A Place Called Home

Welcome Home

“Home” means so much to so many. It’s a place where we feel safe… where we can be ourselves… where we can be with our friends, family, and loved ones. Most of all, home is where a community comes together. Home is where the heart is.

A Place Called Home is a safe haven in South Central Los Angeles where underserved youth are empowered to take ownership of the quality and direction of their lives through programs in education, arts, and well-being; and are inspired to make a meaningful difference in their community and the world.  At A Place Called Home, caring staff, supporters and volunteers come together to provide South Central children and teens 8 years old – 21 years old with love, safety, enrichment, training, and opportunities through educational programs, counseling, and mentorship. After-school, weekend, and all-day summer programs and services include tutoring and homework support, as well as a full spectrum of instruction in the arts, athletics, dance and music. Our high school dropout recovery partnership with LAUSD is open in the mornings and they provide year-round support for college preparation, SAT tutoring, and college counseling and scholarships.  The children ARE our future… it’s not just a song, so finding ways to help troubled youth can certainly be very beneficial.  Having a place to grow, learn and do better things with your life (HOME) is essential to a child.

How often do you think about child hunger?

We are full of food choices, with restaurants on every corner, markets adjacent to one another, and convenience stores galore. Leftovers are continuously thrown away, without a care, while right outside our doors, across the country, and beyond, there are hungry children.

You local food banks do their best to make food available for underprivileged children and their families, but over the last several months food donations have diminished. Replenishing those supplies in your own community provides hope for those children in need.  

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, located in Charlottesville, exists for a few very simple reasons: Food sustains life. It restores options. It provides hope. They are an emergency food assistance agency that serves more than 120,000 people each month, a record in the Food Bank’s history. Last year, they distributed more than 17 million meals to hungry families across the Blue Ridge. The number increases every year.

Disciples Kitchen in Waynesboro, and Valley Mission in Staunton rely on outside help to attempt to meet the basic needs of shelter, food, clothing, spiritual encouragement and personal growth for the homeless and hungry of our community.

You can visit their websites to support those children in your community or bring non-perishable foods directly to their drop off places.  Whatever you can give will be of help.

 

 

Related articles

• Food bank celebrates anniversary Saturday (enewscourier.com)
• Food bank gets helping hand to help others (wbng.com)

 

Do Something Good Day!

There has never been a greater need for people do something good.  The world is sometimes sad, sometimes scary.  Doing good reinforces GOOD and makes the bad fall away.

When a tiny pebble is dropped into a pool of water, ripples spread out across the entire surface of the pond. We believe that, like the pebble, a good deed makes a ripple that spreads across the entire planet spreading happiness, gratitude and good will.  I know what you’re thinking… “Ugh…  my teeth hurt that was so sweet”.  Sure.  But you catch more flies with honey, they say.  The idea of PAY IT FORWARD is a goody goody, sweet and syrupy one, but it is an extremely effective way to spread good in a world that DESPERATELY needs some.

Take a moment to imagine what it might be like if every person in your neighborhood were to do just one simple good deed — like picking up the paper for the elderly man who lives around the corner; or helping the young mother across the street with her many bags of groceries; or perhaps it’s simply a wave and a friendly smile for the garbage man. What a difference that would make and doing so is almost effortless.

January 21st is DO SOMETHING GOOD DAY.   This to honor Martin Luther King Jr Day.  King wanted everyone to be treated the same… now, we want everyone to be treated the SAME and BETTER.

Smiles are nice. Cards are nice. Gifts are nice.  All the “standards” are nice–and all, at least in part, are somewhat expected.  If you really want to make someone’s day, do the unexpected. It’s not hard. Little things truly can go the longest way.

Be thoughtful, simply because you can.

A friend of mine pulled into a service bay to get his oil changed. As he got out of the car one of the techs said, “Man, those are nice wheels… too bad they’re so dirty.” He smiled, just teasing.  ”I know…” I said. “I guess i’ll go to the car wash next.”  Then he went inside to wait.

