My stars, Dear Readers. Don’t we have enough to worry about? How can we concern ourselves with big questions like immigration, when decorating a cake for a same sex couple’s wedding is of such importance that it reaches the Supreme Court? Immigration is on my mind because I couldn’t understand why undocumented people aren’t immediately […]
Hello Dear Readers, I haven’t blogged for some time simply because my website was hacked, and it took people far more technical than I to “resolve the issue” as they call it. I call it frustrating and infuriating. How about you? So much has happened since my last post. A brief rundown and then more […]
I talk about the UNCHR in my book Committee Of One (hyperlink) quite a lot. As many of you know it stands for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and they deal refugee aid, refugee resettlement, and much more. Below is an infographic which reflects the numbers behind the refugee crisis which the UNCHR and many […]
In thinking about how we can make a difference in other people’s lives, it is important to know the difference between giving a hand up and giving a hand out. A Hand Up: this is when you use the blessings and abilities you have been bestowed with in life (or have had the opportunity to […]
Friends are made by serving them or serving with them. Four people I served along side at a nursing home became some of my closest friends. They were there when my mother had to go into a nursing home when her surgery went badly. When she died the day before my finals, my friends were […]
I mention Habitat for Humanity in my forthcoming book. When you volunteer you’ll learn everything you need to know about working on houses. A man closing on his first house, which needed a lot of work, decided to volunteer. That first day he joined other volunteers at 7 a.m. The owner-to-be worked along side them, […]
I’ll be providing quotes from Be The Change for the next several posts, quotes that work with the book I’m writing now. I’m a firm believer in giving a hand up v. a handout. So here are some ideas for you to give that hand up. I think that the moral center of any community […]
Every year in New York City we do a coat drive for the homeless and the needy. Last year we collected 87,000 coats and needed a warehouse to store them. One of my tasks was to get a phone installed in the warehouse for the coat drive. When I called the phone company to say […]
I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am had I not had the opportunity to serve as a child. It’s critical to facilitate opportunities for youth to get out of their comfort zones and into communities. Young people have a propensity for openness and are able to get involved in such a passionate […]
Rescue Iraqi Refugees Refugee Family Services Lutheran Social Services Refugee and Immigration Center United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) International Rescue Committee Key For Hope World Relief Catholic Charities