I spent yesterday at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica at a luncheon for The Halo Awards: a project from the Carl & Roberta Deutsch Foundation that recognizes outstanding volunteers and the nonprofits they serve. I'm proud to say that a stellar volunteer from the nonprofit I run was selected as one of six awardees.
Hearing from each of the volunteers was incredibly moving. None knew that they had been nominated by the nonprofits they serve, until being notified of the award in December. And all expressed a similar outlook around their volunteer work that went something like this: I saw a small way that I could help, so I helped. Hearing about what each volunteer had accomplished was incredibly inspiring, and made me want to spend more time (not just money) helping others. As I listened, I realized that none of the volunteers did anything super-human. The work they did was humble - grant writing, running Wii bowling at a senior center, recycling clay for art classes - but the end results were so meaningful to the people around them. Simple acts of kindness had grown into so much more...
One volunteer, in her acceptance speech, summed up her work and motivation with this wonderful quote from Desmond Tutu.
Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
Words to live by.
- Selfish Blogger
Showing posts with label small actions to solve big problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small actions to solve big problems. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2013
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Your chance at fame has arrived
A photo of a New York police officer giving boots to a homeless man has gone viral. The New York Times reports that while on duty, Officer Lawrence Deprimo spotted a man in the cold without shoes. Deprimo talked with the man, found out his shoe size, and left to purchase a $100 pair of boots in a nearby store. He returned and helped the man put on his new boots. Now that's a good police officer! A tourist snapped the now famous photo of the scene. It reminded her of her father, a police officer who she witnessed giving food to a homeless man when she was a child.
This touching story immediately reminded me of someone too: my compassionate friend Leanne. She keeps her car stocked with bottled water and granola bars, so any time she drives past someone on the side of the road holding a sign that says "hungry" she is in a position to help. Any day now, someone will snap a picture of Leanne's good deeds and she will be just as famous as Officer Deprimo!
I think the kind-hearted acts of police officers like Lawrence Deprimo and that tourist's dad and people like Leanne are so moving to me because they seem rare. I hope that acts like these become so common that their note-worthiness falls somewhere between folding laundry and serving cake at a birthday party.
But until that time comes, YOU have an unprecedented opportunity to achieve viral internet fame!! Your next act of compassion could be the next Gangnam Style. Or "Call Me Maybe" might be a better analogy. Anyway, what I'm saying is, compassion is hot right now, so take advantage of the moment and up your charity game. Keep an eye out for lost animals, be alert to signs of domestic violence and human trafficking, and pay attention the next time you see someone living on the street who needs help. Follow through on every do-gooder moment that presents itself, even if the only help you can give is very small. Officer Deprimo is famous for buying a pair of boots. Whatever, you can top that no sweat. Better get to it. Can't let this chance at fame pass me by.
-Selfish Blogger
This touching story immediately reminded me of someone too: my compassionate friend Leanne. She keeps her car stocked with bottled water and granola bars, so any time she drives past someone on the side of the road holding a sign that says "hungry" she is in a position to help. Any day now, someone will snap a picture of Leanne's good deeds and she will be just as famous as Officer Deprimo!
I think the kind-hearted acts of police officers like Lawrence Deprimo and that tourist's dad and people like Leanne are so moving to me because they seem rare. I hope that acts like these become so common that their note-worthiness falls somewhere between folding laundry and serving cake at a birthday party.
But until that time comes, YOU have an unprecedented opportunity to achieve viral internet fame!! Your next act of compassion could be the next Gangnam Style. Or "Call Me Maybe" might be a better analogy. Anyway, what I'm saying is, compassion is hot right now, so take advantage of the moment and up your charity game. Keep an eye out for lost animals, be alert to signs of domestic violence and human trafficking, and pay attention the next time you see someone living on the street who needs help. Follow through on every do-gooder moment that presents itself, even if the only help you can give is very small. Officer Deprimo is famous for buying a pair of boots. Whatever, you can top that no sweat. Better get to it. Can't let this chance at fame pass me by.
