Roger Carr's Blog

50,000 Shoes In 50 Days

Roger Carr — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:08:18 GMT

soles4souls is a Nashville-based charity with a very focused mission: to provide shoes for people who have no shoes. They came up with a huge project to provide fifty thousand pairs of shoes before the end of the year.

One of my Serving Strong subscribers, Chad Payne, puts it this way:

"Five dollars will purchase two pairs of shoes. Think about it! For less than the cost of a trip to Starbucks, you can provide two people with their very first pair of shoes! Just click here or the logo in the side column, and you can donate online. Kim and I donated eight pairs of shoes this morning (one for every pair I kicked aside to get to my study). It is very easy, takes less than two minutes, and changes someone’s life."

If you're looking for a creative way to give this holiday season, check it out at:

www.50000shoes.com

posted by guest blogger, Scott Couchenour (Certified Life Coach) www.servingstrong.com

What Words Describe You?

Roger Carr — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:56:13 GMT

Wordle creates “word clouds” from text that you provide. Greater prominence is given to words that appear more frequently. The image below is a based on the text of the Everyday Giving Blog. I feel great looking at this image with words like Hope, Thanksgiving, and Life popping out at me.

But what if an image like this was based our life? What words would be given greater prominence because they appeared more frequently in our thoughts and actions? Would the words be negative and selfish or would they be positive and generous?

It is humbling to think about.

How to make a difference this Thanksgiving

Roger Carr — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:56:11 GMT

As the holidays draw near we should be thankful for the many good things in our lives...a warm place to sleep, food on our tables, the ability to provide for our families and friends that enrich our days. It is sad to think that many people in our country are not as fortunate.

Thanksgiving can be a time of extreme grief and disappointment for the less fortunate families of our country who do not have a Thanksgiving meal to eat.

Would you like to help make a difference in the lives of these families who will not have a Thanksgiving dinner to eat?

Join A Day of Hope, a nonprofit program that delivers baskets of food and turkeys to families in need. A Day of Hope was founded in 2005 with a simple mission to give hope and encouragement to needy families through a basket of food for Thanksgiving.

Here are two ways you can make a difference in the lives of families this Thanksgiving:

Make a donation via Paypal or check. Every donation of $20 will allow a family to have a glorious Thanksgiving meal that they would not have otherwise had. Details on making a donation can be found here.
Join A Day of Hope's Facebook Cause Challenge. From November 7th - 27th the person who recruits the most members to the A Day of Hope cause on Facebook will receive a $20 gift card to Pizza Hut or Fuddruckers.
Make a lens for A Day of Hope on Squidoo. Whether you're an experienced lensmaster or a newbie, you can become involved and raise money for A Day of Hope by visiting this Squidoo lens.

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This was a guest post by Christopher Scott who founded A Day of Hope in 2005. Currently he is the Team Leader who recruits, trains and leads the 125 volunteers who donate their time to to help feed needy families for Thanksgiving.

Give Encouragement To Caregivers

Roger Carr — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:20:08 GMT

Who are the caregivers in your life? Perhaps they need the gift of your encouragement. This is an excellent form of everyday giving. Caregivers carry a unique weight on their shoulders. Plus, November is National Family Caregivers Month. How are you going to give encouragement?

There are more than 50 million family caregivers across the country. Help Serving Strong in joining Joni and Friends give a great round of support & encouragement to these hard workers who are a vital part of our society.

by guest blogger: Scott Couchenour, Certified Life Coach

www.servingstrong.com

www.servingstrong.typepad.com

Want to Know John McCain and Barack Obama Position on Philanthropy?

Roger Carr — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:52:59 GMT

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has assembled a special report on what the two major contenders for the White House think about philanthropy. Go to http://philanthropy.com/campaign2008 and check it out before you vote tomorrow.

Life is Good Pumpkin Festival

Roger Carr — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:52:58 GMT

The day was filled with live music, pumpkin carving, food, autumn decorations, games, charitable giving, door prizes, and rain. These are some of the things you could have experienced on Saturday, October 25th at the Life is good Festival at Newland Communities-Ladysmith Village in Ruther Glen, Virginia.

I was excited to discover that there was a Life is good Pumpkin Festival not too far from where I live. I learned about these festivals when I reported a couple years ago about a pumpkin carving world record being set while raising money for charity.

I didn't know what to expect when the day of the festival arrived. It was raining and predicted to continue raining throughout the day. However, what I found was a pleasant surprise.

When I arrived, there were many smiling participants engaged in all of the activities. Rain coats and umbrellas were used by some while others embraced the rain with no protection. Despite the weather, there were over 550 visitors who attended the festival and 920 pumpkins carved throughout the day.

Almost $1000 was raised for charity on the day of the festival and that did not include sponsorships and other funds received before and after the event. The money raised is donated to the Life is good Kids Foundation. Fully 100% of funds received from these festivals is distributed to nonprofit organizations supporting children in need.

The festival concluded In the evening with the lighting of the carved pumpkins. Although the winds and rain kept all of the pumpkins from being lit at the same time, it was still a tremendous site to see.

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rogercarr's Life Is Good Pumpkin Festival 2008 at Ladysmith Village photoset

Celebrate Make a Difference Day

Roger Carr — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:11:28 GMT

Join Millions of other volunteers on Saturday for America's largest day of doing good. Celebrate Make a Difference Day by participating in a community project in your local area. Go to http://www.MakeADifferenceDay.com and learn more about how you can get involved and make a difference.

