Thanksgiving dinner is always a big deal to all Americans, not only civilians but soldiers as well. Today, Representative Giffords who has been in the news for the past 9 months during her recovery made one of her first public appearances to help serve those in need. Giffords was shot in January during an attempted assassination and for the past month her recovery has begun entering the final stages, today we finally saw the end result.

Giffords and her husband both helped serve Thanksgiving dinner at a military base in her home state of Arizona to veterans and retirees. The fact that Giffords has recovered enough to do such a thing is great news according to analysts as she really has gone through quite a lot this year following the shooting. The miraculous recovery is an amazing story that has inspired millions of people worldwide so the fact that she was ready and willing to give back to society already such a short time after her horrible incident is definitely great news.

Giffords and her husband are still trying to stay out of the media in as many ways as possible, but she is hopeful that she will be able to return to work soon. In the coming weeks Giffords is expected to finish her long term recovery which will likely mean she’s ready for work if possible. The overall recovery Giffords has gone through has been absolutely miraculous and has been great news all year long.

 

Bradley Thomas is just 7 years old but he is making a significant impact in the lives of one family this week with his courage and kindness. As part of a community service project he decided to help out a family he had encountered that had lost their home and everything else in a fire earlier this year. Thomas vowed to do his best to save their Christmas and that is exactly what he is doing now.

Through a variety of activities and programs Thomas has managed to raise hundreds of dollars since the beginning of October. He has been working side jobs for neighbors, passing around donation plates at church, and just doing anything he can to help and he says that he is very happy to have what he has now. Young Bradley Thomas may have only raised a few hundred dollars and enough for a few big toys for the family he is helping, but the family all agrees that it was his acts of kindness that made the biggest difference.

All the members of the family in need say they are incredibly grateful for what he has done and will graciously accept any help he offers. The fact that Thomas cared enough about a family of strangers to spend months of his time trying to save their Christmas is a truly amazing story which will likely inspire thousands of people around the world and that is why Bradley Thomas is in the news this week.

Mary Donnelly has tended to the public health as a nurse for 53 years. Now at 83, she has become the Florence Nightingale of Block Island, Rhode Island. The Public Health Nurse, affectionately known as Mary D, gets up at 6, goes to Mass at 8 and starts her day with home visits.

In 1979 she became the administrator of the Mary D. Fund, a charity that raises money for needy residents in the area. Many of the residents only have seasonal incomes when the vacationers come to the island. During the winter months, the unemployment rate can hit in the high 20 percent. Thanks to funds raised at the Mary D. charity, islanders are able to keep the lights on, pay mortgage payments or get needed health treatment.The charity gave away 50,000 dollars in 2010.

Mary takes care of the homebound and the chronically ill and in her words, “knows more about the people on the island than they know about themselves”. Some say she could be considered the glue that holds the people together. She sees so many that she can bring people together that need to be.

Mary will cut your toenails and take your blood pressure. She might just have tea with you while she changes your bandages. Mostly she listens to the Block Islanders stories, leave and head out doing what she does best, paying bills. It might be 13.95 for a ferry ticket or 2500 to pay a mortgage bill. She does have a few she calls “chronic” that she has to bail them out constantly.

Outspoken and direct, she has told some residents that they could use a course in money management. When questioned, she replies that they may think that she’s rude, but it still needs to be said. The charity has only two stipulations to provide aid. First, they have to live on the island year round and second, Mary has to pay the bill herself. She takes a dim view of spending money in bars and such. She states that giving some people money is not a good idea.

While filing the latest requests she talks of how she loves her job. She admits she may retire soon and hopes to give the job to the other Block Island nurse, Linda Closter. The citizens of Block Island are blessed by the philanthropic heart of Mary Donnelly.

Peter Petersen became an instant billionaire in 2007. Co-Founder of the Blackstone Group, he found himself an instant billionaire when the group was offered for public. It was received in a spectacular manner and the founders were wealthy beyond imagination.

Pete had one wish and that was that he could have told the story to his father. His father had ran a Greek diner in Kearny, Nebraska and would have been elated at the success of his son.

