunger, homelessness, poverty?  Could we not help the sick, even cure them?  Could we not fix up broken building all around the world?  It seems to me, and I am no expert, that generosity should not just be an occasional thing.  How wonderful it would be if people were this generous all the time!  When I do fundraising for non-profit organizations, the folks who give the most are usually the ones who have the least.  Why is that?
 
No certainly people cannot be forced to donate money, and I don't mean to suggest for a minute that funds should not be made available to rebuild Notre-Dame and the other churches, but since there is money, how can we get some of that donated to help other needs?  Can't we do both?  Let's cure the sick and house the homeless and feed the hungry and really make the world a better place.  I know we CAN do it!




Wednesday, April 17, 2019

From out of the ashes

People around the world watched yesterday as a horrific fire broke out in the roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, causing colossal damage to the building - the spire and roof collapsed, and considerable damage was caused to the interior, the upper walls and windows, and to numerous works of art. The fire was extinguished some fifteen hours later, but the space was now filled with stones and ashes and smoke and water-damage.

As terrible as all this was, there was a lot of good news.  People came together and continue to.  The world was truly fixed on this event.  Fortunately the stone vaulted ceiling beneath the roof prevented much of the fire from spreading to the interior of the building, which saved the cathedral from much worse damage. Some contents were evacuated by a human chain of volunteers and civil servants.  Seeing people come together was such a joyous experience.

More than $920 million has already been pledged for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, according to French Culture Minister Franck Riester, and donations continue to pour in.  Go to https://www.rebatirnotredamedeparis.fr/index_en.html if you would like to donate.
 
Seeing people come together for a positive cause is always a refreshing thing.  While it was terrible that this damage occurred, it is hopeful that so many are doing something about it.

Monday, April 15, 2019

Hope from Mayor Pete

"My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me Mayor Pete. I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana and I'm running for president of the United States.  I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor. More than a little bold -- at age 37 to seek the highest office in the land." 

Those words spoken yesterday afternoon have already gotten a lot of attention.  I don't usually write about politics here, but yesterday, with this announcement, Pete Buttigieg made a little history.  His husband was there by his side too.  That alone is something I have never been able to say about a presidential candidate - "his husband."  An historic moment.

It was forty two years ago that Harvey Milk famously said "The only thing they have to look forward to is hope. And you have to give them hope. Hope for a better world, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for a better place to come to if the pressures at home are too great. Hope that all will be all right. Without hope, not only gays, but the blacks, the seniors, the handicapped, the us'es, the us'es will give up. And if you help elect to the central committee and other offices, more gay people, that gives a green light to all who feel disenfranchised, a green light to move forward. It means hope to a nation that has given up, because if a gay person makes it, the doors are open to everyone."
 
One of the things I think Mayor Pete did yesterday, was he renewed that hope.  He got a lot of folks believing once again - not just gay people, but anyone who had given up hope. 
 
"The horror show in Washington is mesmerizing, all-consuming," Buttigieg said. "But starting today, we are going to change the channel. Sometimes a dark moment brings out the best in us, what is good in us, dare I say, what is great in us."

Friday, April 5, 2019

Woman donates over 200 shoes

Addy Tritt has been on tv and in the newspapers this week because of her generous donation of over 200 shoes.  You may have already heard this story, but it warms my heart and I just have to share it. 

As you may know, the Payless shoes stores are closing down and liquidating their entire inventory.  Ms Tritt was in one of their stores thinking "who could I donate these to"?  Just thinking about it is pretty wonderful I think, but she went further.  All the shoes (204 of them) were priced at a dollar each, but she didn't have that much money so she began to negotiate with them.  How cool is that?  A lot of folks would have just bought what they could afford, or even given up, but Ms Tritt kept at it until she got the entire remaining stock for just $100.  Oh my!

Where should these go?  Where will they do the most good? She remembered the devastating flooding in Nebraska and decided that is where she should send them.  So many families have lost everything, so any donation is helpful, but this one is huge.  Oh and when asked about it I love what Addy Tritt told the press:  "This is just part of being a human being. It brings me so much joy."

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

More about Seth

I've written here a few times about Seth Owen, but an update is certainly in order.  First a bit of background for those of you who might not have heard of him.  Seth's parents could not accept that he is gay, so he left home.  An excellent student, there was going to be an issue with college tuition, and a wonderfully supportive setup an online fundraiser for him.  So many donation poured in that they raised more money than we needed and an appearance on tv with Ellen DeGeneres gave even more funds. Seth, who is now an undergraduate student at Georgetown University, created a non-profit called Unbroken Horizons Scholarship Foundation, to help students in marginalized communities access higher education.

When I last wrote about Seth five weeks ago, I mentioned Unbroken Horizons and a fundraiser that had been setup to raise more money for this program. In that time, donations from 116 people have raised $31,590 of the $37,500 goal they set for themselves.  It seems safe to say they will exceed their goal.  How wonderful, huh?  I always love stories of people making a difference.  You are certainly welcome to contribute too by clicking HERE and you can also find out much more about this organization at https://www.unbrokenhorizons.org/ (where you can also donate if your prefer to do so directly, and you can volunteer your time too).

Last month, at their Greater Jacksonville Gala, Equality Florida, recognized Seth for his leadership and activism. He has also been doing a lot of public speaking. In fact, he is now listed on the nonprofit, social justice speaking agency SpeakOut.  I now we will be hearing a lot more from Seth Owen!

Monday, April 1, 2019

Getting back into the swing

There is so much still to write here, but after my hospital stay, I seem to be slowly getting back into the swing of things.  I was going to write something about suicide awareness last week and never got to it and I might have normally written about All Fools Day today, but instead I am going to write a sort of continuation of yesterday's blog.

Yesterday was Transgender Day of Visibility, and I certainly would normally write about that here. It is so very important that we continue to raise awareness of discrimination faced by our transgender sisters and brothers here in this country and around the world.  I can assure you there will be much more said here.
 
There are still lots of wonderful heroes too and I intend to write about them.  My boss is one of my latest heroes by the way.  It is incredible how she makes a difference in the lives of so many people every single day!  I need to update the stories of some folks I have previously written about too.  I will.  I promise.
 
Of course your comments and suggestions help a lot too.  I certainly don't have all the answers, so share here the things that matter and together we can really make a difference.