Contagious Smiles

Roger Carr — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:35:08 GMT

Celebration after successfully performing a "nose transplant" on FRMC employee I recently went into the hospital. But it wasn't to get tested or treated. It was to help provide some humor to the patients and staff at Frye Regional Medical Center in Hickory, North Carolina.

A volunteer team called Charlie's Chaplains visits their local hospital twice a month. I was excited to be a part of their clown ministry for a day.

Before I went, several friends and readers of my blog said that many children and some adults are scared of clowns. Although they said they were supportive, it was clear they were also skeptical. Fortunately, I was able to see and experience it first hand and I had a BLAST (and so did the kids and adults)!

Coco Loco and Ditzy give a new perspective on what volunteers look like The visit was very organized. The clowns, magician, and puppeteer/juggler were split into teams and assigned areas of the hospital. Each team had a cart full of props to use for the visits. They met with the staff on duty and visited the patient rooms they were allowed to enter.

It was a few hours of jokes, riddles, and performances. Almost all of the patients allowed us to visit with them.

What was exciting was to see the smiles appear on everyone's face when they saw us. The smiles were contagious. After telling a joke or funny story, some patients had to tell us one before we could leave. Now that is audience participation!

Coco Loco, Scrubs (me), and Kookoo Children visiting a parent or grandparent in the hospital would stick their head out the door and watch us as we made our way down each hallway. Charlie's Chaplains are trained in how to design a "kid-friendly" face and how to approach children for the first time. I saw nothing but smiles and excitement from the kids during the visit.

The staff were not left out. A couple of very good practical jokes were played on them as well.

At the conclusion of the hospital rounds, the Charlie's Chaplains volunteers spent a few minutes celebrating in the cafeteria.

My thanks goes out to Chaplain Ford, Becky Cortino and the rest of the FRMC Charlie's Chaplains team for providing me such a wonderful experience and for making me feel welcome from the start. You truly are making a difference in people's lives.

Thank You Bricks

Roger Carr — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:35:07 GMT

The Sharing Foundation continues to impress me with their creative ways of helping children in Cambodia, raising money and thanking donors.

I learned about the Sharing Foundation almost a year ago. Beth Kanter was turbocharging her use of social networking to win a $50,000 contest award for the Sharing Foundation. She asked me to play a part in the promotion and I'm glad I did.

In the latest Sharing Foundation newsletter, Dr. Nancy Hendrie (President) discusses a new project they are doing in Cambodia to thank "significant" donors.

The Sharing Foundation is in the process of constructing a new girls dorm. One of their resident artists is hand painting a scene on individual bricks. The name of a donor is written on each brick. Then a photograph is taken of the brick and sent to the donor. These bricks will be used in the construction of the dorm and located away from the outdoor elements so the artwork and names will last for years.

What a terrific way to say thanks! Think about all the ways these bricks will touch people's lives.

A resident of the Sharing Foundation in Cambodia is able to put his artistic talents to great use
Many of the residents in Cambodia will see these bricks on a regular basis and be reminded that there are people all over the world who care about them
It provides a unique "thank you" to donors
It may encourage additional donations from these donors because the organization has demonstrated they care and are thankful
It may encourage new donors as current donors share the story and photos of these bricks with colleagues, friends and family

If you are a fundraiser or work for a nonprofit, consider using the Sharing Foundation's example and find unique ways to thank donors. It can have a significant payoff that goes beyond just your expression of thanks.

You Don't Have to Join a Circus to be a Clown

Roger Carr — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:35:06 GMT

Did you ever think about being a clown? I didn't, until I discovered a hospital clown ministry made up of volunteers.

Several weeks ago my clown journey began as I was doing some research on laughter and humor therapy. I met Becky Cortino through a free online class she was teaching on the topic called Healing Humor: Live Happy - Be Healthy! I learned that Becky was also the coordinator for a nonprofit volunteer group of clowns and creative arts performers called Charlie's Chaplains.

I was intrigued by the concept of volunteers helping hospital patients and staff by applying the concept of humor therapy. So intrigued, that I traveled to Hickory, North Carolina to participate in their annual clown "skool."

At the Frye Regional Medical Center Charlie's Chaplains' Skool '08, they taught the basics of:

Creating a clown face
Developing a clown costume
Face painting
Laugh yoga
Puppeteering
Juggling

They also discussed many critical items that apply specifically to performing in a hospital:

How to determine the patient rooms you can enter
How to approach patients
how to maintain cleanliness within and between patient rooms
How to approach children to avoid them getting scared
How to handle certain circumstances

Clown Skool was extremely fun and informative. I was even able to see Magic's Royal Duke Sammy Cortino conduct a special performance for us.

I met many volunteers who are passionate about performing in the hospital setting. Some of them have multiple personalities. I mean that in a good way! They have multiple costumes and distinct personalities to go with each. They're generous with their time and talents, bringing smiles to the faces of the hospital staff and patients.

FRMC Charlie's Chaplains surprised me by making me an honorary member of their group. I am only the second honorary member since they started in 1991. What an honor and privilege!

If you have a desire to learn more about participating in a hospital clown and performing arts ministry, let Becky know (Twitter: @BeckyCortino). She has the expertise and materials available to get you started. You can help others when they need a smile the most.