-Selfish Blogger
Monday, November 26, 2012
Never Be Silent
I recently had a chance to visit some folks I had not seen in four years. They live on a quiet street in a three bedroom mobile home that houses three children, eight teens/adults, four dogs, three cats, and two turtles. Seven people in the home are of working age. Two are unable to work due to physical condition. One is employed. When we arrived to visit the 3 year old and 4 year old kids, we saw the largest of the four dogs in a crate. He had sad, defeated eyes. He had been bad, we were told. I suspected he had not been taken on a walk in a long time.
We took the kids to the park. There, I talked with the kids about their dog.
"Does doggie go on walks?"
"No."
"Do you think he's bored?"
"Yes."
"Do you think he was bad because he doesn't have the words to say he's bored?"
"Yes."
"When we get home, do you want to take doggie on a walk?"
"YEAH!!!!"
I was worried doggie might not have a leash, but he did. When we arrived back at the house, the kids asked the adults if we could take doggie on a walk. He's bad on the leash, I was told. I promised to hold his leash myself. We grabbed a plastic bag to clean up after doggie, and off we ran! I went into a full sprint but couldn't keep up. He pulled me up and down the block for nearly an hour. I used all my strength to keep my hold on the leash. The kids watched doggie blast past them and cheered. Doggie was elated! No one had ever seen doggie panting before.
The 3 year old boy wanted to run with doggie too, so we held the leash together and doggie and I slowed our pace significantly. I asked the little boy:
"When you grow up, are you going to be a good runner?"
"Yeah."
"Are you going to take your doggies on runs?"
"Yeah!"
"Are you going to take your doggies on runs everyday!?"
"YEAH!"
"Good for you! Doggies need to go on runs everyday to be happy!"
After our short outing, we brought doggie in and we proclaimed to the room how much doggie loved going on walks!
I left for the airport to head home.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched a new campaign this year called "Never Be Silent." It is an inspiring campaign that calls on us to say something whenever we see abuse or exploitation of animals. It seems like a simple enough request, but it is exceedingly difficult. Will I say the right thing? What if I make it worse? Am I being a rude guest? Will I damage a relationship?
I have had a few opportunities to "Never Be Silent" this year, and I have not been able to rise to the challenge. In this case, I didn't say much of anything to the adults. I didn't know what to say, or how it would go over. But I did manage to talk to the two children. And I feel like that was a very important first step for me. And at the very least, doggie had one moment of sheer joy instead of one more hour of endless boredom in a dark, crowded house.
Everyday, we are faced with instances of injustice and cruelty. And we get to decide how we will respond. Will you be silent, paralyzed by fear or social convention, and do nothing? Or will you say something, however small and imperfect that "something" might be? I want to become a person who responds effectively where ever I find injustice and cruelty. My guess is I will never become that person like I have arrived at a destination. I suspect I will have to continue becoming that person is a lifelong pursuit that is honed and crafted over time.
My response was not perfect, but it was better than no response. Because I couldn't find the courage to politely talk with the adults, I left the animals to count on two preschoolers. I hope they can rise to the challenge where I did not.
-Selfish Blogger
We took the kids to the park. There, I talked with the kids about their dog.
"Does doggie go on walks?"
"No."
"Do you think he's bored?"
"Yes."
"Do you think he was bad because he doesn't have the words to say he's bored?"
"Yes."
"When we get home, do you want to take doggie on a walk?"
"YEAH!!!!"
I was worried doggie might not have a leash, but he did. When we arrived back at the house, the kids asked the adults if we could take doggie on a walk. He's bad on the leash, I was told. I promised to hold his leash myself. We grabbed a plastic bag to clean up after doggie, and off we ran! I went into a full sprint but couldn't keep up. He pulled me up and down the block for nearly an hour. I used all my strength to keep my hold on the leash. The kids watched doggie blast past them and cheered. Doggie was elated! No one had ever seen doggie panting before.
The 3 year old boy wanted to run with doggie too, so we held the leash together and doggie and I slowed our pace significantly. I asked the little boy:
"When you grow up, are you going to be a good runner?"
"Yeah."
"Are you going to take your doggies on runs?"
"Yeah!"
"Are you going to take your doggies on runs everyday!?"
"YEAH!"
"Good for you! Doggies need to go on runs everyday to be happy!"
