"I feel blessed to live and raise my family in the south. Life is good in the south and it's not just the weather it's the people. The south is so much more than fried chicken, corn bread, collars greens, and mac and cheese. The south is a place where the term hospitality gets a brand new meaning. Southerns know how to live with an attitude of gratitude. They show class, and take pride on everything they do and always take criticism with grace and poise. Southerns take things slow, enjoy every day, and make the most of what they have."
Photo: Lindsey Monroe (Special Event and PR Coordinator) and Liza Cardona (The Bluebird Patch).
Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and
happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there's
always something we could be grateful for.
- Barry Neil Kaufman
Today I'm grateful to be able to connect with one of the best non-profit organizations in Atlanta, Camp Sunshine. You can tell a lot about an organization by their employees and volunteers. If you have never been to one of their events I can assure you is like stepping in a happiness cloud. You can feel the passion and the commitment of everyone involved. Camp Sunshine is 100% dedicated to enrich the lives of Georgia’s children with cancer and their families through recreational, educational and support programs.
Camp Sunshine relies heavily on donations and fundraisers to operate since all of their programs are free of charge. They have a spring camp coming up and they are in dire need of gift cards, ipads, ipods, hand sanitizer, solo cups, plastic utensils, small paper plates and bowls, fun kids stickers, trash bags, paper towels, anti-bacterial wipes, acrylic craft paint, napkins and so much more. Please visit their wish list if you think you can donate some of these items.
I strongly encourage you to visit their website to learn more about their programs and volunteering opportunities.
Shout out to Lindsey Monroe, Camp Sunshine PR coordinator. Our family is humbled and grateful for your invitation to participate in the The Wizard of Oz fundraiser at the Alliance Theater. It seems to me like the turnout was very good so props to all the people who worked hard to make this possible.
Wash your hands, clean up the gulf - with a little help from Bird
Project
Eco-intelligence, creativity, and innovative philanthropy unite!!
Tippy Tippenspassion for sustainable growth is quite unique. She makes the objects
that we live with us, work for us instead of against us and ultimately give us a greater sense of happiness.
Each black, bird shaped soap contains a white, ceramic bird, handmade
by moi from Louisiana Clay, which remains as a keepsake once the outer
soap has washed away.
Through the daily act of washing, you will eventually free the clean,
white, ceramic birds inside - potent symbols of restoration and
recovery. The soap is shaped to be cradled in your hand and is a
powerful representation of all creatures affected by the BP Deepwater
Horizon Oil Spill Disaster.
The soaps are made with natural, locally sourced ingredients:
biodiesel glycerin, fair trade olive oil, aloe, activated black
charcoal, and a light cypress scent - reminiscent of Louisianan bayous.
They are made by Emily Manger Davis of Sweet Olive Soaps, a third
generation soapmaker from New Orleans.
50% of profits go to environmental cleanup and care for affected
animals of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster. [Gulf
Restoration Network & IBRRC]
“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” Mother Theresa
Everyday people , everyday kindness. Meet Frank, John and Jack; three “Muffin Men” who are turning retirement into
an opportunity to distribute food and kindness to those in need.
Sponsored by the Men's Club, the Muffin People are a group of
parishioners who collect day-old baked goods and food donations from
local Starbucks' and supermarkets to help feed the hungry in Oakland.
The group meets on the last Wednesday of every other month at 7 p.m.
For 19 years, a group of volunteers (33) from St. Monica Catholic Church
in Moraga have been picking up food set aside daily by several stores,
including Lunardi’s, Safeway, Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Diablo Foods and
Whole Foods. The food is delivered daily to several Oakland agencies
that serve the needs of the poor.
MOMENTS OF HAPPINESS ARE NOT THOSE
THAT YOU SEIZE BUT THE ONES THAT SEIZE YOU.
“Happiness are little moments in life
that we cherish and hold so dear. Screaming at the top of our lungs as we slide down
the mountain, roasting marshmallows over a campfire, sipping hot cocoa with a Snow Angel, and building your own fort to protect
you from a furious snowball battle are the kind of memories you'll
always cherish. The secret of happiness lies in learning to pause and recognizing these small moments that make life so meaningful."