Pete grew up in the 1930’s, a time when millionaires such as John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie were the talk of the day. Pete was a millionaire 1000 times over and he did not know what he would do with a a billion dollars.

The idea of trying to make it grow left him cold inside. His father, who had given away much of his hard earned money to help other people, had left him with the thought that big spenders were a bad thing.

So there went the yacht and all the big ticket wasteful spending. He was also wondering what he would do with himself. He was retiring from business at 81, though his mind and energy were still performing a good pace. As his work load slowed…the phone calls slowed and the e-mails became non-existent. His day held too many blank spots. He became free of the business action and found himself joyless.

Pete felt like he had nothing but old age to look forward to. He missed the frequent interactions with people he respected. He missed being in the loop and being needed.

So he started looking at the billionaires he admired - Bill Gates, Eli Broad and Mike Bloomberg. He found that all were giving away their un-needed money to charities and organizations that gave back to the community.

Where could he step in and help out? Due to his time as a cabinet member in the Nixon White House he knew there was a good chance that the American children of the future would not have the chance to succeed like his generation had.

Due to American policy in the economic sector Pete had forecast a trend where we would lower our standards in order to supply quick fixes that would not hold up our economy in the long run. So a billion dollars went into the new Peter G. Peterson group. It would be dedicated to finding long range fixes to help the future generations.

David Kucera is a local businessman in Sumers, New Jersey who cannot turn a blind eye to the needs of children. Each autumn, David returns his favorite project known as Stuff a Bus to assist with his favorite charity work; the work of helping kids.

Stuff A Bus is a campaign conceived of and run by the local chapter of Pajama Program. Pajama program a non-profit organization that brings warm pajamas and books to needy children.

Kucera spent 7 years in foster homes and orphanages with his brother and has been homeless as well. Kucera knows firsthand the impact that something as simple as pajamas can have on a child.

The children that they help often have never had pajamas. They sleep in underwear and in strange beds. These kids spend most of the time being scared and lonely and the gift of pajamas is a welcome comfort. Many of the kids have been homeless or are on the fringes. They live in foster or group homes and often have little knowledge of family members.

Kyocera’s mother and father split up and neither was able to take care of their children. Eventually Kyocera’s father started a small bus company and Dave went to live with him and finished school. He then went to work for his Dad, learned the family business and took over when his father retired.

About 6 years ago he and his wife heard of the Pajama Program and fell in love with the idea. They started out donating money until 4 years ago when Dave donated use of a bus to go around and pick up donations. For the annual event they cheerily decorate the bus with pajamas and send it on a loop around the county for around a week or more.

The bus goes to elementary schools, churches, small businesses, stores and corporations. Each day, the bus is stacked full, front-to-back with donations for the kids. Kocera loves to ride along when he can, especially to the schools to watch the giving spirit of the kids. It is a gratifying site to see the kids at the schools because kids are so eager to help other children.

In October he expects to deliver 5000 pairs of pajamas and 2500 books. Dave says that when you see the smiles on the faces of the children it makes all the work worth while.

The Pajama program was started 10 years ago and now has 79 chapters in 42 states. Each chapter organizes its own pickups and deliveries to approved facilities.

All the work is done by volunteers and as of today, approximately 1 million pairs of pajamas and one-half million books have been given to needy children

On a given day, in any city in the world, you will see a homeless person. Five to ten percent of them will be accompanied by a pet of some description. In some areas, the percentage of the homeless accompanied by pets reaches as high as 24% based on the United States estimate of 3.5 million homeless people.

In 2006 Genivieve Fredericks was visiting New York City when she saw a homeless man begging on the street, with a dog lying at his feet. She wondered how he could have a pet and care for it if he couldn’t care for himself. This incongruity troubled her until she began seek the answers to the question. Genivieve was a pet lover and she realized that pets provided love for their humans unconditionally. The homeless were finding comfort in the pets to provide that sense of belonging and companionship that all humans seek.

