Day 186 - AIDS Walk

It was a magnificent day for an AIDS walk.  The 3 mile walk began at Theis park in Kansas City near the Country Club Plaza.  Some walkers were in matching t-shirts with logos.  Others, like myself, my daughter Mia and her daughter Sydney in a stroller, were dressed comfortably for the leisurely meandering path thru the neighborhoods and parks.  This was the 23rd AIDS WALK and donations from its sponsors and participants support those persons living with HIV/AIDS.  Beneficiaries include SAVE, Inc., Good Samaritan Project, Kansas City Free Health Clinic and Hope Care Center.

Day 185 - Future Queen

                                          


She is known to her family and friends as Kate.  When her husband, Prince William, is crowned King of England someday, she will become Queen Catherine, following five Queen Catherines in English history.  Not bad for a commoner.  Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge, requested donations to charity instead of wedding presents. Their Royal Wedding Charity Fund  raised over 1 million pounds to benefit 26 Royal Wedding charities of their choosing.  Since the fund was closed, I chose to donate to the March of Dimes, specifically the Kansas Sunflower State chapter.

Day 184 - Ribs for Kids

What do ribs and kids have in common?  I found that out at McGonigles, the ever so popular meat market and more at the corner of 79th Street and Ward Parkway in Kansas City.  They have an annual event called Ribs for Kids, a benefit in support of Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association.  All you had to do was purchase a delicious rack of freshly cooked baby back ribs and McGonigle's donated $5 (per rack.)  What a tasty way to help the kids.



My ribs were smoked here



My ribs were wrapped up to go here





Day 183 - Arbor Day

I planted a tree thru Paper Culture in honor of the marriage of our daughter Shana & her husband Alex.  It's an online, eco, sustainable CarbonFree stationery business.  All of their cards are made of 100% recycled paper or non-tree fibers.  For every card purchased or order placed, Paper Culture will plant a tree in a US National Forest.  Their lofty motive is to not cut down any trees but to plant 1 million of them.  What a way to beautiful America.

Day 182 - Heifer International

I helped buy a water buffalo.  I was buying a book at the Reading Reptile, a Brookside area bookstore and cupcake shop in Kansas City, Missouri.  On the checkout counter there was a donation container for Heifer International.  With my donation and that of others, we bought a live animal for the purpose of ending a family's hunger and helping them out of poverty.  Heifer International's strategy is "to pass on the gift. As people share their animals’ offspring with others – along with their knowledge, resources, and skills – an expanding network of hope, dignity, and self-reliance is created that reaches around the globe."

The pictures below, taken at the Reading Reptile, showcase imaginative artwork recreating book characters.

Update - 3

I've made a commitment to myself to do something good every day for 365 days.  I'm changing my rules slightly in order to keep the momentum going.  My goal is still a year of activities - though not every day in a row now.  Instead of being done in October 2011, I may be looking at summer 2012.  Many of the acts I've done are not written up, pictures not uploaded, or yet posted.  But, mark my word, I will hit the 365 day mark of morals!

Day 181 - Air & Space

The National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, is part of the Smithsonian, the largest museum and research complex in the world.  Its present home opened in 1976 on the National Mall.  Along with the Smithsonian's 18 other museums and galleries, research centers, the National Zoo and more than 140 affiliate museums around the world, the Air & Space Museum gets funding from the US Government, endowments, contributions (like mine), and retail profits.  Among the permanent exhibits are the Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 command module.  If you've never touched a lunar rock and don't have the money nor expertise to go to the moon, you can touch one at the museum.

Day 180 - State Troopers

Friends ask you to support their organizations.  When that friend is a Kansas State Trooper, you say "yes".  For many reasons, this is a good thing. The Troopers Association is all about advancing law enforcement in the state of Kansas.  It funds programs such as "In the Line of Duty" death organizations and their Emergency Relief Fund.  It also helps with representation in passing legislation to help troopers do their jobs.  Here's to you, Trooper Brandon.

