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Wednesday Wide Smile

November 18, 2009 by Rose Caplan

16 YEAR OLD RILEY CARNEY…THE TAYLOR SWIFT OF LITERACY….IS A PUBLISHED AUTHOR WITH A PASSION FOR ELIMINATING ILLITERACY WORLDWIDE…AND, SHE IS SUCCEEDING

Riley Carney is 16 years old and has, already in her young life, written a five-book series, The Reign of the Elements. She began and completed the first three books in the series when she was 15, and finished the last two books during this her 16th year. And, she has just completed the first book of an urban fantasy trilogy for teens.

On her website, Riley had said of herself: “I write for teenagers from a unique perspective – I am a teenager! I try to make my stories exciting, filled with action and humor, and my characters relatable.”

The Fire Stone: Book One of The Reign of the Elements has been published and is available on Amazon.com. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Riley’s books go to her passion of giving the gift of literacy to children worldwide.

Not only is Riley a published author, but she is also very involved with eliminating illiteracy and poverty for children around the world. She believes that teaching children to read breaks the cycle of poverty and exploitation of children.

At the age of 14, Riley created her own non-profit organization called Breaking the Chain with the goal of eliminating illiteracy in children. So far, she has raised enough money to build two schools in Africa and create a children’s literacy center in a woman’s shelter in Colorado. This year, her older brother, Nick, joins Breaking the Chain and they will be working together on literacy and sustainable development around the world.

Congratulations Riley on your successes and for accomplishing so much to change the lives of others for the good in such a short time!

Sources:

Kids Are Heros

Riley Carney’s Website

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

November 16, 2009 by Rose Caplan

You just have to take the dis off of disability — it’s all about ability. ~James Terpenning

Source: Mary McManus Blog Post Take Out the Dis- on DarynKagan.com andExtreme Makeover Home Edition

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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TGIFYGDF…Thank Goodness It’s Feed Your Good Dog Friday!

November 13, 2009 by Rose Caplan

EMMY AWARD WINNING JOURNALIST, BYRON PITTS, SHARES HIS LIFE’S STORY TO INSPIRE THOSE WHO MAY THINK “THEY CAN’T”

Byron Pitts, is the chief national correspondent for the CBS Evening News, an Emmy-Award Winning Journalist, and a “60 Minutes” contributor. His success is a result of hard work, dedication, faith, and the presence of a number of helpful people along the way who helped him through personality and learning difficulties.

Byron was painfully shy as a child, had a bad stutter until he was 20, and was diagnosed as functionally illiterate at the age of 12. Before that it was suggested that he might be placed in a “special needs” program. Despite these challenges and with help, Byron made it through high school and college, and on to realizing his dream of a career in television journalism. All the while holding these challenges secret and living with shame.

This is all laid out in Byron’s book entitled Step Out on Nothing How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life’s Challenges. It is an intimate telling of how he overcame what others might consider insurmountable hardships. His story is written to acknowledge those in his life who gave of their time and energy, on nothing but faith. They did so to help him overcome his life’s challenges so that he could follow his dream.

Byron also opens a window to his past so that we may see based on his experiences that we are not alone on this journey in life and that others will step in to help us over the rough spots if we let them.

Additionally, Step Out on Nothing is Byron’s leap of faith that his story may be a source of inspiration to a young child or an adult with a secret of their own that is holding them back from realizing their dream.

We say Byron Pitts is “feeding his good dog” with Step Out on Nothing, and has improved himself to improve the world.

And, remember…Feed Your Good Dog, so your good dog always wins!
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Sources:
NCFL
Step Out on Nothing Book Review, By Kam Williams
Amazon

Wednesday Wide Smile

November 11, 2009 by Rose Caplan

To the men and women of the armed forces who defend our Constitution and keep us safe at home and abroad, and to the Veterans who have done the same, and to their families; and to the families and loved ones of the wounded and fallen soliders…we salute you and thank you every day, and especially on this Veterans’ Day 2009, for your service; and, we are humbled by your sacrifice.

In looking for ways to say thanks to our military, we came across an appropriately named organization, The Thank You Foundation. Its mission is to show appreciation and express gratitude for members of the U.S. Military both past and present. They believe that saying thank you is not enough and that the words must be followed up with action and commitment.

Following are two ways in which The Thank You Foundation meets its mission:

First…The Thank You Foundation had a dream to build a mobile health unit to better serve the health needs of military veterans. Cintas heard of their dream and partnered with the foundation to fund the unit’s creation.

On May 15, 2009, the Cincinnati Veteran’s Administration unveiled their new mobile health clinic thanks to the generosity of Cintas founder, Richard T. Farmer and the Farmer Family Foundation.

The new veterans mobile health unit is the only one of its kind in the country. It features most of the amenities of a typical doctor’s office, plus has online capabilities to instantly get veterans and their families enrolled in the VA network. This saves them from a trip to the VA Hospital.

The mobile health unit is booked for the next 6 months, stationed at many public events around the tri-state where many veterans may be in attendance.

And, second…The Thank You Foundation delivers the Kroger Neighborhood Rewards Program and makes it easy to help “Support the Troops” and our Veterans simply by shopping at Kroger.

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

November 9, 2009 by Rose Caplan

We all do ‘do, re, mi,’ but you have got to find the other notes yourself. ~ Louis Armstrong

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

November 4, 2009 by Rose Caplan

THIS WEEK IS THE BUMP EXPERIMENT WEEK…BECOME A BUMPER AND BUMP IT UP!

The Bump Experiment was started by Billy Von Schriltz and is based on his own experience and the idea that “one act of kindness may touch and change someone’s life forever. When we least expect it and many times when we most need it out of the blue something wonderful happens!” Billy calls this experience “getting bumped.”

As a senior in high school, 30 years ago, Billy received an anonymous note in his principal’s office. It included money for his college education. The note said,” if you are ever in the position to do something for someone be it of your time or money do it without expecting anything in return!” The note was signed, “Your Guardian Angel.”

Billy carried the feeling of thankfulness and joy from that experience throughout the rest of his life.

In his late twenties he figured out the identity of his guardian angel. He was the postmaster of his hometown of Farmville, North Carolina. Billy was able to share with his guardian angel several stories of people he had come in contact with over the years whom he had been able to help in the same way he had been so they too could experience the same exhilaration he had felt so long ago having been the recipient and now the giver of such unconditional gestures.

This kind postmaster in his small hometown was named Bump. His nickname was short for Bumpass. Bump died in 2007 at 88 blessed years of age. And though no longer with us his ONE gesture of kindness has been multiplied too many times to keep track of and Billy is sure exponentially more times through others as we all continue to keep “BUMPING IT UP!”

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