When he walked to my car to leave he was just standing up, filthy rags in his hand. “Took some work, but I got ‘em all clean,” he said. Every rim sparkled. Every speck of brake dust was gone.  ”Wow, that’s awesome… but you didn’t have to do that,” he said.  ”We’re not very busy,” he shrugged.  “I had time. Figured I would make ‘em look better.” Just then a car pulled into another bay so he hustled away, saying over his shoulder, “Have a good day.”

That was four years ago. But my friend still hasn’t forgotten it. Instead of turning idle time into “me time,” use your free time to do something nice: Not because you might be expected to, but just because you can.

Say something good about something old.

One day I was waiting to check into a B&B and overheard this conversation:  The man said, “A few years ago my daughter’s fiancée was deployed to Iraq and they decided to move up their wedding. She needed a venue that could put the reception together on two days’ notice. I told her not to get her hopes up because there was no way anyone could pull that off.  ”But you and your folks did. You can’t imagine what having a real wedding meant to her. And I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to see her so happy. I just wanted to thank you again.” They shook hands, the man walked away, and the owner’s eyes stayed on him until he disappeared out the door.

It feels great to receive compliments for something you’ve just done. It feels even better when someone goes out of their way to compliment you for something you did in the past–not only do they still appreciate what you did, they went out of their way to say they remember.  Find a person you can thank or compliment for something they did a long time ago.  Everyone appreciates–no, everyone loves–to be remembered.

Say who referred you.

We all get recommendations from friends or colleagues (I LOVE THEM, BY THE WAY). Sometimes we act on them.  When you do, say so. Tell the owner John referred you. Tell the manager Mary said the food was awesome and you just had to try it. Say Mark said you won’t find better service anywhere else.  The person you tell will feel good because it’s a double compliment, one from you and one from the referrer. They’ll feel good because they’ll know their hard work is appreciated, which is nice, and that their hard work is paying off–which is even nicer.

And John, Mary, and Mark will appreciate it because they’ll know you respect their opinion and because you helped make their professional relationship with another business a little more personal.

Compliment for something you aren’t expected to compliment.

I was third in line. The guy at the front of the line was huffing and puffing and threatening to blow the smoothie shop’s house down because, I don’t know, maybe because he felt he wasn’t being treated with the deference due a Wolf of Industry. He left in a huff (albeit a huff insufficient to blow said smoothie shop down.)  The kid at the counter stayed nice, stayed polite, and stayed professional. It was an impressive performance for a high school student working a part-time job.  The woman in front of me placed her order. Then she said, “You know, you handled that really well.”  The kid was startled. “Um…” he stammered.  ”No, really,” she said. “He was being a jerk. But you handled it perfectly. I have customer service professionals working for me that would not have done nearly as well as you did. You should be proud of yourself.”  ”Thanks,” he said. He turned to make her smoothie, his shoulders a little broader and his back a little straighter.

Every day people around you do good things. Most of those people don’t work for you; in fact, most of them have no relationship with you, professional or personal. Compliment them for something they would least expect.

Expected feels good. Unexpected makes a huge, and lasting, impact.

Notice when someone tries something different.

Status quo is often status safe. Taking a risk, however small, is hard, especially if you’re insecure.  Insecurity feeds off silence, so mention when you see someone trying something different. Compliment the effort. Praise the risk.  Even if what they try doesn’t work, they will know you noticed.  Everyone likes to be noticed.

And they’ll know, regardless of how it turns out, that you respect them for trying.

Give someone credit they don’t deserve–yet.

A friend of mine decided to tryout for cheerleading in the ninth grade.  She was nervous, scared, intimidated.  A week or so into practices, she heard the coach talking to one of the seniors. “That kid there,” he said, meaning my friend, “is going to be a state champion by the time she’s a senior.”  In that instant, my friend felt more confident, more self-assured… and incredibly motivated. Those feelings lasted for a long time, even though she was never a state champion – someone believed in her.

When you see a person struggling, give them hope. Let them know you see something in them that they don’t yet see – even if, sometimes, you don’t yet see it either.  Belief, founded or unfounded, is incredibly powerful–and when someone else believes in us, it’s unforgettable.