Day 179 - Do Good

Since 2009, Ladies' Home Journal's "Do Good" stamp of approval has become a coveted recognition of innovation and results-oriented efforts in charitable work. Around 30 companies and corporations have earned the award from LHJ which encourages them to give back to their communities in the form of good deeds and philanthropic work.  Winners have been: Milk-Bone for training service dogs for the disabled, Trident for enhancing access to dental care for those in need, and JCPenney for giving $80 million for after-school programs. That is why I bought the magazine - and for the celebrity news, recipes, and beauty tricks.

Day 178 - Foster Care Adoption

Usually because of neglect, kids end up in the foster care system.  There are close to half a million children in foster care in this country.  Of that number, around 115,00 of them are in foster care awaiting permanent homes, adoption.  To adopt a foster child you don't have to be married.  The median age child is 8.1  Foster kids average 3 different placements and 30 months in the system.  Before a foster child is adopted, potential parents must complete 4-12 weeks of parenting classes, depending upon their state law.  The vast majority of foster care adoptive parents receive an adoption subsidy, guaranteeing them financial assistance until the child becomes an adult, age 18-22.  Putting money in a jar at Wendy's opened my eyes to these facts.

Day 177 - Soup's On

Camden, NJ, loves Campbell's Soup and so does the rest of the nation - and the world.  The soup is sold in 120 countries; 4 out of every 5 cans of soups in the U.S.A. are Campbell's.  With its Campbell's Soup Foundation, America's most loved and recognizable soup company concentrates its efforts, to the tune of about $1,000,000 a year, on nutrition, health, and youth programs.  Lots of that money goes to charitable recipients in the Camden area, birthplace and world headquarters of Campbell's Soup, but United Way gets a big bowl of the action each year, too. 



My soup is going to Campbell's
Stamp Out Hunger campaign





This Andy Warhol soup can
sold for $11.7 million dollars







Day 176 - Shoes into Water

 

                                        

I've heard of turning lead into gold.  A pumpkin into a coach.  Lemons into lemonade.  Shoes into water?  The Shoeman, awarded a  Purple Heart in Vietnam, has done that since 2008.  With donated used shoes, his nonprofit organization sells them to retailers in the developing world.  The profit from the sales provides fresh drinking water by helping to buy water-well drilling rigs and by building water purification systems. Shoeman Water Projects representatives will pick up your shoes (and mine) from New Balance Shoes in Overland Park, KS, as well as from many other drop-off points in the USA. 



My donated shoes





Day 175 - Birthday Wishes

Birthday parties for homeless children.  How beautiful is that?  In a homeless shelter, a kid's birthday could come and go without anyone celebrating with them or for them.  Because of lack of funds, some parents don't even tell their kids it's their birthday, sparing them the disappointment. In 2002, three women in Newton, MA, envisioned what was lacking and Birthday Wishes was born.  Over 165 shelters on the east coast are now giving birthday parties and creating memories for kids.  Cash donations and in-kind donations of gifts and supplies are given by countless individuals, scout troups, religious groups, volunteers and organizations.  Volunteers also set up and attend the parties.  I took my grandchildren, Zachary and Alexandra, to pick out gifts requested for 3-year-olds.  Thank you The Park School of Brookline, MA, for apprising me of this meaningful project.

Alex and Zach with gifts for Birthday Wishes



Day 174 - Recipes for Sale

After all these years, some things had to go to make room for more stuff.  I'm hoping these slightly used cookbooks were donated in time for the 23rd Annual Sizzlin' Summer Used Book Sale at Metcalf South Shopping Center, benefitting the Friends of the Library in the Kansas City area.  If it's too late, look for them at the 24th Annual Sale next year.  I was okay with getting rid of The Well-Filled Tortilla, Eat More Weigh Less, and Get the Fat Out.  I may miss Cake Decorating, Good Food Kids Love, and The Joy of Cooking - though I did replace that with a newer edition.  With a magnifying glass, you may notice one book entitled, The Kitchen is Closed.