In 2007, Fredericks launched PETS OF THE HOMELESS with the help of Gary Ailes and Woody Allen, local veterinarians. The trio started with donations and the help of the local media. The first day, they filled a 55 gallon trash can. Local businesses have gotten into the act sponsoring food drives such as GIVE A DOG A BONE WEEK. This particular fundraiser is now in the second year and at last count, an astonishing 79 tons of pet food have been donated.

Volunteers pick up, organize, and deliver food to the needy animals. Fredericks, who spends 30 to 40 hours a week in her Carson City headquarters, says that distribution centers have multiplied beyond anything she had expected. Collections sites have risen to 288 with 256 distribution sites in 39 states and a few in Canada.

Cash donations are used to sponsor grants for vets who hold free clinics where the homeless congregate. After hurricane Katrina, she realized that there was a need for pet disaster relief also. The love of people for pets meant that they would not leave them behind. Donations were diverted for crates and blankets for disaster-affected animals, so they could be as comfortable as possible, much to the relief of the pet owners.
Her husband Ray delivers pet food and helps with the logistics. Her daughter, Renee Lowery is an officer at FOOD FOR PETS helping to keep the non-profit organization going. Fredrick’s grandchildren put labels on bags of food and mail, and her English setter Kaiya supplies enough doggy companionship for them all.

Soles4Souls is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to providing shoes to people that are in need of footwear. The mission of this organization is simple; they get shoes and give them to those in need.

After the disasters of the 2000’s, the founderv of Soles4Souls felt a desire to give back and to help those in need.vHe began this mission in front of his TV watching a shoe wash up on the beach after the tsunami in Asia in 2004.

Inspired by the event, the owner called up the other manufacturers of footwear and together they donated a quarter of a million shoes to the needy. Later on when Katrina devastated the United States, the same group got together and has sent over av million pairs of shoes to the Gulf Coast communities to assist those in need of footwear.

In the aftermath of the generous outpouring of donation, Soles4Soulsb was born. In short, the organization is changing the world, one pair of shoes at a time. Large donations from industry manufacturers, retail, churches and other groups realized the potential for this ministry. Soles4Souls acts as the intermediary between the generous providers of the footwear and those in need of shoes.

Other fundraisers also play a part in the donation of shoes for this cause. Recently, one such event – known as the Naked Foot 5k. The Naked Foot run is a run that is about not wearing shoes and running free and unbound by footwear. Running barefoot is very therapeutic as long as you are safe with the run and have taken the proper precautions.

It is a very popular fundraiser and folks are allowed to have fun while helping a worthy cause. The premise is that the race is a fun completion and lets you do your run while having fun like a kid on the beach.The Naked Foot run joined forces with Soles4Souls because the Naked Foot Run is the perfect venue to get rid of all the older shoes that a runner needs or wants to donate.

The founders have established tips and tricks to make minimalistic or Naked Foot running save and enjoyable. The founders are exercise physiologists and are trained to help folks enjoy barefoot running. Joining a running group can provide you with the perfect opportunity to have fun and to help others by donating old footwear to a good cause.

A Starbucks Gold Card brought unexpected aid to a homeless man and helped create a new innovative way to provide assistance to those in need.

A man became homeless last winter and was out on the street with little more than a cell phone and his Starbucks Gold Card.It was because of the Starbucks card and the social media agent twitter that he was able to stay warm and safe and find new ways to impact those less fortunate.

This news story begins with the man finding himself out in the cold with nowhere to go. As a significant amount of the homeless in America find themselves, he made the local shelters a place to sleep for the night. However, it was the policy of the shelter that everyone had to leave early in the mornings when it was still very cold outside.

With it being winter, he had to find some way to keep warm so he used the Starbucks card to sit and drink coffee.While sitting there, he tweeted about the condition of the homeless and the suffering he observed. When his money began to run out, he broke down and began to ask his followers if they knew anywhere he could find assistance and stay warm. The gold card allowed him to stay connected to society while so many others in his plight simply fade away out of sight.