Related articles

• Diamond ring donated via Salvation Army kettle in memory of Midland youth Jayden Lamb (mlive.com)
• Students praising others on Facebook (dispatch.com)
• Anonymous Lakewood students start heartwarming Facebook ‘compliment’ page (kdvr.com)

Local Heros

This series profiles folks who, often through quiet efforts, make a difference in the lives of Central Virginians. They all deserve recognition, and choosing just a few was VERY difficult.  Here are their inspiring stories:

A doctor with acute devotion to the elderly
“The patients I really love best are over 85; anything above 75 is OK,” Dr. Diane Snustad quipped.  Dr. Snustad is the Claude Moore chairwoman of geriatrics at the University of Virginia and twice was named to “Best Doctors in America.”  “I have never met a doctor as dedicated to her patients as Diane is,” wrote her friend, Barbara Woodsmall, of Albemarle County. “She truly loves her patients as much as they love her.”

Snustad also volunteers at the Charlottesville Free Clinic once a month. And she travels to Southwestern Virginia to work as part of the Remote Area Medical Clinic. When she retires, she said, she’ll do mo  Her husband, Paul Humphreys, wrote that it’s her combination of a distinguished medical career and dedication to volunteerism that sets her apart.

“It’s hard for me to go anywhere in Charlottesville with Diane without someone approaching us and thanking Diane in glowing terms for the care she gave one or both parents,” he wrote. “Taking care of the elderly requires an unusual combination of medical expertise, good humor, energy and empathy.”

 

A retired teacher battling for a cause larger than herself

When Marty Whitlow felt the sharp stab in her side, she thought she’d pulled a muscle trying the rowing machine at her gym.  As she tried to fight off the pain, it intensified. Finally, when she had trouble standing, she decided to see a doctor.  She was diagnosed with an advanced stage of ovarian cancer. It already had spread to her abdomen. The pain stemmed from a tumor pressing on a nerve.  Three years later, Whitlow, 60, of Earlysville, is battling for a cause larger than herself.  Marty Whitlow gave up teaching to focus on her advocacy work and volunteer at the University of Virginia’s Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center.

The original goal of the Marty Whitlow Ovarian Cancer Research Fund was to raise $25,000 in five years to fund research at UVa.  After just two years of dances, house concerts and other fundraising activities, the effort has raised almost $70,000.

‘Heart of gold’ propels hospice volunteer

Dick Fontaine sat on a ski lift in Park City, Utah, next to a young boy with no legs.  On the ride up the mountain, the boy placed his hand on Fontaine’s shoulder and said, “This is the best day of my life. I don’t have any legs, and we’re skiing on this bluebird day. Thank you.”  That moment changed Fontaine, who used to make his living running big companies across the country. He came away, he said, with a new perspective on life, volunteerism and the present.  Before that moment, Fontaine had been prone to think the big picture. His mindset had been to take definite steps to reach set goals. Working with one child, he thought, was nice, but he could be doing more.

As well as volunteering with hospice patients, Fontaine is a member of the hospice’s board of directors. In that role, Fontaine the business man can shine.  “What he gives is a heart of gold, and is a person who serves to inspire all of us,” said Dr. Jim Avery, CEO of Hospice of the Piedmont. “At the same time, here is a man who is very successful in business, has a mind for numbers and can keep all of us on track.”

 

An urge to help turns into a growing nonprofit

On a recent Tuesday night, dozens of people sat in parked cars behind an Albemarle County warehouse, waiting for the doors to open.  As the hour approached, a crew inside worked speedily to prepare the goods: chili, soup, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta, bread, cereal, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti sauce and more groceries that would be given out to Central Virginia’s needy.

“Doors are opening!” yelled Jerry Denney, the driving force behind the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry.  What started in 2004 as a small operation has grown into a bustling enterprise serving nearly 12,000 families.

