2016: A Charitable Odyssey

For some strange reason I started thinking about the number of states that I have yet to visit.  Before I tell you the answer, let me just add that previous moments of strange contemplation have led to ideas such as moving overseas for a few years, starting something called 37 people, embarking on 37 days of giving, etc..

Anyway, can you guess what that number is?  I kid you not - 37 states :-)

Well, let me define what I mean by visit.  What I actually counted were the number of states I've stepped foot in (touched the ground with my 2 feet) and spent at least a few hours there.  That means I did not count any states I've simply driven through with or without a quick rest stop.  So yes, I've only ever visited 13 states so far.

After some additional thought, I have now come up with my next (big) personal journey.  And guess what?  Not only does it involve charity (but of course!), but all of you my wonderful readers get to join me on this journey of giving (figuratively speaking of course).

So here's my (ambitious) plan.  I am giving myself 3 years and 7 months (get it?) to visit the remaining 37 states I have not yet visited (and any plan that means I'll finally get myself over to Hawaii is a great plan by my account!).  To make things even more interesting, I will be seeking out some sort of opportunity to perform a charitable act in each state I visit :-)

As I visit each state, I will take a picture and post it to this blog so all of you can follow along.  Now an endeavor like this is going to involve quite a bit of planning, so I'm going to start the clock at the end of May (5/31).  That means 3 years and 7 months will take me through the end of 2016 (12/31).  What that also means is that all of you have time, if you like, to give me ideas in your local states.  If there's anything interesting you can think of, please leave your ideas in the comments below (simple ideas would be great).  If I can pull it off, I'll try my best to fit it in :-)

I guess that means I need to list the 37 states I'll be visiting: Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana, Alabama, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina

Finally, let me leave you with a most cherished reference book from my childhood that I happened to discover at my parents' house.  I can't tell you how many road trips, sitting in my dad's trusty old Chevrolet Malibu station wagon, I must have brought this along and memorized every state capital, state bird, state flower, state insect, and every other state fact this book contained.  In fact, what I'm going to do is bring this along with me and I'll take a picture of each state's page when I'm in that state :-)

Musical sweetness

What happens when you spread some musical sweetness around?

We challenged 100 of you to "like" Music Makes Our Students Smarter...and you delivered!

We challenged you to get Music Makes Our Students Smarter to $75,000...and you delivered!

Now it's our turn to deliver!  As a result of meeting these challenges, we will be donating 2 musical instruments to the Children's Cancer Association through their MusicRx program.  These will be purchased from their Amazon Wish List.

But let's try sweetening the pot a bit more ;-)

Well, what can be sweeter than lemonade?  How about lemonade fighting childhood cancer!  So here's our next challenge for you.  Why not pay our virtual Alex's Lemonade Stand a visit and help us hit a $1000 milestone.  Once we hit the $1000 milestone, we'll donate a third musical instrument to the Children's Cancer Association!

And because you've been doing so well helping us spread around musical sweetness, we're extending our first challenge.  When Music Makes Our Students Smarter gets to 200 "likes", we'll donate a fourth musical instrument to the Children's Cancer Association :-)

Kiva

Maybe you haven't heard about Kiva before.  Maybe you've heard of Kiva but you don't understand how it works.  Maybe you know how it works but you're worried about getting paid back.

Every so often we receive one of our favorite e-mails.  Today it read "You've received 12 repayments!"  Apart from the obvious excitement about receiving a repayment, joining Kiva brings so much more than that.  For us it's more about the joy of knowing that a small act of kindness has made a true difference in the lives of others.  People who ordinarily would not have the opportunity to improve their lives.  That's what Kiva is all about - loans that change lives :-)

Still not convinced?  We leave you with today's e-mail:

