A Home Away From Home for Families of Sick Children

March 14, 2012
BFJ Indianapolis, IN

Family at Ronald McDonald House, photo courtesy of Ronald McDonald House

The folks at Ronald McDonald House believe that children heal better when their families can be with them. Sometimes parent know in advance that they’ll need a place to stay. Sometimes it all happens so fast, they don’t have time to pack and arrive with just the clothes on their backs. That’s where the Ronald McDonald House comes in.

In Indianapolis, Ronald McDonald House provides a “supportive home-away-from-home for families of seriously ill or injured children receiving medical care at Riley Hospital for Children.”  Ronald McDonald House relies on their donors and staff, as well as many generous volunteers and friends who work hard to provide the support for these families in times of crisis. Bread for the Journey of Indianapolis recently gave a grant of $100 which provided items from the wish list, such as diapers, items for the kitchen pantry, and laundry and cleaning supplies, for Ronald McDonald House of Indiana at Riley Children’s Hospital.

 

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A Fellowship Kitchen for Big Heart Nunnery in Tibet

March 13, 2012
BFJ Tucson, AZ (One Global Village)

Nyingchen means “Big Heart” in Tibetan.  Tibetan Doctor, Lo Dros, with the help of his family, a monk friend, and several  anis (nuns), is rebuilding Nyingchen Nunnery, a nunnery founded in 1722 in a remote area of Tibet that fell to ruin centuries ago.  As a result of this labor of love, Nyinchen Nunnery now has 35 anis and is planning for a total of 50.  Now their biggest need is a modern kitchen and dining room.  Currently, the anis are preparing their meals and eating in their individual hermitages. The anis lead a rigorous life of study, meditation, and work.  They would benefit greatly from the social time spent cooking and eating together.

One Global Village – A Bread for the Journey Chapter – has given $1,750 for this kitchen/dining room; $6,000 is needed still to complete the project. To help, please contact One Global Village at (520) 820-4790.

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No Environment, No Tibet

March 13, 2012
BFJ Tucson, AZ (One Global Village)

One Global Village – a Bread for the Journey Chapter,  is sponsoring a 24 year old nomad student named Tserang.  Tserang, who arrives in the United States in March of 2011,  embodies the traditional Tibetan Buddhist and nomad cultural values, knowledge and experience, making him a “living treasure of Tibet.”

Tserang is studying English at a community college in preparation for studying Education and Environmental Conservation.  He hopes in the future to have a free school for poor nomad and orphan children in his hometown.  He also wants to learn how to preserve the environment.  As Tserang says, “The environment keeps the grass.  The grass keeps the yaks.  The yaks keep the nomads.  The nomads keep the Tibetan religion and culture.  No environment, no Tibet.”

One Global Village and several private donors give $2,400 each quarter to pay for Tserang’s community college tuition and fees.

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An “Angel” Learns to Care for the Marginalized Poor in Tibet

March 13, 2012
BFJ Tucson, AZ (One Global Village)

Lhumo is a 22 year old Tibetan woman now finishing her 3rd year of college studies to become a nurse.  She spent her whole winter holiday helping an old doctor and patients in a clinic near her hometown.  The patients are mainly women and children who are economically marginalized.  Lhumo diagnosed simple illnesses and gave medicine and intravenous fluid to the clinic patients. More importantly, as she is from the local area and speaks the same language as her patients, she gives them compassionate “tender loving care.”

One Global Village – A Bread for the Journey Chapter, sponsors Llumo each year with $700 for her college tuition in nursing. Lhumo recently wrote a letter to One Global Village: “To kindhearted people who made this funding possible, I want to extend my sincere gratitude for your help and support with my school tuition.  I have personally experienced many Tibetan women die every year because of inadequate health care. My special interest is being a nurse, especially in women’s hygiene. I am achieving my goal through your help and assistance, without which all of this is not possible for a rural Tibetan woman to accomplish in a lifetime. I want to become a smiling and warmhearted angel among patients and want to serve my community back in Tibetan areas.  Ever since I lost my father, I have an earnest desire to help as many people as possible.  Thanks again for making all this possible.”

 

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The Business Case for Compassion – An Interview with Pavithra Mehta

March 13, 2012
BFJ Radio

This week Marianna interviews award-winning filmmaker and author Pavithra Mehta. Mehta’s recent book Infinite Vision: How Aravind Became the World’s Greatest Business Case for Compassion (2011) and her 2004 documentary film also titled Infinite Vision, follow the work of Dr. G. Venkataswamy, founder of the Aravind Eye Care System.

“Dr. V,” as he his called, chose an impossible dream: to cure the world of blindness. The tiny clinic he founded in India – where blindness can be a death sentence for the poor – defied conventional business logic and is now the world’s largest provider of eye care. Aravind has restored sight to over 32 million patients, the majority for free. Those who can pay cover the costs of those who cannot. Serving everyone from penniless farmers to the president with world-class care, Aravind’s model for compassionate medical care is now being replicated across the globe.

Mehta explores the practices and values at the heart of Aravind’s improbable success: integrating innovation with empathy, service with business principles, and inner change with outer transformation. She shows how these choices that seem naïve or unworkable, can, when executed with wisdom and integrity, yield powerful results – results that light the eyes of millions.