With the new space, shelving, refrigerator, freezer and forklift, the food pantry now has the capacity to move close to 400 tons of food per year, a far cry from what was possible in the tiny space at Jackson-Via.  Denney, a financial adviser with Wells Fargo, was at the center of that evolution.   “Jerry was leading the way with his decision to say, ‘This is where we need to be,’” said Allison.  With the expansion, the food pantry is the largest partner of the local Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, which provides much of the food, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Denney, 51, says he’s always felt an urge to help those who are struggling. Though some might be troubled by the sight of people living in tents out in the woods, Denney is the type who will approach to see if there’s anything he can do.  “Earlier, I felt just a little hungry, but nothing compared to what somebody else might feel who doesn’t have access to food,” Denney said. “Helping people with basic needs has just always been important to me.”

On an average week, Denney puts in about 12 hours of work for the food pantry. On heavy weeks, he puts in 40 to 50.

Read more about outstanding local givers at http://www.dailyprogress.com

 

 

Ways to Make Your NEXT Thanksgiving More Meaningful

Now that it’s over, do you feel like you made the most of it?  Did you enjoy the love of family and friends and remember all of the reasons that you are thankful?  Long after the stove is off, you’ll feel the warmth of love and gratitude when you try these ideas at Thanksgiving.

Sure, the turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie might be the stars of the show, but we all know it’s really our loved ones who make Thanksgiving special. Really embrace the spirit of the holiday next year by adopting a new tradition that highlights gratitude, giving and community (and have fun doing it). Here are 10 fresh ideas to try next turkey day — and perhaps for many more years to come.

1. Create a banner you can use year after year. Use what you have in the house to create a gratitude banner to decorate your dining room on Thanksgiving. Here are a few ways to do it, depending on the materials you have:

• Cut and sew letters from fabric scraps onto fabric tape.
• Cut out letters from wallpaper samples or oilcloth, and sew them onto grosgrain ribbon.
• Glue letters cut from pretty gift wrap onto cardstock for strength, punch holes in the tops and tie them onto ribbon or twine.
• Cut out pages from an old book and use stencils to paint a letter onto each page, then staple the pages onto twine.

2. Display the year in photos. Take the time to collect your favorite photos of family, friends and adventures over the past year and display them in the entry hall on Thanksgiving. You can have multiple photos made into oversize posters — add one more each year if you make it a tradition.

Or tape up a quick family tree on the wall using photographs and Japanese masking tape (which is easily removed) as the branches.
3. Invite someone who doesn’t have a place to go. Whether it’s a work colleague or a friend of a friend, if you hear of someone who won’t be able to go home this Thanksgiving, invite him or her to your home to share this special meal. It can really make a difference for the person you invite; besides, the more people are squished around the table, the more fun the dinner usually is.

4. Send gratitude notes to friends and family far away. Sending gratitude notes for Thanksgiving would be such a welcome surprise for loved ones who can’t be at the table with you. Of course, this being the digital age, you could also send an e-card, call them on Skype or use whatever method works for you. The point is to connect.

5. Share the bounty. Before the holiday comes, take stock of your own good fortune and see if you can afford to donate a few bags of much-needed food to your local food bank or soup kitchen.

I recommend calling in advance to see what they really need. I also know families who choose to volunteer serving food or washing dishes at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, so if that is something you are interested in, why not give it a try next year?

6. Share your family’s treasured recipes. If you always make a favorite dish that’s been passed down through your family, this year take the time to copy it out on cards to give guests, along with the story behind it.

7. Make a gratitude tree. Using wooden leaves like the ones shown here or paper leaves you cut yourself, encourage guests to note something they are grateful for on a leaf, then clip the leaves with clothespins to bare branches in a tall vase.

8. Invite friends into the kitchen to help cook.  If you are one of those cooks who takes on the entire Thanksgiving feast on your own, I beg you to reconsider this year — even if only a little. Assign family and friends kitchen duties you know they can handle, and everyone will feel more useful and have more fun.

9. End the day outside.Take a walk, play football or sit around an outdoor fire with a final glass of wine. After all of that cooking and eating indoors, it feels lovely to step out into the crisp air.