Shopping for your loved one is not an easy task, especially when you’re
trying to find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. Why not put some extra
thought into this Valentine’s Day and get the perfect gift? Zenni
Optical provides gorgeous glasses for the Valentine’s Day. Give your
lover a new vision in 2012. Cute and useful!
It's no secret we are a huge fan of this company. Zenni Optical is the #1
online eyeglasses store offering high quality prescription eyeglasses
from $6.95. We feel prescription eyeglasses are a health necessity for
most wearers, and to that end we take considerable pride in offering
very high-quality eyeglasses online at truly unheard-of affordable
prices.
They way they keep their prices so low is by having no middlemen, no retail overhead, and practically no advertising
budge. They do do not pay for or sell expensive, or even inexpensive, brand names,
but only their own manufactured brand ZENNI.
The best part about Zenni optical, besides quality and affordability, is
the ability to upload your face to Zenni Frame Fit™. This is simple
brilliant!!! Just upload your picture and you can virtually try every pair of eyeglasses on their store. I love this feature!!!!!
Check out their latest arrivals. I love how cool an trendy these eyeglasses are. To see the full line please visit Zenni Optical.
These photo manipulations were created by Mary Bailey. She sees herself as a curator (of sorts) of all the
wonderful images - past and present - that people share on Flickr. On January 2010 she took her first Photoshop course and discovered what a
wonderful creative tool it is. "It was sort of like falling down a
rabbit hole. When I went looking for inspiration, I found it here. I
discovered how much I enjoyed searching through your photos for just the
right image for a digital collage or photomanipulaton".
"One
day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much
attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape
of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us
as complex human beings."
Franklin Thomas
"It's no secret that I'm a fan of the Center of Puppetry Arts. Their puppets shows are not only educational but are full of humor, songs, and audience participation."
Liza Cardona
In celebration of Black History Month the Center For Puppetry Arts Presents "Ruth and the Green Book". Chronicling a
relatively-unknown chapter in Civil Rights history, Ruth
and the Green Book
follows an African American family as they travel from Chicago to
Alabama in the Jim Crow South of the 1950s. After being turned away
from hotels, gas stations and restaurants, 8-year-old Ruth and her
parents are introduced to "The Green Book," a travel guide
for black motorists conceived as a response to the humiliation and
violence experienced by African Americans while traveling.
Using an
innovative combination of puppetry and animated projections that are
inspired by the book's evocative illustrations, this collaboration
between Artistic Director Jon Ludwig and author Calvin Alexander
Ramsey celebrates this great guidebook that helped
Ruth's family, like many others, find safe routes to welcoming places
and people.
As
part of the Teen & Adult performance series, Ruth
and the Green Book is recommended for ages nine and up.
Produced by special arrangement with Lerner Publishing Group.
Ruth and The Green Book runs from Feb 7th to 26th at the downstairs theater.
“Compassion is the force that allow
us to empathise with the suffering of other species and in doing so
manifest our own uniqueness. Cultivating compassion is critical for
humankind. As human beings if we don't learn to work in harmony,
side by side, in respect and understanding, the survival of humanity
could be endangered”.
Liza Cardona
The Charter of Compassion is a cooperative effort to restore not only
compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to
the center of religious, moral and political life.
Why a Charter for Compassion?
The Charter for Compassion movement believes the principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
The Charter, crafted by people all over the world and drafted by a
multi-faith, multi-national council of thinkers and leaders, seeks to
change the conversation so that compassion becomes a key word in public
and private discourse, making it clear that any ideology that breeds
hatred or contempt ~ be it religious or secular ~ has failed the test of
our time. It is not simply a statement of principle; it is above all a
summons to creative, practical and sustained action to meet the
political, moral, religious, social and cultural problems of our time.
For more information or if you wish to make a lifelong commitment to live with compassion please visit: charterforcompassion.org