Repayments for loans that have ended
Funded on May 18, 2011
	Igor Ukraine  |  Manufacturing You Loaned: $25.00 Newly Repaid: $0.11 Total Repaid So Far: $25.00 (100.00% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paid back
Funded on Nov 28, 2011
	Gia Georgia  |  Agriculture You Loaned: $25.00 Newly Repaid: $2.50 Total Repaid So Far: $25.00 (100.00% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paid back
Repayments for loans that are paying back
Funded on Jan 20, 2012
	Andres Felipe Colombia  |  Musical Performance You Loaned: $100.00 Newly Repaid: $3.65 Total Repaid So Far: $37.43 (37.43% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Mar 7, 2012
	Ecederio Peru  |  Musical Performance You Loaned: $50.00 Newly Repaid: $4.60 Total Repaid So Far: $35.16 (70.32% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Apr 6, 2012
	Mamasodik Tajikistan  |  Musical Instruments You Loaned: $50.00 Newly Repaid: $2.78 Total Repaid So Far: $22.23 (44.46% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Apr 18, 2012
	Luis Bolivia  |  Musical Performance You Loaned: $25.00 Newly Repaid: $1.35 Total Repaid So Far: $10.10 (40.40% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on May 9, 2012
	Augustin Rwanda  |  General Store You Loaned: $200.00 Newly Repaid: $16.67 Total Repaid So Far: $116.67 (58.34% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Jul 11, 2012
	Firuz Tajikistan  |  Musical Performance You Loaned: $100.00 Newly Repaid: $5.13 Total Repaid So Far: $23.79 (23.79% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Jul 18, 2012
	Ep Teresamira Group The Democratic Republic of the Congo  |  Food Stall You Loaned: $100.00 Newly Repaid: $11.10 Total Repaid So Far: $55.55 (55.55% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Aug 15, 2012
	Brigida Bolivia  |  Music Discs & Tapes You Loaned: $100.00 Newly Repaid: $7.96 Total Repaid So Far: $31.06 (31.06% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Sep 17, 2012
	Heriberto Paraguay  |  Retail You Loaned: $25.00 Newly Repaid: $4.00 Total Repaid So Far: $7.89 (31.56% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time
Funded on Sep 19, 2012
	Gloria Maria Del Carmen Peru  |  Crafts You Loaned: $25.00 Newly Repaid: $6.37 Total Repaid So Far: $18.39 (73.56% of your loan) Repayment Status: Paying back on time

Epilogue

First we'd like to say thank you to everyone who read, commented, tweeted, participated, and shared this journey of 37 days of giving with us.  It would not have been the journey it was without all of you :-)

To be perfectly honest with you, when starting this journey I personally did not know where it was going to lead.  None of the charities were preselected - they were discovered each day through research or your suggestions (and with the tragedy at Newtown, a focus thereafter was on charities that support children).  As the days went by, what actually surprised me the most was not only how much many of the charities were new to me, but also how their stories and work are so inspirational, necessary, and beneficial to us all.

About a week ago I went to see the movie The Hobbit.  There were some lines in the movie that really resonated with me and you may have seen me tweet some of them.  Here is the full quote:

Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found.  I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.  Small acts of kindness and love.

- Gandalf, The Hobbit

From these lines arose an idea.  Imagine if I set aside $1 a day for the entire year for charity.  Now imagine if 5, 10, or even 37 people did the same.  You don't need to imagine what a difference that would make!

With this we are going to continue our journey of giving but a little differently.  Get ready for #smallactsofkindness :-)

From the 37 charities we highlighted we have selected our favorite 2 (an incredibly difficult choice!): Save the Children (HEART program) and Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.  Following the theme of small acts of kindness, we will be setting aside our collective dollars every day in 2013 for each charity (all 365 days) and donating throughout the year.

Finally we'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  May 2013 be full of small acts of kindness and love :-)

Day 37

Boys Town

Boys Town was founded on one simple belief: that every child has the inherent potential to succeed, no matter what his or her circumstances.  So, we strive to help every child, from those who may simply be struggling or in doubt to those who are in need of the most severe behavioral care.  We strive to reunite children with their families whenever possible, or give them the skills and foundation they need to build a life on their own as caring, responsible adults.

Day 36

Summer Search

The mission of Summer Search is to find resilient low-income high school students and inspire them to become responsible and altruistic leaders by providing year-round mentoring, life-changing summer experiences, college advising, and a lasting support network.

Summer Search changes the odds for low-income youth and ensures they succeed in school and in life.  In 2010 across our network of seven locations:

• 99% of Summer Search seniors graduated high school
• 95% of seniors went to post-secondary education, including 93% to college
• 85% of students in post-secondary are on track to graduate

 
As important as their success in school, Summer Search expects youth to give back and become leaders.  In 2010 over 80% of Summer Search high school students engaged in their communities with 24 or more community service hours.

Day 35

Shoes That Fit

Going barefoot in the summer is one thing.  Doing it all year long – or having to wear worn out, mismatched or poor fitting shoes every day throughout the year is something else entirely.  It destroys self esteem.  It degrades and depresses.  It makes going to school embarrassing and almost impossible.
It’s also why Shoes That Fit was born.  Because studies show that properly fitting shoes can enhance self confidence in school-children and boost their development and overall growth.  That’s a lot to get from a simple pair of shoes, but we see it work in the lives of precious children every day!

With shoes that fit, kids fit too – into their schools, into their social networks and into lives with hope and dreams.

Today, Shoes That Fit is helping children in need in thousands of schools across America. Hundreds of thousands of new shoes and other items have been given out and that number is growing rapidly.