10. Share the feast with the birds. Try making a classic DIY bird feeder from an apple rolled in peanut butter and birdseed. This is a

great activity to keep kids busy while the grown-ups are cooking — then you can send them outside to place their treats around the yard for birds or squirrels to find.

What are your favorite Turkey Day Traditions?  Let us know!

Related articles

• Thanksgiving Gratitude (mjleone.com)
• 6 easy ways to involve kids in Thanksgiving (parenthacks.com)
• Why I Love Thanksgiving (eleanorvincent.wordpress.com)
• Thanksgiving Gratitude Garland Tutorial (lifewithoutpink.com)
• Thanksgiving week gratitude (neverpictureperfect.wordpress.com)
• The Gratitude Dance (curvyelviesays.me)

Top Rated Charities

 

You want your donation to go to the right organization, so here are some top places to consider according to charity-rating website Charity Navigator.  Here’s our top 5 list:

No. 5:  Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Featured previously as one of the best charities that receive no help from the government, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation uses donations to support members of the elite special forces units of all branches of the military — Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, Army Rangers and Air Force rotary and fixed-wing squadrons, as well as several others.

The group’s annual revenue (more than $13 million last year) goes to two very specific areas: providing educational scholarships to the children of special forces soldiers who die in the line of duty and helping families of severely wounded soldiers visit their loved ones in the hospital.

No. 4: Homes for Our Troops

 Another organization that comes to the aid of soldiers and military families, Homes for Our Troops collects donations and secures volunteer labor to build houses for disabled veterans or to modify existing houses so they are handicap-accessible. Managing revenue of more than $11 million in 2010, the group addresses the struggles of injured soldiers after they leave the hospital and begin to live with their injuries, an area of recovery and rehabilitation that the Veterans Administration addresses through Specially Adapted Housing Grants of up to approximately $63,000, which do not always cover the entire cost of construction. Homes for Our Troops steps in when those grants run out, and the group says it has completed projects in 30 states.

No. 3: The Navy SEAL Foundation

 Another military-focused charity, the Navy SEAL Foundation targets an even narrower group than the larger Special Operations Warrior Foundation (our No. 5 highest-rated charity) does, and with revenue of just less than $6 million, less than half of SOWF’s receipts. And in many (but not all) ways, the groups’ missions overlap.

According to the NSF, “Our programs center around three pillars: health and welfare, including tragedy assistance and family events; education and motivation, including scholarships and tuition assistance; and history and heritage, including the funding of monuments and memorials.”

No. 2: Patient Advocate Foundation

Congress may have passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the beginning of 2010, but a complex law to ensure universal health care is bound to have some holes. To fill them, the Virginia-based Patient Advocate Foundation manages more than $35 million in donations to provide comprehensive support to those struggling with health problems. The group helps the uninsured, disabled patients who need support in the workplace and patients whose medical-related expenses have become unmanageable. And by all accounts, it’s doing a great job: After a steep drop in donations from 2007 to 2008 (during a recession, remember), the organization’s fundraising in 2010 marked a 50% increase, compared with pre-recession levels.

No. 1: Give Kids the World

Featured previously as one of the best charities that receive no help from the government, Give Kids the World uses its revenue (more than $28 million in 2009, the last year for which filings are available) to bring terminally ill children to Florida’s famous theme parks, such as Disney World and Universal Studios. The organization even built its own theme park in the area, Give Kids the World Village, to provide its own fantasy vacations for sick children and their families.

With 93.2% of donations going to program expenses instead of administrative or fundraising costs, the organization also is notable for the conservative salary of its president, which is just shy of $190,000 and represents only 0.53% of the organization’s expenses.

Related articles

• The Top 4 Rated Pro-Troop Non-Profits (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Benefit truly a special operation (bostonherald.com)
• Homes for Our Troops (gunnerscorner.wordpress.com)

 

Bras For A Cause

“We all have had friends or family who’ve been touched by breast cancer,” stated Kim Armstrong, Associate Broker at Bill May ERA and my fellow bra’s for a causer. “This is an opportunity to honor their struggle and support a great cause while having an outrageously fun time as well!”  And so begins my blog about Bra’s For A Cause.

