When It's Time To Follow A Dream - Short Time To Act On Amber's Behalf

This is my friend Amber. She has a dream of traveling abroad. So what, you say? Everyone wants to travel. Yes, but not in the way Amber dreams of traveling.

She doesn't want to lie on the beach in Cancun or sip ouzo on a hillside in Greece. Amber wants to make a difference, to impact the lives of the community she visits in a positive way. She desires to be immersed in the culture and be part of the lives of the people there if only for a short time.
Amber wants to contribute and give back. This is why I admire her.

Recently, through happenstance (but is there really such a thing), Amber learned about a program called Cross Cultural Solutions. Founded in 1995, CCS is a recognized leader in the field of International Volunteering. By partnering with CCS, Amber will go to Costa Rica for one week this summer. CCS will place her in the appropriate volunteer program that fits her talents. Amber hopes it will be to work with children.

I expect she will have an experience much like that of Sandra Flannagan. Sandra spent a month as a teaching assistant at Escuela Puente Casa, a school for disadvantaged children in Costa Rica. She helped in the classroom and played with the children at recess. Sandra says that spending time with the children at school while they were happy and smiling made it easy to forget that they live in abject poverty on a hillside littered in broken glass. They are refugees from the Nicaraguan civil war. The houses they live in are made of discarded cardboard, aluminum, and tin.

I expect that Amber, too, will be fighting back tears when her time in Costa Rica is over. My friend will have cherished memories of the pain she helped to ease and the bit of happiness she gave to someone in need. I know her well enough to understand that not only will she make a significant impact on this journey but she will take away great joy for her efforts.

Now, Amber is asking for help to cover the program fees for her trip. It's a significant amount but completely doable. Because I believe in her and in her dream, I'm asking that my readers take a look at the information and consider donating to her fund. After my donation she will have $1,310.00 left to raise before July 8th.

Even though I have been lax about posting lately, somehow this blog still gets 100 hits per day. If everyone who sees this blog today pledged just $10.00 to Amber's cause, she would have most of her funds covered.

Also, any of my buddies with blogs who wish to repost this article in part or in whole, you have my permission and thanks for helping Amber with her cause. Wouldn't it be incredible if her story went viral and her fees were completely covered by kindness from around the world!

After her trip, I'm going to ask Amber to guest post on LifePrints so she can share with you the joy that WE helped to make possible. If you can help, please do. Amber and I will be very grateful. This is the reason I created LifePrints, to spotlight people stepping up in this world. Because of it, I have a chance to spread the word and help someone I know well...and that is no happenstance.

Volunteer At A School - They Need You

My youngest son is 4 years old. He recently started preschool at a nearby church. I was as excited about this milestone for myself as I was for him. I planned to dedicate my new found free time to working diligently on my current novel. Then I read all the paperwork that accompanied my son's admission. Surprise! I was expected to volunteer in Ethan's classroom at least three times during the school year.

At first, this frustrated me. I went to my selfish place and figuratively had a tantrum that my little piece of freedom was being encroached upon. I didn't stay there very long because I realized that my little boy's childhood is speeding by as fast as lightening and I didn't want to miss it.

Yesterday his eyes lit up and he held my hand as we walked into the school. "This is so awesome, Mom," he said. I helped his teacher, Ms. Kelly, prepare the crafts, serve snack, and clean up at the end of the day. Ethan stayed near me all day and occassionaly blurted out to one of his classmates, "Hey, that's my mom!" Now it was my turn to beam with pride.

I watched the children's reactions when they found out they were making puffy flowers with glue and shaving cream...messy, fabulous fun....and I was thankful to be there and be part of it. It did me a world of good to remember the joys of childhood and how simple life can be if I don't complicate it.

Ms. Kelly appreciated the help and thanked me at the end of the day. I'm going back in May to help her again. Our children's teachers need us - our time, our commitment and our support. Also, our children need us to participate in their education. If they see learning is important to us then it will take on a new meaning to them.

Educators complain that parents use schools as babysitters and surrogate parents. What if adults had to sign a contract to volunteer in the public school where their child attends - like I had to for my son's preschool? Would things be different in that community?

Sign up with a teacher to be a helper for the day. Elementary schools are always looking for volunteers, as are secondary and high schools. Don't be leery of the big kids. They need us, too.

Be Part of Earth Hour 2009

Earth Hour 2009 is set for March 28th at 8:30 local time. No matter where you are in the world you can participate. Turn off your lights and any other electrical items for one hour. That's it, just one hour without electricity. Can you stand it? Last year my family and I turned off the circuit breaker to our house and went completely black. It felt good to do something for my planet. The kids complained for a few minutes then we began to enjoy the quiet and the peace as we curled up in blankets on our back porch.

My only disappointment was that my city, Las Vegas, did not really participate in Earth Hour 2008. No one seemed to know about this event or care that it was going on. Tourists still walked the glowing neon streets, nothing was allowed to interrupt their fun.

This year is different. The tourists will have a different kind of treat. I'm proud to say that Las Vegas is a flagship city. The list of casinos and business who plan to turn off the neon is impressive and expansive. If they all follow through with their commitment the strip should be dim if not completely black. Now that will be a historic occasion.

I'm kind of sad that I won't be in town. I want to see and participate in this event. But again, where ever I am and where ever you are, you can turn off the lights and make a difference. Just imagine what would happen if we all did this once a week, or once a month?

Here is a link to my post about Earth Hour 2008. Enjoy!