Many of you have asked what exactly is the Forever Young Project? Here's a few responses to this great question:
The project allows people to do fun things we enjoy doing like climbing mountains, playing sports, and planning/participating in innovative programs that interest you, while making the world a better place by raising awareness and money for organizations that are bettering the world!
An outlet that allows humans to celebrate both short and long- term interests and passions, while helping change and better the world through organizations that they care about.
Tell me what you want to see happen with it, and we'll make it happen!
Check back next week and hear about Mt. Whitney! Don't forget to check out Rising Minds and Los Patojos at http://www.risingminds.org and Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times at http://www.campronaldmcdonald.org to learn more, donate, and get involved. These are the organizations we're climbing Mt. Whitney for next week!
First I want to thank and congratulate good friend and horoscope advisor, Ruth Kerman, on planning and running the first official Forever Young Project activity: a charity pong tournament.
On August 29, Ruth put on an amazingly fun and competitive tournament that raised $225 with over 20 people participating n it!Half of the money went to Ruth's organization of choice, Camp Del Corazon, an amazing non- profit organization that provides a cost- free, fun camp experience for children with heart disease on beautiful Catalina Island. To learn more about Camp Del Corazon check out the website or email Ruth. The winning team of the tournament chose to direct the other half of the money raised toward Los Angeles Lakers point guard, Derek Fisher's, work toward helping children with eye cancer, similar to what his daughter, Tatum Fisher, has.
I thank and congratulate Ruth for all of her hard work and for making such a fun and meaningful first Forvever Young Project activity. Mad shoutouts to Daniel Ramirez also, for opening his house and letting us host it at his beautiful place on the beach. Attached to this email are a few pictures from the tournament.
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And now, the time has come to announce the organizations the Forever Young Project is promoting, and the events we are doing in the name of these organizations during the month of October:
Climbing Mt. Whitney: On October 1, adventure/traveling partner and one of my best friends, Mark Cipolla, and I will be attempting to summit the Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States. We decided to make this part of the Forever Young Project so that we could not only enjoy doing it for the process of climbing a mountain, but also for some good causes. We have decided to promote three amazing organizations: Rising Minds, Los Patojos, and Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® for our climb. The Forever Young Project still being in its developmental and experimental stages, so we thought we would highlight and climb for a number of different organizations that you can get involved in and support, so that you could choose from one that that may interest you.
Stepping Out to Fight Diabetes: Close family friends who I call my family also, the Giakos family, have been affected by diabetes, with the unfortunate loss of Martha Giakos in 2007. The Giakos family has chosen to fight diabetes in honor of Martha and the millions of others who are affected by diabetes. On October 17, the Giakos family will beStepping Out to Fight Diabetes in Riverside , California with thousands of others who have been affected by the disease! To learn more about how you can fight diabetes with the Giakos family, friends, and the American Diabetes association please go to this website.
Please read below to learn more about each of these 4 organizations. I hope one or more of them will spark your interest and you will want to get involved in a meaningful way whether it is through a donation, volunteering, or just learning more about it. If you do choose to donate to one of these organizations, please note in your donation that you learned about the organization or are donating after hearing about it through the Forever Young Project. This will just help us get a better idea of if what we're doing is effective for fundraising efforts for organizations and how we can track how well we are doing.
Los Patojos is a locally founded, locally run educational initiative serving the community of Jocotenango. Located on the outskirts of Antigua, an international community in the heart of Guatemala, Jocotenango is a community overwhelmed by issues of violence, gangs, substance abuse and severe poverty. Los Patojos was founded to create a space not only for students to come and learn, but also to be valued, appreciated and loved. Los Patojos has reached families that may otherwise be off the charts, enrolled students that could otherwise be in gangs, and influenced countless organizations to make positive, sustainable change in their own communities.
Our primary educational program provides a safe space for over 100 students to learn and grow. With extended programs we directly serve over 400 people living in Jocotenango. We offer free English classes, community discussion forums, women's therapeutic groups, a leadership program for adolescents, as well as family outreach and support. We employ 8 experienced and passionate Guatemalan teachers, and open our doors to both local and international volunteers.
Our mission is large, and work is needed. We are working in communities where many don’t understand the value of education. Where people aren’t often see as people, but instead as objects or problems. Where people aren’t given the love and attention they need in order to find a sense of self-worth and value. We are living in a world that [we feel] places value on the wrong parts of life. A world that regularly associates success with material worth, happiness with social clout, and help with handouts. We are working to transform the harsh reality that exists for all too many. We are working to empower people, to love people so they can love themselves, to educate people so they can create their own opportunities rather than depend on others for them. We are working to create better family lives, better communities and a better world.