 

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Kindness and Compassion – A Conversation with Marianna Cacciatore and Greg McGlaze

March 13, 2012
BFJ Radio

This week on Bread for the Journey radio we’ll be talking about Kindness, Generosity and Compassion. We’ll tell stories about small acts of kindness and the long-lasting trails they leave behind; the growth of compassion when – through the hand of our own or the hand of fate—we find ourselves in the company of someone in greater need than us. We’ll talk about why it matters to nurture the seed of generosity in our own human heart.

Join Marianna Cacciatore and her friend and partner, Greg McGlaze, for this enlivening conversation.

 

 

 

 

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This Journal is Not Lost; It has Found You

February 28, 2012
BFJ Orange County, CA

 

Journal and pen

Learning from one another's stories through communal journals. Photo by Curt Fleenor.

Testimony Life Resources is a counseling and wellness center in Orange County that takes a unique approach. They look for creative ways to connect people to the spiritual meaning of their story and the important purpose of their lives:

Most mental health clinics can only address a few issues. Like dousing one burning tree when the whole forest is on fire, this approach does little to truly assist the person towards lasting and genuine health… More than just a couch and an hour a week, we prescribe surf lessons, date nights, quiet journal time, fitness classes, guitar lessons.

The folks at Testimony believe that everyone’s story is worth telling, so they have put 12 leather bound journals out into the world intended to hold the stories that people will write in them. The journals are left in public places and the front page reads: “This journal is not lost; it has found you.”  The idea is that people will learn from others’ stories, write their own, and then leave it in another public place.  The journals can be tracked, and when they are full, they are sent back to the organization.  Bread for the Journey of Orange County was happy to give Testimony Life Resources $600 to purchase more journals.

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Camp to Belong

February 28, 2012
BFJ Orange County, CA
brothers at camp

Camp to Belong reunites siblings separated by foster care or adoption. Photo courtesy of Camp to Belong

Lynn Price grew up in the foster care system. At the age of 8, Lynn learned that she had a biological sister living on the other side of town! However, with limited visits throughout their childhood, Lynn and sister Andi only developed a solid friendship as young adults. As their friendship continues to deepen, they realize how much they love and need each other, while sadly realizing how much they missed growing up apart. Here’s how Lynn describes it:

Siblings. They can be the first one to put the blame on each other for minor incidents. Yet, they are the first ones to come to each other’s side when they’re in trouble. They look up to each other…they look out for each other. They are mentors to each other and best friends. Imagine yourself as a child, being taken away from your parents and separated from your siblings while placed in a foster care home.

In 1995, Lynn founded Camp to Belong, a program which reunites siblings who’ve been separated by foster care or adoption. Camp to Belong brings siblings together to enjoy fun, emotional empowerment and a much needed sibling connection.  This year, the Orange County Camp to Belong wanted to provide an activity for older youth, many of whom have attended the camp in years past. The organizers wanted to expose them to a college environment, so they are planning an afternoon field trip to Cal State Fullerton. The field trip costs included Cal State Fullerton T shirts, a bus, and lunches. Bread for the Journey of Orange County was pleased to offer a grant for $900 to help nourish and inspire youth with this special event.

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Keep Our Libraries Open

February 28, 2012
BFJ Sonoma County
Closed sign on Public Library

SOCOSOL is working to keep Sonoma County's libraries open.

In August of 2011, public library hours in Sonoma County were cut by 25% without public input or opportunity to seek more creative solutions to budget cuts.  SOCOSOL (Sonoma County Save Our Libraries) is a grass-roots organization dedicated to bringing the county’s libraries back to full operation. SOCOSOL has interacted with over 5,000 people in 31 localities and has become a trusted ally of the local Library Advisory Boards and the county-wide Library Commission. With a $1,000 grant from Bread for the Journey of Sebastopol, SOCOSOL will be able to maintain their web-site, manage their e-mail newsletter, and copy materials necessary to the task of bringing transparency, accounting coherency, accessibility and accountability to the County Library System. SOCOSOL expects to dissolve when the county libraries are back to full operation, a day we hope is very soon!

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Nourishing Children From Farm to School

February 23, 2012
BFJ Santa Fe, NM
working in school garden

FoodCorps Volunteers work on farm to school programs. Photo courtesy of FoodCorps.

Bob Pedersen is a true visionary who is passionate about raising food to give away.  Bob is a co-founder of Tierra Lucero, which for over a decade, has been dedicated to growing community and empowering people to reclaim their land, their agrarian livelihoods and our shared future.

Bob’s extensive farm is within walking distance of three schools in Taos, New Mexico. Bob wants to introduce students to how food is grown and how it can be used for healthy meals in school cafeterias. Bob is looking to the recently formed national service learning program, FoodCorps, which is built on the model of Americorps, to help him accomplish this. FoodCorps interns work alongside local communities to deliver hands-on nutrition education, build and tend school gardens, and bring high-quality local food into public school cafeterias.

Bread for the Journey of Santa Fe was happy to grant Bob $1,500 to extend his current program to include membership in FoodCorps, which will provide him with an intern to facilitate this exciting new direction of his work.

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