Yesterday while coming in for a landing into the Dallas-Ft.Worth airport (DFW), I was reading an article in the NYTimes called "Having a Blast, for a Good Cause" (3.19.06) that highlighted (for one) a group of unlikely philanthropists in DC who staged a shopping cart version of the classic Idiotarod sled dog race in Alaska, entitled Idiotarod D.C., in which participants raced several miles pushing shopping carts filled with food to donate. There was another philanthropic 'outing' called "Mustaches for Kids" that had raised nearly $100,000 by having men grow mustaches between Thanksgiving and Christmas, donations going to the Make-A-Wish foundation. Both fun, both good.
And then today while catching up on past emails I ran into the TrendCentral's rallying cry behind 2 great groups:
LIVESTRONG's Backstory and One Rubber Ball:
Kevin Carroll: If you’ve not yet heard of this man, chances are you’re already very familiar with a byproduct of his lifework: the evolution of the LIVESTRONG bracelet phenomenon was considerably influenced by Carroll years ago when he held the unique position of Katalyst (or Creativity Ambassador) at Nike. At the time, Carroll had begun to hand out clear D.R.E.A.M. bands (an acronym for Dedication, Responsibility, Education, Attitude, Motivation) to motivate young kids at camps and schools. Today, he continues to hand out those bands to the thousands of audiences and individuals he speaks to around the world, inspiring creativity in all ages and using sports and play as developmental tools for children. In addition to founding The Katalyst Consultancy, and penning Rules of the Red Rubber Ball: Find and Sustain Your Life’s Work, Carroll’s words of wisdom have recently been associated with another pop culture phenomenon; he is currently quoted on Starbucks’ to-go cups as part of their “The way I see it” program. Go to: www.redrubberball.biz
How Many Acts of Kindness Can You Commit Today?
The Extreme Kindness Crew: Several years ago, four young Canadians embarked on a journey with one goal in mind—“To connect the world through kindness”. What began as a local tour, in which a crew of life-long friends encouraged others to “pay it forward”, has started a small revolution. These days the crew of Erik Hanson, Val Litwin, Brad Stokes and Chris Bratseth is taking their kindness credo global—from the big (providing hands-on disaster relief) to the small (giving hugs to everyone they meet). The KC speaks to and motivates individuals and corporations around the world in a effort to educate, inspire and mobilize others to commit acts of kindness, volunteerism and community service. The guys also have two books, Cool to be Kind and Call to Arms, under their collective belts and a “kind acts” counter on their website. How many acts can you commit today? Go to: www.extremekindness.com
Best of all -- even beyond their blog -- is their Kindness Counter. Get active!
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