Thank you moms everywhere. You are the best.
This post is in honor of moms all around the world. Please be kind to every mom this Sunday.
In fact, we should really celebrate moms every day of the year. They deserve it. My wife and I lost our moms several years ago. Yet, we still remember them and are appreciative for what they did for us.
And I personally dedicate this post to the best mom I know today, my wife and LOML (love of my life) Linda, the mother of our two daughters Jennifer and Stacey.
Thanks my UCP buddies for giving back to ME!
As this blog title notes, “Volunteering Is GREAT.” And I realized this more than ever while being laid up after my knee replacement surgery.
Last year, I wrote: If you aren’t already doing so, consider volunteering. It’s a true win-win, for those you are helping as well as for YOU. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 It is so rewarding!!
While I was recuperating, I was really, really bored. Besides doctor appointments and physical therapy, I had little to do. As well as limited mobility.
But my United Cerebral Palsy buddies whom I mentor really cheered me up. They called me as a group. Amazingly, I recognized all of their voices. They also sent me a couple of cards signed by many of them. That really made happy.
When I returned on a limited basis two weeks ago, they gave me incredible welcomes. Yelling out Joel, Joel, Joel. Running to give me hugs. And presenting me with homemade cards. I was almost in tears.
The preceding is what we get back from volunteering: An incredible sense of making a difference with someone else who needs it. I missed volunteering as much as they missed me.
Here’s a story I wrote about the president of our local self-advocacy group, Jaquan Giles. It appeared in the UCP – LI December 2019 newsletter.
PLEASE give back.
In this blog, giving back is an important topic. For example, see Giving Back to Whom? Volunteering and LOVING It. And Embarking on the Next Stage of Life. Now we look at giving back on Giving Thursday. IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY to give back.
To honest, until recently, I was not familiar with Giving Tuesday. After learning about, I think it’s a great idea. And one that encourages giving back.
“Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.”
“One of the best ways to get involved is in your own community. We’ve created a directory to help you find organizations, charities, events and more in your own community. “
Click the image to visit the site and learn more
Be inspired by giving back. 🙂
If you aren’t already doing so, consider volunteering. It’s a true win-win, for those you are helping as well as for YOU. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 It is so rewarding!!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this year, I am now retired and interested in giving back. And I really want to volunteer as part of my giving back approach. But, it has been an unexpectedly difficult journey to volunteering. For different reasons, I was not able to hook up with various cancer organizations and other social services groups.
Rather than give up, I broadened my volunteering search. And it must have been my destiny all along to be a volunteer with United Cerebral Palsy of Long Island. Since last month, I have been a volunteer with the day programs at the Hauppauge, NY facility. I am working with disabled individuals who are the sweetest people. They have treated me like a long-lost friend. In addition, the staff is phenomenal and really caring.
I am involved with self-advocacy, socialization, human rights, job skills, and more. They keep thanking me. Yet, it is really I who am thankful because I get to give back in such a meaningful way. I am fulfilling my mission related my to fortunate survival from pancreatic cancer. To me, this is so inspirational and motivational.
As its Web site notes:
“UCP of Long Island is committed to advancing the independence, productivity, and full citizenship of people with disabilities. Our mission is to provide life skills training, education, advocacy, meaningful employment, and a place to call home for Long Islanders with a wide range of disabilities. UCP of Long Island proudly upholds the values of excellence, integrity, dignity, empowerment, responsibility, accountability, vision and innovation.”
“Over 65 percent of the individuals we serve today have disabilities other than cerebral palsy. These include acquired disabilities, epilepsy, sensory impairments, autism, learning disabilities, traumatic brain injury, chronic physical/medical conditions, Prader-Willi syndrome, Tourette syndrome, Down syndrome, mental health disorders, and Spina bifida.”
Consider the following.
Remember our military. With two infographics.
Today, we present a post off our main health topic: Thank You Vets and Your Families!!
As is the case every year, we consider Memorial Day 2019 as a special day. First, Monday May 27 involves solemn reflection about the millions of U.S. veterans who have been lost in combat over the years. Unlike other light-hearted celebrations. Second, Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer. And lots of people travel.
First, we distinguish between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. As the Almanac notes:
“On both Memorial Day and Veterans Day, it’s customary to spend time remembering and honoring the countless veterans who have served the United States throughout the country’s history. However, there is a distinction between the two holidays.”
Below, we offer two infographics relating to Memorial Day 2019.
Picking the best nonprofits!
If you want to do volunteer work or donate money, how do you determine which organizations are excellent? And which should we avoid?
One objective source for information on nonprofits is Charity Navigator:
“Founded in 2001, Charity Navigator has become the nation’s largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities. In our quest to help donors, our team of professional analysts has examined tens of thousands of nonprofit financial documents. We’ve used this knowledge to develop an unbiased, objective, numbers-based rating system to assess over 9,000 of America’s best-known and some lesser known, but worthy, charities.”
“Specifically, Charity Navigator’s rating system examines two broad areas of a charity’s performance; their Financial Health and their Accountability & Transparency. Our ratings show givers how efficiently we believe a charity will use their support today, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time and their level of commitment to good governance, best practices and openness with information.”
Here is an example of a Charity Navigator review, the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. Click the chart to see the full rating of Lustgarten.
Do you have a favorite charity? Did you know that could donate to it for FREE through Amazon Smile? Amazon contributes 1/2 percent of purchases made at that site — with no cost to you. 1/2 percent may sound like a pittance. But consider this: As of May 2018, Amazon Smile had contributed a total of more than $89 million to charity. My particular interest is the Marc Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, which has received nearly $20,000 through Amazon Smile.
Amazon Prime’s vast customer base, which shops at Amazon rather often, presents a huge opportunity for charitable groups. To facilitate donations, Amazon set up Amazon Smile.
THIS IS NOT A SALES PITCH. If you already shop at Amazon, there is an easy way to give to charity. Amazon Smile is an application that costs nothing to join or use when shopping. Through Amazon Smile, a 1/2% donation is made to the charity you choose when you shop. You can type in any charity you want. [Just type in the name of the charity instead of selecting one of the recommended ones.] 🙂
To learn more about Amazon Smile, click on the image.
To sign up for Amazon Smile, click here.
Note: Amazon Smile works whether or not you are a Prime member — at no cost to you.