We are tired of living in ignorance. We work to empower through hand ups, not handouts. We are not a charity, but rather community supported, community-based organizations. Despite the physical differences between the communities around the world, we believe that we can meet the needs of our communities by integrating education, awareness and action.
We work with people, for people. We see all aspects, from money to passion, as valuable resources: no one more important than the other. We operate from the belief that we all have as much to learn from one another as we do to offer. With that, we aim to empower not overpower, serve not provide, and understand not assume. With the belief that handouts, materials and money just band-aide our issues, we work to promote self-worth, personal growth and thoughtful action through our educational programs and outreach.
How you can get involved with Rising Minds and Los Patojos:
Donate Directly: Checks can be mailed to: 15 Fox Run Drive,Newburyport MA 01950 (the best part about direct mail donations is a percentage is not taken out like it is online... so these types of donations are strongly encouraged)
2. Volunteer: Los Patojos is looking for volunteers. Please email Courtney at risingminds@gmail.com to learn about volunteer opportunities and a volunteer handbook
Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® was founded in 1982 by a group of caring individuals who dreamed of a place where children who have had their lives devastated by childhood cancer could recapture what being a child is supposed to be. In August of 1982 this dedicated group of parents, doctors, nurses, community leaders and volunteer counselors set off with 60 kids to Calamigos Ranch in Malibu and conducted the first Camp Good Times ever.
Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® programs have grown to provide year-round supportive programs serving families and children impacted by cancer. Camp is offered to any child--from infancy through age 18 who has had cancer or a similar condition OR who has a sibling with one of these diseases, at any stage of illness or treatment--at no cost to their families. By the end of 2007, more than 6,000 campers from 10 states and 8 countries have attended Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times®. Over the years, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® has welcomed children from across the United States and from as far away as England, Israel, and the former Soviet Union and has served as a model for programs throughout this country and abroad. Thousands of children and their families have spent treasured days with us.
Many of our campers now return year after year, some becoming our finest volunteer counselors. We are now building our leadership development programs for these survivors who are wonderful role models for the brave children currently battling this devastating disease.
Originally “Camp Good Times,” we became “Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times®” in June 1984, when McDonald's Operators' Association of Southern California announced they would support the Camp's efforts to provide memorable summer camp experiences for our campers. Ronald McDonald House Charities® as well as local McDonald’s owners and operators contribute generously to the operation of Camp programs.
In 1994, with the purchase of a 60 acre, fully accredited campsite in the mountains near Idyllwild in Riverside County, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® took the first step in fulfilling its dream to create a barrier-free camp designed around the needs of the children we serve.. In 1997, we celebrated our 15th Anniversary with a reunion of 1,600 campers, siblings, parents, counselors, donors and neighbors, and we dedicated Phase I of our new facilities: the Brotman “Med Shed” infirmary complex; the McDonnell Douglas Courtyard; Jackson Pond; and the Bob Chandler Courage Course, a 50-foot tall challenge/ropes course which is fully handicapped accessible.
Currently, the Camp Board of Trustees is in the process of raising the capital funds needed to expand facilities through three phases of construction. Once complete, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® will serve as a model of both a fully accessible campsite and an inclusive special-needs camping program.
Whatever the prognosis, a cancer diagnosis interrupts childhood and hinders the experiences that lead to normal child development. At Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times®, these boys and girls recapture the hope, enthusiasm, and love of adventure that are essential parts of their youth. They blossom in the medically and psychologically safe environment that has been created especially for them.
Nothing can compensate for the anguish that childhood cancer inflicts, but Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times®, with the dreams it inspires, comes close. Because of generous friends, patients are able to spend time at Camp throughout the year cost-free. We are proud of what we have accomplished since 1982, and we look toward the challenges of the future with enthusiasm.
How you can get involved with Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times®
1. Volunteer:Camp Counselor Volunteers, Volunteer Nurses and Doctors, Event Volunteers, Office Volunteers, and Campsite Volunteers are all needed. To learn more about volunteering with Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times® please visit http://www.campronaldmcdonald.org/volunteer/volunteer.php
Last year more than 100,000 walkers from around the country joined in the fight against diabetes because they knew that together we can stop diabetes. Each step they took and every dollar they raised helps the American Diabetes Association provide community based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.