The Blue Ridge Chapter of Women’s Council of REALTORS presents their annual fundraiser “Bras For A Cause”, an event to support Flourish, A Positive Image Boutique located and developed by UVA’s Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center helping those facing cancer to look and feel their best. The event, held a week and a half ago, was fun (and somewhat controversial)  held at the Double Tree Hotel just north of Charlottesville.  Hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar and MALE’s modeling BRAS.

Oh yes.  This event is a live Bra-Fashion Show with male models. These runway ‘models’ will be wearing the most unique bra fashions which will be auctioned off at the end of the event. A portion of the proceeds will go to support Flourish, A Positive Image Boutique. Each bra will also include a Gift Card (varied amounts up to $100).  Local businesses are encouraged to participate by donating $100 to enter a bra decorated in a unique (and even outrageous) fashion. Men in their organization volunteer to model your company’s bra for this spectacular cause – Supporting (no pun intended) Breast Cancer Awareness. The Women’s Council of REALTORS encourages them to invite co-workers, friends and family to attend our event and vote for your Bra! The winning bra will receive a trophy.

The size, stage, rate of growth, and other characteristics of a breast cancer determine the kinds of treatment. Treatment may include surgery, drugs(hormonal therapy and chemotherapy), radiation and/or immunotherapy.^[3] Surgical removal of the tumor provides the single largest benefit, with surgery alone curing many cases. To increase the likelihood of cure, several chemotherapy regimens are commonly given in addition to surgery. Radiation is used after breast-conserving surgery and substantially improves local relapse rates and in many circumstances also overall survival.  Some breast cancers are sensitive to hormones such as estrogen and/or progesterone, which makes it possible to treat them by blocking the effects of these hormones.

Worldwide, breast cancer comprises 22.9% of all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers) in women.  In 2008, breast cancer caused 458,503 deaths worldwide (13.7% of cancer deaths in women).  Breast cancer is more than 100 times more common in women than in men, although men tend to have poorer outcomes due to delays in diagnosis.

Prognosis and survival rates for breast cancer vary greatly depending on the cancer type, stage, treatment, and geographical location of the patient. Survival rates in the Western world are high; for example, more than 8 out of 10 women (84%) in England diagnosed with breast cancer survive for at least 5 years. In developing countries, however, survival rates are much poorer.  Whatever we can do to raise awareness or funds for research is needed.

Related articles

• Thousands Battle Breast Cancer in Race for the Cure (fox4kc.com)
• Support Breast Cancer Awareness with Sassy Lingerie! (fabsugar.com)
• October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month: How to Get Involved (amsterdamprinting.com)

Donate it FRESH

 

The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is an emergency food assistance agency that serves an average of 119,000 people each month. Last year, they distributed more than 17 million meals to hungry families across the Blue Ridge. Working with partner agencies to distribute food throughout the counties they serve, the Food Bank is dependent on them to collect foods that will sustain those in need in our area.

Partners at the Church of Our Saviour’s (COOS) west of Charlottesvillework very hard to collect nutritious and delicious foods to distribute. They have been requested that folks who have gardens bring their excess produce over to the church and donate it, as fresh vegetables are VERY expensive to purchase and contain many of the nutrients needed for a healthy body.

Linda Broadbent, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate III REALTOR and enthusiastic volunteer for the Church of Our Saviour Food Bank project stated “The other volunteers and I serve about 80-110 households per month from our Food Closet. We are here for those in need 3 days a week.” “We have a new initiative at COOS this year,” continued Broadbent, “to distribute fresh vegetables for our visitors. We are asking our church members and people from the community who have extra items from their garden to donate to our Food Closet for distribution in our bags.” “Fresh foods and items like peanut butter and cereal are so important to these folks,” Broadbent said. “They need the protein and vitamins and, unfortunately, the foods that are best for our health are normally more expensive.”

”The people who come to our Food Closet are SO very grateful for what they receive,” said Broadbent. “Times are tough and often the support of the community is quite helpful.”