After our short outing, we brought doggie in and we proclaimed to the room how much doggie loved going on walks!
I left for the airport to head home.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals launched a new campaign this year called "Never Be Silent." It is an inspiring campaign that calls on us to say something whenever we see abuse or exploitation of animals. It seems like a simple enough request, but it is exceedingly difficult. Will I say the right thing? What if I make it worse? Am I being a rude guest? Will I damage a relationship?
I have had a few opportunities to "Never Be Silent" this year, and I have not been able to rise to the challenge. In this case, I didn't say much of anything to the adults. I didn't know what to say, or how it would go over. But I did manage to talk to the two children. And I feel like that was a very important first step for me. And at the very least, doggie had one moment of sheer joy instead of one more hour of endless boredom in a dark, crowded house.
Everyday, we are faced with instances of injustice and cruelty. And we get to decide how we will respond. Will you be silent, paralyzed by fear or social convention, and do nothing? Or will you say something, however small and imperfect that "something" might be? I want to become a person who responds effectively where ever I find injustice and cruelty. My guess is I will never become that person like I have arrived at a destination. I suspect I will have to continue becoming that person is a lifelong pursuit that is honed and crafted over time.
My response was not perfect, but it was better than no response. Because I couldn't find the courage to politely talk with the adults, I left the animals to count on two preschoolers. I hope they can rise to the challenge where I did not.
-Selfish Blogger
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Doing a Little is Not Enough, but Doing Nothing is Worse
When I was in high school I was a counselor for a couple of YMCA overnight camps. On the whole, this was a delightful experience. But there was one part of camp that really bothered me: wasting food. The camp directors scheduled activity after activity where making a mess with desserts, condiments, and sometimes full meals was the whole point. The most egregious example was an activity called Bat-O-Rama, where an athletic slugger, armed with a baseball bat, would smash food as it was pitched to him. Gallon jugs of milk, heads of cabbage, melons, and apples would turn into a shower of particles that covered the trash-bag-protected audience of squealing campers. One night of Bat-O-Rama easily consumed enough good food to feed a family of 4 for the day. On the final day of camp each year, the directors would stand up at camp fire and talk about how lucky we are: we have enough food to eat and we have parents that pay for us to go to camp. There are lots of kids in the world who don't get to eat every day, and they can't afford to go to camp. Then they'd encourage all the campers to give money to a charity that provides a camp experience and meals for poor kids in another country.
The hypocrisy of the ask - after a week of wasting food - was lost on the directors. At next year's interview for a counselor position, when asked "how would you improve camp", I brought it up. I said it seemed like we were sending mixed messages to the kids. One day we were saying that we need to do something to help poor children who don't have enough to eat. Yet in the same week, we'd waste all kinds of food - just for fun! It's as if we spent the whole week saying "We're so rich we can waste as much food as we want." I think that's insensitive and we should send a consistent message, I said. Let's play these games with something other than food.
I didn't get selected to go to camp that year. When I got my decline letter in the mail, I called up and asked why. "In your interview, you offended everyone in the room," I was told. When I asked for specifics, my comments about wasting food were the only complaints they could site.
Now, I'm sure as a 17 year old, I probably didn't use the most politically correct language to share my concerns about wasting food. But regardless, no one like to be told they've done something wrong. No one likes to hear that they are doing harm. Saving food from the Bat-O-Rama doesn't do a lot of good, but it does some good. It is better to try and stop the Bat-O-Rama than to do nothing. It is better to speak out against a culture of waste (even at the summer camp level) than to let it continue unchallenged. If we want change, we must act.
Food insecurity, the threat of starvation, is a growing problem. For the people living on our planet earning less than $1.25 a day, a small shift in grain prices determines whether or not they can afford to eat. The poorest amongst us get the bulk of their daily calories from grains. But the growing demand for meat and animal products from rich nations is driving grain prices higher and higher. Some 60% of the world's grain now goes to feed farmed animals. Drought and changing weather patterns are destroying crops. Nations that once had large grain reserves for food security have used them up. The crisis in Somalia, which has gotten little media attention, will not be the last major famine we'll see this decade.