Day 173 - Nourish the Good

April 10-16 was National Volunteer Week.  Newman's Own, the foundation that's given away millions of dollars for camps and programs, thanked all the volunteers who do good work.  With their initiative, Nourish the Good, they encourage and promote volunteers who seek out opportunities to help when needed.  In reverence to the late Paul Newman, I drank a cup of Newman's Special Blend organic coffee from his Newman's Own Organics line.  Organics agriculture definition - "a holistic system with the primary goal of optimizing the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals, and people."

Day 172 - Touch of Comfort

What does keeping a kid warm in a hospital have to do with keeping fabrics soft?  When you buy specially marked bottles of Downy fabric softening products, a 5 cent donation goes to their Touch of Comfort program, providing quilts for kids in hospitals.  A staggering 6,000,000 American kids are hospitalized each year.  In 2010, over 20,000 of them received personalized quilts to keep them warm, hand sewn by volunteers.  Together with its partners, Quilts for Kids and the Children's Miracle Network, Downy softens and comforts the lives that it touches.  To add star quality, Chandra Wilson, 5 time Emmy winner of  Grey's Anatomy is the Touch of Comfort spokesperson, sometimes personally delivering quilts to kids.  I bought Downy and asked a friend who quilts to make one of them.  Go sew Nancy!



Day 171 - Light the Night

The Light the Night Walk takes place every spring throughout the U.S. and Canada, raising money for blood cancer research.  With Price Chopper and The Mid-America Chapter of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as partners, paper balloons are sold for $1 at Kansas City grocery store checkout lanes.  Once a donation is made, along with your assorted grocery items, your balloon becomes part of a bouquet that is displayed at the stores. 



My paper balloon on display
at Price Chopper



Day 170 - Pounds of Protein

Tyson Foods, whose primary philanthropic focus has been hunger relief, has donated more than 78 million pounds of protein in the last decade.  The recipients have been 37 food banks across the U.S.A.  In turn, those food banks fed the 1 in 4 Americans worried about having enough money to buy food.  Tyson Foods has partnered with Share our Strength and Feeding America to get the boneless chicken into the mouths of those who need them. 

Good grandchild food

 

Day 169 - Disadvantages and Disabilities

The Helping Hand of Goodwill Industries' mission is to help people with disadvantages or disabilities achieve their potential through work.  With lots of locations in the Kansas City area - and the fact that they're open 7 days a week and help you carry your load out of the car - it's easy to drop off clothes and other items that help people lead productive and independent lives.  This time we had 3 large bagfuls of assorted men's clothes and 17 shirts on hangers for those needing just the right size to look good at a job.



                                                        

        

         

Day 168 - Disaster Relief Fund

They make it easy to donate at my neighborhood Price Chopper, part of a chain of locally owned grocery stores. You could rip off a (or more) $1 or $5 donation slip(s) and give it to the cashier to ring up. That's what I did to help the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.  Besides helping all over the world, they have been assisting with victims of flooding and tornadoes in the Southern States and along the Mississippi River.  They provide meals and snacks, shelters and tarps, work gloves and cleaning supplies, and emotional support and health services.  The American Red Cross seems to always be there when there's a crisis.

Day 167 - Money to Homeless

I gave cash to a homeless man with a sign on a street corner. I never know if it's the right thing to do but I did it.  So did the person driving the car in front of me. 

Day 166 - Overland Park Market

On Wednesdays and Saturdays from April to October, the Overland Park Farmers Market in Overland Park Kansas is hopping with business.  Farmers and other vendors come to showcase and sell their goods to an eager crowd looking for fresh produce, honey, flowers, and more.  You'll see these categories represented:  USDA Certified Organically Grown, Naturally Grown, Homegrown, Reseller-Locally Grown, and Reseller-Warehouse.  Don't ask me what any of that means.  At the end of each market day, Harvesters, the community food network picks up leftover produce donated by vendors for their Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition program.

 



I made an ENORMOUS salad with this lettuce