Inch by inch….

I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the year’s. ~Henry Moore

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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Dedicated to Sandra Patterson, who knows the true meaning of “service”.

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. ~Albert Schweitzer

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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TEN WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE AND FEED YOUR OWN SPIRIT AT THE SAME TIME (continued from TGIFYGDF dated November 6, November 27, and December 4).

Acts of kindness and altruism can reduce stress in our lives according to a recent WebMD Feature article entitled The Science of Good Deeds, The ‘helper’s high’ could help you live a longer, healthier life., written by Jeanie Lerche Davis and reviewed by Louise Chang, MD.

Following are good deed ideas (31 through 40) that make performing acts of kindness and “feeding your good dog” easy as pie. Check out number 36…it doesn’t get much easier than that with the potential of huge positive impact on another person’s life. Source: 50 good deeds for 50 days, By Daniela Payne

31. Volunteer yourself to walk an elderly neighbour’s dog once a week. Getting out for a walk isn’t overly easy for many elderly folk, so they’d most likely appreciate this gesture.

32. Instead of dropping your head and pretending you don’t notice (like the rest of the rush-hour crowd) someone struggling to get a stroller down the stairs, take a second and offer to help.

33. Offer an elderly person, a pregnant woman, a physically disabled person – or just someone who looks tired – your seat on the bus.

34. Help keep your city clean. Pick up plastic bottles and other trash you see around your neighbourhood and deposit it in its appropriate place. Click here to read CanadianLiving.com’s Green Living blog.

35. Visit a nursing home just to chat with some of the residents, as many of them don’t get regular visitors.

36. They say that smiling is contagious. Pick a day to smile at everyone you pass on the street.

37. Pass on your books after you’ve read them for someone else to enjoy. Take them to a local shelter or give them to friends.

38. Next time you read an article about an author you know your book-loving friend would enjoy, pass it on to them. It will make them feel good that you think about them.

39. If you’ve discovered a great little restaurant or store, spread the word. The business and whoever you tell will both benefit.

40. Being angry at someone requires a lot of energy from both people involved, so go ahead and let go of an old grudge. Forgiving someone who hurt you will open the door for a friendship to be rekindled.

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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There is a lot of good being done out there on the local level. Adopt a Family during the holidays is one way people are making a difference in the lives of other families.

Two ladies, Jennifer and Bobbie, have participated in the Adopt a Family program for the past 6 plus years. For the first six or so years they worked together to make the holidays brighter for a different family each year. This year they decided to divide their resources and efforts to help make the holidays brighter for two families.

Six weeks out from Christmas Day, they start the process by putting in their request to adopt a family with a local organization. Then they collect donations from family and friends, shop for items on the family’s list; items such as warm clothing, shoes and food. After the wish list has been satisfied, they wrap each item to be opened by the family on Christmas Day. The week before Christmas they deliver the wrapped gifts and meet the family. An emotional time for the ladies and the families; lots of smiles and happy tears for everyone involved.

Not only are Jennifer and Bobbie making a difference in the lives of families in their community but they also enrich their own lives and the lives of those who donate to their efforts.

Keep up the good work Jennifer and Bobbie! Thank you for spreading your love for life and good cheer with the rest of us!

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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Enjoy where you’re at while you’re gettin’ where you’re going!
~Michael A. Iacona Sr.

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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THIS SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 7PM LOCAL TIME, LIGHT A CANDLE AND HELP ENSURE THAT THE LIGHT OF A BELOVED CHILD MAY ALWAYS SHINE.

This Sunday, December 13 is National Children’s Memorial Day and Worldwide Candle Lighting.

Please light a candle to remember all children who have died. Candles are lit at 7 pm local time around the world. This is believed to be the largest mass candle lighting in the world, and it creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.

Following is from the organizer’s press release and includes other ways to participate in this event. For more information including the location of services both in the U.S. and around the world, visit The Compassionate Friends or call 877-969-0010.

Tens of thousands of families around the world, grieving the loss of a child, will join together Sunday, December 13 for The Compassionate Friends thirteenth annual Worldwide Candle Lighting.

In addition, bereaved family members, relatives, and friends are invited to post a memorial message December 13 in a Remembrance Book on TCF’s national website. Last year several thousand messages, some in foreign languages, were received during the Worldwide Candle Lighting day from throughout the United States and dozens of countries abroad.

Please show your support this December 13 for families and friends who have experienced the death of a child, and light a candle to help ensure that the light of their loved one will always shine!

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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TEENS EDUCATE FELLOW NEW YORKERS ABOUT THE EFFICIENCY OF CFL BULBS TO POSITIVELY IMPACT ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY.