To prevent him from being kicked out into the cold, the generosity of people following him on twitter began to provide for his needs. At first, he began to get Starbucks cards from some and card refills from others. As the generosity of the public poured in, he began to formulate an idea. Whenever he became homeless, he tweeted and the news of his condition spread through the cyber world and the generosity of folks he did not know came to his rescue.

His idea was to begin to help other homeless folks. He began a blog that talked about the needs of other homeless people and began to ask for assistance for items that others desperately needed.Starbucks has changed his life and in turn he is changing the lives of others. He uses the internet connection to tweet or blog for needs and meets those in need at the stores.

Further work is being done by donating day old pastry to shelter and more can be done if we harness the power of generosity and the technology available.

The Stoughton High community gathered to be a part of an event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Stoughton High School parents, faculty and the kids all joined together to raise money for Cancer. As October 1 was the official kickoff for Breast Cancer Awareness month, the community decided to get together and take part in the 5K walk to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Like a pink wave, the community of Stoughton High got out and walked to support the patients andfamilies going through cancer and the research made possible by the American Cancer Society. There were approximately 80 folks taking part in the event that was known as “5 for the Cure”.

Each of the supporters walking in the event donated $5 to the American Cancer society to help fund the programs of education and research. Most people know someone or have had family that has gone through a battle with cancer. Others are survivors that know firsthand the difficulty and hardships that have to be faced when battling the disease.

Patients with the disease often go through weeks and months of painful and harsh treatments in order to get the disease into remission. Research is the only way to one day be able to declare success over Cancer and it is up to individuals like the community of Stoughton to take a stand and raise money to support research and education programs.

Fundraisers for breast cancer are going on all during the month of October as this is breast cancer awareness month. The American Cancer Society sponsors an event called Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. This fundraiser is a walk that brings together whole groups of people in towns and cities. The walk promotes support for those that have battled breast cancer and education to help people understand how to make changes to lessen the chance that they will get cancer.

Since 1993, almost 7 million people have collected in donations nearly 400 million dollars to assist with breast cancer research for a cure. The people engage in a friendly 3 to 5 mile event and compete to see who brings in the most donations. In 2010 approximately 800,000 walkers across the United States collected an impressive amount for the charity. More than $60 million dollars was donated to the American Cancer Society to help save lives from breast cancer.

Cancer treatments take a toll on the patient and the family as they battle for their life. It is through the good will efforts of communities like Stoughton and others that do and will continue to make a difference in the lives of those waging a war against cancer.

When children are very sick and injured, often times it requires a lengthy stay to ensure that treatment is appropriate and effective. Hospitals are not equipped to board the family of the kids that they care for and often times the families are split apart during long term treatment.

The children and their families are scared and alone and the stress of the illness or injury is made worse when the family support structure is divided. The Ronald McDonald House provides needed shelter and assistance for sick and injured children and their families at a time when they need it most.

According to the mission statement of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), there aim is to establish programs that improve the physical health and emotional well being of children. The statement further indicates that changing a child’s life will change family, community and the world. (RHMC.org).

Donations come from all over to support the RHMC, but the McDonalds Corporation has been the biggest sponsor for RMHC for the last 36 years. During that time millions of dollars have been raised to support sick and injured children and their families. Services for Families include home cooked meals, private rooms, playrooms and in some houses, rooms for special needs, educational programs and other support services. RMHC strives to provide support for the family in the areas that they need the most. The fundraisers highlight the programs of the organization and the corporation continues to raise money each year to support the needs of the families. Fundraisers, employee contributions, local chapter events, and sales of USA today in the restaurants combined with corporate donations go a long way to keep the RMHC afloat.

Corporate donations alone are not enough, however, McDonalds continues to recruit chapters across the globe to establish more funding for the charity and to bond with the local communities that the houses support. To date, chapters have been established in 52 countries and operate fundraising activities to support the foundation. Sports centers and specialized equipment have been built for disabled kids that are cognitively and physically challenged.

A unique program that RMHC provides is the meal basket program that provides kids with special food needs that receive outpatient care. The meals provide nutrition and support for the kids and parents to continue with the life saving treatments. The help and support of RMHC provides the essential needs of sick and injured kids and their families.