Now it's your chance to become a part of Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes and start making your contribution to change the future of diabetes.
The Giakos family, close family friends of mine, have been affected by diabetes as Martha Giakos passed away from diabetes/heart complications in 2007. The Giakos family and friends have decided to join the cause and fight and stop diabetes. Below is a note written by Martha's daughter Penny:
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As most of you already know, I lost my Mama just over two years ago to diabetes/heart complications. Although she was aware of her disease, she was far too selfless to fight it herself. So now my loved ones and I are fighting in honor of her.
On October 17, 2009, we will be Stepping Out to Fight Diabetes in Riverside , California with thousands of others who have been affected by the disease!
There are 23.6 million people in the US who have diabetes, a quarter of which are still undiagnosed. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the US, and it doesn't need to be…
We are walking to spread the word about diabetes, and trying to raise money to aid in treating and diagnosing those with it!!! I am asking you for any help that you can give us, not only in honor of my mama Martha, but for all of those who have been affected by this growing disease.
If you're free, you're more than welcome to join my Step Out Team! Please let everyone you know about this so that we can try to raise as much money as we can to conquer this disease!!!
2.Join the Step Out Walk: Join the Giakos family and friends for the walk by registering here or by organizing your own team or volunteering at one of the walks.
The past year has been a time of reflection for me about my past, present, and future; what I have done in life, what I am doing in life, and what I plan on doing in life. Perhaps all this reflection is due to things that have happened in my life over the past year, or long hours on planes and in cars due to a lot of recent traveling, or maybe just sitting on my surfboard more frequently in between set waves. Regardless, whatever it is, I have done a lot of reflecting and thinking over the past year.
This brings me to one of my reflections: Lately I have found myself focusing and dwelling much more on the negatives, rather than all of the positives in my life. I'll be honest, the past week was not the most fun as I bumped into a car, backed into a pole two days later, did not surf much, lost badly in a soccer game, got into a verbal bout with a sarcastic Yankees fan at a gas station, and a few other interesting incidents.
However there were a lot of great things that happened over the past week also including going up to Santa Barbara to see many old friends and celebrate two friends' joyous event, winning my softball game, catching some big waves, and taking a much needed "night off" to relax and just watch some football!
Too often lately, I've felt myself getting caught dwelling on the negatives like bumping cars and overlooking the many more positive events and things in my life.
This brings me to my next point: I tend to focus on the outcome much more than the actual process. Working with students on a daily basis to help them create meaningful, successful programs, I encourage them to think first conceptually about the outcome they want from the program, and then focus on the methods. An important person in my life suggested to me recently though that all this focus on outcome and future was taking away from me just being able to enjoy the present and the amazing life I have right now. The more I think about this, the more sense it makes sense to me.
Over the past few months, I have worked hard to create physical challenges such as surfing big waves, training to climb a mountain, staying busy, etc. However, I put mental and personal development challenges aside. So, I have decided to challenge myself in two mental, personal ways throughout the months of September and October that I think will lead to positive, happy outcomes in my life: 1. Take the negatives in life and/or things that are bringing me down and make something positive out them. Instead of constantly thinking about a few negative things in life, think about all of the great, positive, happy things I have in my life (I have much more of these, than any negative or downers) I really want to focus on all of the amazing things I have in life right now such as my family, friends, health, job, and so much more. In essence, I plan on channeling all of the negatives into creating something far more positive out of them! 2. Focus on the present and the process of things in my life more, rather than the future and outcomes. I think this will allow me to enjoy life and just continue having fun, like I want to do!
I don't mean for this blog to be a downer at all. Rather it is meant for me to challenge myself and grow from the challenge. I love finding new challenges, and I think these will be two interesting, tough challenges that will lead me to ultimately becoming a stronger, livelier, happier person when I complete them.
I challenge you also to turn something negative or tough in your life and make something positive or good come out of it. I would love to talk to you all about my challenges and have you coach me through them. I also want to learn more about your challenges as well and if I can help in any way. Check in with me throughout these next two months and push and motivate me to complete these personal challenges. I would love to check in with you also and see how your challenges are going as well!
I believe that the next three upcoming Forever Young Project activities relate well with this theme of Challenge. I can't wait to reveal to you on Wednesday what they are and tell you more about how you can help out with these activities and organizations! Also in the next blog, a description on last month's amazing first event!!!