The threat of starvation across the globe is a big problem. It feels like a problem far removed, something that you can't do anything to fix. But that's not true. You can help. You can help three times a day (or five if you're like me). Every time you sit down to eat, you choose your meal and, without intending to, you enter the global market for grain. So how much grain will you buy? How much will you take for yourself? If you choose to eat meat and animal products, you are taking a lot more for yourself than you need. You are taking food from others who need it - you are driving world grain prices higher. 48 lbs. of grain can be fed to a cow and produce enough calories to feed one person for one day. Or 48 lbs. of grain can be fed directly to people and provide enough calories to feed 30 persons for one day. By eating less meat and animal products, you can help keep the cost of grain down so that the poorest people have a better chance of feeding their families. You can take a small step to make things better by changing your diet, or you can do nothing and actively make things worse. Next time you're getting ready to order a burger or a steak, remember that you're taking more than you need: enough for 30 people. That's really selfish.
Eating a plant based diet doesn't solve food insecurity, but it helps. If you are waiting to find a big action that you can take to solve a wide spread global problem, you will always be waiting. Big problems are solved when lots of individuals take small actions. Doing a little to help is not enough to end the problem, but doing nothing is worse.
Check out this handy infographic to learn more about how your food choices can change the world.
-Selfish Blogger
The hypocrisy of the ask - after a week of wasting food - was lost on the directors. At next year's interview for a counselor position, when asked "how would you improve camp", I brought it up. I said it seemed like we were sending mixed messages to the kids. One day we were saying that we need to do something to help poor children who don't have enough to eat. Yet in the same week, we'd waste all kinds of food - just for fun! It's as if we spent the whole week saying "We're so rich we can waste as much food as we want." I think that's insensitive and we should send a consistent message, I said. Let's play these games with something other than food.
I didn't get selected to go to camp that year. When I got my decline letter in the mail, I called up and asked why. "In your interview, you offended everyone in the room," I was told. When I asked for specifics, my comments about wasting food were the only complaints they could site.
Now, I'm sure as a 17 year old, I probably didn't use the most politically correct language to share my concerns about wasting food. But regardless, no one like to be told they've done something wrong. No one likes to hear that they are doing harm. Saving food from the Bat-O-Rama doesn't do a lot of good, but it does some good. It is better to try and stop the Bat-O-Rama than to do nothing. It is better to speak out against a culture of waste (even at the summer camp level) than to let it continue unchallenged. If we want change, we must act.
Food insecurity, the threat of starvation, is a growing problem. For the people living on our planet earning less than $1.25 a day, a small shift in grain prices determines whether or not they can afford to eat. The poorest amongst us get the bulk of their daily calories from grains. But the growing demand for meat and animal products from rich nations is driving grain prices higher and higher. Some 60% of the world's grain now goes to feed farmed animals. Drought and changing weather patterns are destroying crops. Nations that once had large grain reserves for food security have used them up. The crisis in Somalia, which has gotten little media attention, will not be the last major famine we'll see this decade.
The threat of starvation across the globe is a big problem. It feels like a problem far removed, something that you can't do anything to fix. But that's not true. You can help. You can help three times a day (or five if you're like me). Every time you sit down to eat, you choose your meal and, without intending to, you enter the global market for grain. So how much grain will you buy? How much will you take for yourself? If you choose to eat meat and animal products, you are taking a lot more for yourself than you need. You are taking food from others who need it - you are driving world grain prices higher. 48 lbs. of grain can be fed to a cow and produce enough calories to feed one person for one day. Or 48 lbs. of grain can be fed directly to people and provide enough calories to feed 30 persons for one day. By eating less meat and animal products, you can help keep the cost of grain down so that the poorest people have a better chance of feeding their families. You can take a small step to make things better by changing your diet, or you can do nothing and actively make things worse. Next time you're getting ready to order a burger or a steak, remember that you're taking more than you need: enough for 30 people. That's really selfish.
Eating a plant based diet doesn't solve food insecurity, but it helps. If you are waiting to find a big action that you can take to solve a wide spread global problem, you will always be waiting. Big problems are solved when lots of individuals take small actions. Doing a little to help is not enough to end the problem, but doing nothing is worse.
Check out this handy infographic to learn more about how your food choices can change the world.
-Selfish Blogger
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