The food bank is a bulk supplier to local churches or organizations, such as the Salvation Army, that operate food pantries and soup kitchens. The food bank also helps schools distribute snacks to kids and individuals, who can go directly to the food bank one time. There they’ll receive about 62 pounds of food for a family of four, help applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly called food stamps, and a list of nearby pantries and kitchens.

Through those outlets from Charlottesville to Lexington and Winchester, the food bank expects to distribute 18 million pounds of food this fiscal year. That’s nearly double the amount of two years ago and translates into 1.8 million meals in the Charlottesville area alone.

“When it comes to clients,” adds the food bank’s Director of Communications Ruth Jones, across its entire region, “we’ve seen the clients go from about 65,000 to 70,000 people served each month, to 83,000 to 90,000 people each month. Over the next few months, we expect to serve close to 100,000 people in one month’s time.”

If you would like to donate food items, stop by the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (MAP) or the Church of Our Saviour  (MAP).  Your donations are tremendously appreciated!

Related articles

• Food bank struggles to meet basic human need (yumasun.com)
• Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin-Robbins donates $50,000 to northeast regional food banks (troyrecord.com)
• Food Bank Distributes Fresh Produce in Ashland (wsaz.com)

 

Tour de Charity

Our 23^rd annual Tour de Vine took place this past weekend in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fully supported 25-, 50-, 75-, and 100-mile bike tours along with overnight activities ranging from wine tasting to live music. Cyclists not only face the challenge of the course, but together they fight the challenges of their friends, family and co-workers living with multiple sclerosis.  The sponsorships for their tour go to MS research and the Tour de Vine itself raises awareness of MS and it’s affect on those afflicted.

Multiple sclerosis (or MS) is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system (CNS), which is made

up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.  The National MS Society is a collective of passionate individuals who want to do something about MS now—to move together toward a world free of multiple sclerosis. MS stops people from moving. They exist to make sure it doesn’t.

They’re an increasingly common sight on country roads: packs of cyclists, often wearing matching jerseys advertising their favorite charity, pumping out the miles in pursuit of some good cause.  Helped by cycling’s rising popularity, there are rides in every part of the country. Tens of millions of dollars have been generated for the fight against cancer, diabetes, heart and stroke disease, multiple sclerosis and myriad other causes.

“Cycling is the on-trend activity,” Paul Alofs, president and CEO of the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. “Cycling is the new golf.”  Mr. Alofs, who was gearing up to participate over the weekend in Ride to Conquer Cancer, during which nearly 5,000 riders raised $18.1-million for the foundation, said the event started in response to research showing a noticeable growth of riders.  It’s a trend seen across the country.

Some attribute it to the Lance Armstrong effect, arguing that the seven-time Tour de France winner helped popularize the sport in North America. Others believe it is driven by boomers seeking a lower-impact activity than running. Whatever the reason, numerous charities have benefited from the new popularity, the biggest of them raising millions each.

In a twist that lets rider keep raising funds in the fall, when weather become iffier, the Ride for Diabetes Research is done inside on spinning bikes indoors. With more than 22,000 participants at locations across the country last year, the events raised more than $7.2-million. They are aiming for $7.9-million this year.

And more than 10,000 people are expected to participate this year in the 22 one- or two-day MS Bike Tour events taking place nationwide between this month and September.

To find out more about bike riding for charity, visit 
http://www.worldbiking.info/charity.html

Wounded Warrior Project

This past Saturday, The UVA Foundation, along with Bad to the Bone Endurance Sports, hosted the 2nd annual 4 the Wounded 5k! The on and off-road event that was held at the University of Virginia Research Park to raise money for Wounded Warrior Project, which benefits wounded veterans returning from overseas.

There were 984 Central Virginians running for a terrific, and often overlooked cause.

The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project’s Mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.  To foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.

• To raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members.
• To help injured service members aid and assist each other.
• To provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members.

 Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP) serves military service members who incurred service-connected wounded, injuries, or illnesses on or after September 11, 2001 and their families. On that date, America watched in horror as approximately 3,000 people died including hundreds of firefighters and rescue workers. Many warriors note a sense of duty to volunteer for the military following these tragic events.

