Spirit

TGIFYGDF…Thank Goodness It’s Feed Your Good Dog Friday!

January 22, 2010 by Rose Caplan

HANDS TOGETHER HAS WORKED OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS TO HELP IMPROVE THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THE POOREST OF POOR CONDITIONS IN HAITI, AND, AFTER THE RECENT EARTHQUAKE, THEIR WORK IS NEEDED THERE NOW MORE THAN EVER

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” ~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King’s words are inspiration for the work being done by Hands Together, a non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of Haiti’s poor so they may live with dignity. Hands Together volunteers are, and have been, “boots on the ground” in Haiti in one form or another for the past 25 years. You will find a first hand account of what happened in Haiti on the day of the earthquake, Hands Together’s response to it and their recovery plan on the Hands Together website.

Hands Together was born of a single service trip to Haiti in 1985, when Father Tom Hagan, O.S.F.S., who was serving as chaplain to Lafayette and Moravian Colleges in Pennsylvania, led a group of students on a visit to Haiti. The history of Hands Together is rich and its accomplishments many despite the years of violence and natural disasters that have threatened to shut them down.

Its vision is the hope that not only will the people of Haiti benefit from the tireless efforts of its volunteers who work to help the poor become free and live dignified lives through education, clean water, and health care, but that the volunteers return to their own community with the ability to identify its needs with a renewed sense of compassion and desire to fulfill those needs.

One can not help but be inspired and feel moved to serve after reading the following Hands Together vision message:

We hope that members of Hands Together work passionately to build a more compassionate and human world; that Hands Together’s workers will be known for their tenderness and mercy, especially toward the poor; that people will visit our projects and experience the beauty and goodness of the people they encounter; that our volunteers will assess the needs of their own communities with a renewed sense of compassion, and search for ways to respond respectfully to help others; that the families who live in Haiti’s desert villages will be healthy, that the people in the slums of Port-au-Prince will drink clean water; that everyone in Haiti will have access to education; that in the poorest communities, Hands Together helps people use their resources so that they become free and live dignified lives; and we hope that the people of Haiti will be able to build a strong community with their friends from Hands Together and exchange ideas in order to improve their quality of life.

Following are concrete goals set by Hands Together to give you an idea of the work being done to carry out its vision:

Education

15 school campuses with 11,000 students

Emergency Intervention

Spontaneous charity to poorest of the poor
Response to disasters

Nutrition – Health

Daily meals to 11,000 students, staff and elderly
Canteens for children ages 2-7
Medical outreach through 2 clinics

Sustainable Development

Water well and irrigation drilling
Agricultural promotion through Bassen Center & Clarke Farm & Environment Protection
Employment for 500 people

If you find some time to peruse the Hands Together website over the weekend, please do and think about donating what you can to this worthwhile effort. Hands Together has received a four star rating from Charity Navigator for the past four years. Charity Navigator is one of the leading Charity watchdog and assessment organizations.

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

January 20, 2010 by Rose Caplan

“THERE IS STRENGTH IN UNITY”

Hundreds gathered united at the Washington National Cathedral to show their support through prayer and monetary donations for the Haitian community. Additionally thousands came from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia to the Haitian Embassy, literally causing traffic jams, to drop off donated goods gathered from family, friends and neighbors. All of these folks mobilized in less time than it takes to do a days work, but the goodwill generated from their efforts will reverberate a lifetime, and certainly through the rebuilding of Haiti.

Fox 5 does a nice job in the following videos to show us the depth of human compassion and the immediate impact it has on those in the Washington DC area who have loved ones surrounded by the devastation in Haiti.

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

January 18, 2010 by Rose Caplan

To honor the life and work of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” ~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Read entire speech here or listen to it on the player below.

I Have A Dream speech audio from Internet Archives

Not only did the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver one of the most powerful speeches of all time, in 1964, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means.

His biography on Nobelprize.org gives good insight into Dr. King’s ideals and level of commitment. It also gives us a good idea of the stamina he must of had to keep up with the incredible amount of work he did as he set out to make this world a better place.

In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. The ideals for this organization he took from Christianity; its operational techniques from Gandhi. In the eleven-year period between 1957 and 1968, King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles. In these years, he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, that caught the attention of the entire world, providing what he called a coalition of conscience. and inspiring his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, a manifesto of the Negro revolution; he planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters; he directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, “l Have a Dream”, he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson; he was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times; he was awarded five honorary degrees; was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963; and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.

By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective. Dr. King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

Source: Wikipedia

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

January 11, 2010 by Rose Caplan

THINK, AND CELEBRATE, WHAT IS GOOD

Nowadays with the news bombarding us with reasons for why we should not be happy, it is easy to let those winds of bad news blow out our light. But as we sit poised on the dawn of a new decade, I propose that we all join together in celebration of the uniqueness of each and every one of us, that we celebrate our incredible resiliency and ability to survive and thrive in spite of or maybe because of external circumstances and we celebrate all the magic and wonder that is yet to be. ~Mary McManus

Source: Celebration, December 31, 2009, DarynKagan.com

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

December 21, 2009 by Rose Caplan

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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TGIFYGDF…Thank Goodness It’s Feed Your Good Dog Friday!

December 11, 2009 by Rose Caplan

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.

More than 500 services open to the public will be held in the United States including all 50 states, plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico.

The Worldwide Candle Lighting is sponsored by The Compassionate Friends, the world’s largest self-help bereavement organization for families grieving the death of a child. The organization has more than 625 chapters blanketing the United States. The Worldwide Candle Lighting was started by a small group of Internet visionaries who recognized that a day should exist to honor the memories of all children who have died. The observance has grown every year and is now believed to be the world’s largest mass candle lighting. The candle lighting is officially held for an hour at 7 p.m. local time around the world, creating a virtual wave of light. Tens of thousands, unable to attend services held throughout the day, will light candles for that hour wherever they may be, whether alone or with friends and family.

Persons interested in participating in the Worldwide Candle Lighting, but who may not be able to attend an organized event have two additional alternatives. They can join in the Online Support Community (chats) on The Compassionate Friends national website. They also can join in a virtual candle lighting being held at 7 p.m. PST in Second Life, an online virtual community with more than 6 million members.

As in the past, chapters of many allied organizations are expected to participate in this year’s event including MADD, MISS, SHARE, Parents of Murdered Children, and BPUSA. U.S. services are also being sponsored by local bereavement groups, churches, hospices, hospitals, funeral homes, schools, and many individuals.

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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