After viewing Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth in March, 2006, Avery Hairston, a then 14 year old high school freshman, couldn’t stop thinking about the issues facing the environment. Soon after he saw the movie, he ran across a Starbucks ad in The New York Times that said if every person who received the newspaper switched one light bulb to a compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb, it would be the equivalent of taking 89,000 cars off the road.*

Inspired by the documentary, armed with the information from the Starbucks ad, and with help from parents, friends and sponsors, Avery founded RelightNY, a program that runs on the idea that together, everyone can have a big impact by doing something small.

Avery decided he wanted to make a positive impact on the environment despite how overwhelmed he felt at the concept of global warming; so, he broke it down into something as simple as changing out a lightbulb!

Earlier this year, Avery was nominated by Julie Moriarty, Director of Curriculum
Children for Children, for the 2009 Heart of Green Local Hero Award. Following is an excerpt from Ms. Moriarty’s letter of nomination:

Avery and his Relight team quickly began educating fellow New Yorkers about their energy use one apartment at a time and to ask their neighbors to switch from incandescent bulbs to CFL bulbs. Then, they figured if they donate CFL bulbs to community members, they would draw attention to the environmental issues and at the same time, help families save money on their electric bills. In the past two years, they have raised enough money to donate 30,000 bulbs to low-income housing in each of the 5 boroughs of New York City.

RelightNY is a great example of individual responsibility, and collective action. It gives groups the power to self organize and achieve seemingly unachievable tasks.

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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*Source: Blog post entitled Teens Inspiring Action, dated March 19, 2007, written by Bob Jeffrey, Chairman and CEO, JWT Worldwide

 
Wash out your ego every once in a while, as cleanliness is next to godliness not just in body but in humility as well. ~Abbe Yeux-verdi

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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TEN WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE AND FEED YOUR OWN SPIRIT AT THE SAME TIME (continued from TGIFYGDF dated November 6 and November 27)

Acts of kindness and altruism can reduce stress in our lives according to a recent WebMD Feature article entitled The Science of Good Deeds, The ‘helper’s high’ could help you live a longer, healthier life., written by Jeanie Lerche Davis and reviewed by Louise Chang, MD.

Following are good deed ideas (21 through 30) that make performing acts of kindness and “feeding your good dog” easy as pie. Check out number 29…it doesn’t get much easier than that with the potential of huge positive impact on another person’s life. Source: 50 good deeds for 50 days, By Daniela Payne

21. Help someone who looks lost with directions. Most people are intimidated and feel vulnerable when they’re lost, offering to help them find their destination will relieve them.

22. Donate blood. One single donation can help up to 4 people – that should be inspiring enough. Check out the Canadian Blood Services website for more information.

23. Donate your used clothes and housewares to charity. By doing so, you can help people meet basic human needs. Your old sweaters will keep someone warm during the winter and your old housewares can help someone furnish their new apartment.

24. Around Christmas time, find a holiday angel program in your community. You can donate basic things like toothpaste, towels, sheets and pyjamas for a family in need to open on Christmas morning.

25. Take a CPR class. You never know when you might be in a position to put those life-saving skills into practice.

26. Help an elderly person off the bus or cross the road by offering to take their arm or carry their packages.

27. By joining a bone marrow registry such as One Match stem cell and marrow network (in Canada), you could be giving someone a lifesaving gift.

28. Offer to babysit a friend’s kids one night so she and her partner can enjoy a romantic evening out. You friend will certainly be grateful for the night off.

29. Bring your old magazines to a hospital waiting room to make patients’ waits a little less nerve racking.

30. Write a letter or e-mail to a good friend or family member to let them know how much you value them. Can you imagine opening a letter of that sort? Go on, start the trend.

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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THE VOLUNTEERS OF STORY COUNTY, AMES IOWA ARE AT IT AGAIN…DOING GOOD WORK!

On October 31, November 9, and November 21 Story County volunteers made their neighbors’ homes warmer, their neighborhoods cleaner, and the Thanksgiving holiday brighter for others, and had fun doing it all!

OCTOBER 31, 2009  Volunteers line tape around windows before applying plastic, blow dry the plastic to tighten it across windows and make draft dodgers to keep the cold out of homes, among other things, during the 2009 Story County Winter Weatherization Challenge. More than 150 volunteers weatherized 53 homes.

   

   

NOVEMBER 9, 2009  AmeZone volunteers pick up trash after an ISU football game. Members of AmeZone ride in the trailer to the tailgating fields after the game and show it can be great fun to be part of any volunteer effort.

   

   

NOVEMBER 21, 2009  Volunteers gather at the Volunteer Center of Story County to participate in Story County’s Family Volunteer Day project Volunteers planted tulip bulbs in the pots and then donated them to Meals on Wheels recipients and residents of a local nursing home

   

   

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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