A generous, tax deductible donation to Wounded Warrior Project enables them to help thousands of injured warriors returning home from the current conflicts and to provide assistance to their families. As the number of wounded steadily increases, it is easy to see how the needs of these brave individuals also increase.

Related articles

• Memorial Day radiothon nets $13000 for Wounded Warrior Project (examiner.com)
• Wounded Warrior Project Chooses USAA Bank for Co-Branded Credit Card (prweb.com)
• Wounded Warriors and Communities Across the Country Unite for Day of Service (prweb.com)

Support For Happy Days

This is not a LOCAL story, but is an interesting one just the same.  Ever wonder if TV or Movie Stars use their popularity and bank accounts to help those in need?  Many do.  The one I will mention today is really COOL!  Aaaaaay!  Henry Winkler – AKA “the fonz” is a huge supporter of charitable causes… notably, raising awareness for a fairly unknown disease that afflicted his own mother - Upper Limb Spasticity.

Today’s Caregiver magazine and Caregiver.com, the nation’s foremost print magazine and Web community educating, training and supporting family and professional caregivers since 1995, will present the Robert M. Barg Memorial Achievement Award to actor, director, author and producer, Henry Winkler during the May 24th Western Connecticut Fearless Caregiver Conference in Southbury, Connecticut.

“This prestigious award has only been presented to a select few caregiver advocates in the organization’s 17 year history who represent a special brand of kindness and advocacy and whose hard work truly makes a difference in the lives of those in need,” said Gary Barg, founder and editor-in-chief of the first national magazine for caregivers, Today’s Caregiver magazine, Caregiver.com, and the Fearless Caregiver Conferences.  Prior recipients of the Robert M. Barg Memorial Achievement Award include Debbie Reynolds, Clay Aiken, Della Reese, Robert Urich, Leeza Gibbons, Clay Walker, Patricia Richardson and Linda Dano.

Legendary “Happy Days” star Henry Winkler  is the ambassador for the “Open Arms: Raising Awareness of Upper Limb Spasticity” educational campaign which aims to reach those who are impacted by upper limb spasticity and don’t know where to turn for help. Winkler is personally familiar with the impact that upper limb spasticity can have on a person. His late mother struggled with the condition, without treatment, for 10 years following a stroke before she passed away.

From Actor to Caregiver  -  Henry Winkler

To many of you reading this, my mother’s experience with upper limb spasticity will be sadly familiar.

I had always known my mother to be a busy bee, full of life and a force of nature – that’s who she was. Even in her later years, my mother kept very active – whether it was her regular card games with friends, organizing and participating in events at her synagogue or just even driving around town, doing her daily errands, she was always on the move.

However, things pretty much ground to a halt after she began to experience upper limb spasticity after she had a stroke. Her arm became tight, involuntarily stuck close to her body, which severely limited her ability to get around on her own. Soon her upper limb spasticity became so problematic that my sister and I, as well as her other caregivers, had to help her with the simplest of tasks – tying her shoes, helping her get dressed and eating.

My mother struggled with upper limb spasticity for 10 long years before she passed. Unfortunately, there was so much less known about upper limb spasticity back then. Today, not only do we have a better understanding of upper limb spasticity, we also know more on how to manage the condition.

Sadly, there continues to be low awareness and under-diagnosis of the condition. The problem is that upper limb spasticity can come on months, and sometimes even years after the original injury – sometimes after patients are out of the hospital and are no longer seeing specialists, like neurologists or physiatrists, who see the condition on a regular basis and are specifically trained to manage and treat it.

That’s why I chose to become an Ambassador of the “Open Arms” educational campaign. I’ve joined forces with this incredible team of national patient advocacy groups and Allergan, the maker of BOTOX^® (onabotulinumtoxinA), to raise awareness for upper limb spasticity and let people know that upper limb spasticity treatment options are available. Seeing what my mother went through, I feel I owe it to others with the condition to do what I can to help.