Showing posts with label The Adventure Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Adventure Project. Show all posts

3.23.2012

Win of the Week

If the Monday of Spring Break is the best Monday of the year, then the Friday of Spring Break is the worst.

It's the end of an unusually relaxing week for us, but for those of you with real jobs, it was probably "just another" week.

Or was it?

Around here, there are no "just another" weeks. Why? Because we celebrate every week, regardless of how boring, good, or bad the week was. We share our victories and give each other a much-needed pat on the back.

It's that time, my friends. Let's share our Win of the Week together.

I'm going to be a little greedy here and share two, mostly because it's (most likely) my last Spring Break.

My first win involves Life Before the Bucket. Together, we were able to raise $125 for World Water Day! And even though we weren't able to fully fund a well-worker, we still helped change the lives of over 1,000 people who don't have access to clean water because their well has broken or they didn't have a well to begin with.

Also, the organization we partnered with, The Adventure Project, reached it's goal of raising $25,000, which means that The Prem Rewat Foundation is matching their funds dollar for dollar. This means that we effectively raised $250!

Also, a small added bonus was seeing a few people come out of the woods who don't usually comment! Thanks to everyone who participated - many lives were changed through your generosity.

My second win was more personal. I've managed to almost read 3 books this week, including rereading The Hunger Games, which released in theatres last night. We're seeing it today, which I can't wait for! And yes, you'll probably be reading a blog post about it - if I can come up with something original that someone else hasn't already written.

So what about you? What was your win of the week? 

3.22.2012

World Water Day

This morning, when you woke up, did you think about it?

As you brushed your teeth.

As you took a shower.

As you drank your first sip of coffee.

Did it cross your mind?

When you drove your car from there to here.

When you washed your hands at work.

When you took a swig of water to quench your thirst.

Did you even notice?

My friend, if you did any of these things this morning, you're privileged. But not just you. Me. We. We are blessed to have access to clean, running water. And all we have to do is turn a faucet for that stream of life to flow effortlessly into our hands, into our mouths, into our bodies.

Today, my friends, is World Water Day, and is as good of a day as any to remember: we are blessed beyond our wildest dreams. We are able to strive to live our lives to the full (our "life before the bucket"), while others struggle to live life at all.

Today, though, I want to do more than remember. I want to spread this life that we have. To give others the opportunities that we have. And though the step is small, it is significant.

I want to help raise money to help train a mechanic to fix and maintain wells so that others can have the opportunity to live their lives to the fullest.

Why well-mechanics? Well, first of all, we want to bring about something substantial and sustainable. We're keeping in step with the age-old adage, "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day; teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime." Second of all, wells break, and thus, need fixing. A well-mechanic can do just that.

I originally thought that raising $100 toward this cause would be great. And it would be. But then I realized - we can do so much more.

On average, about 75 to 100 people read Life Before the Bucket on a daily basis. This means that if every person who reads donates $10 toward educating and equipping a well-mechanic, we could fully fund the education of one nearly two mechanics who will help countless others.

It sounds like you may only be helping two people live out their lives more fully, but think about this:

Two mechanics will be trained.

Those two people will care for 50 wells each.

Fifty functioning wells ensures clean water for five-thousand people.

That means, if we're able to fully support two mechanics, we, in this tiny microcosm of the world wide web, could drastically affect the lives of ten thousand people.

That's mind-boggling.

So here's your mission, if you choose to accept it:

1. In the next week, check out our fundraising page

2. After you've read up on what we're doing, donate $10. It's quick, it's easy, it's painless. And if $10 is a stretch for you, consider foregoing a luxury in lieu of providing clean water for others. It's worth it - I promise.

3. Finally, after you've donated, tell at least two friends. Send them here, or better yet, send them straight to the fundraising page.

And hey, as an added bonus, if we reach $550 (our goal), we'll receive a story and photo about a mechanic we've helped. How cool is that?!

Plus, just to add a little incentive - I'll be hosting a giveaway if we reach our goal - and I promise it'll be more than $5 this time.

So here we go, my friends. This will be a week that will change lives all across the world.


Will you be a part of it? Donate now.


9.22.2011

Compassion

As of today, our college town finally has a real donut shop. Finally.

One of the lamest ways to begin any speech, sermon, or blog post is with a definition from a dictionary.

Please allow me to be momentarily lame. And thanks for your forgiveness in advance.

There's a word I want to define for you, something that I think is very important to understand. Something that very few of us remember on a consistent basis:

Compassion.

According to my very official source of Dictionary.com, here's the definition of compassion: 

1. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

What's interesting to me is the way that this definition seems to fall into two pieces. The first piece sounds an awful lot like empathy, but includes the word sympathy, so I suppose it's different. The first piece of compassion includes a feeling.

Personally, I don't place much stock in feelings. Feelings can happen for any number of reasons, including (but not limited to!) a change in weather, hormones, or a bad pasta bowl from Olive Garden. Feelings are just that: something you feel. Nothing more. Not much else to them.

Now, granted, there's probably a little more to them than I am letting on, but I'm biased. But in my heart of hearts, I believe that any feelings not accompanied by action are hogwash. They're nonsense. They mean nothing.

And that's why I like the second part of this definition. True compassion is not only a feeling, but a desire. And while many would classify desires as feelings, I believe there's something more to desire.

Desire is craving. If you desire something, it means you want and sometimes even need something. Your heart and mind are telling you that you are lacking something, even if you really aren't. And more often than not, desire leads to my favorite result: action.

4.28.2011

It's Ten Days Away!

Oatmeal and coffee are oddly comforting at 4 AM...

Today is the 28th of April. Thursday, to be exact. Unless you're on Jupiter, in which case, I'm really just not sure. Either way, though, May 8th is fast approaching. And you and I both know what that means...

Oh. You don't?

You gonna be in trooouble...

Let me go ahead and help you out here. Remember that lady who did the whole "giving birth" number for you and then proceeded to love you from that day forward, regardless of circumstance or happenstance? Oh, yeah. Her. That'd be your mother, in case you missed it.

Actually, this would be MY mom, not yours. Unless you're one of my sisters, I guess.
Don't have a mother, you say? Then you're either a liar or one of those people from Jupiter I was talking about earlier, because the rest of us humans have mothers, whether we like them or not. It's just the way things work around here...

3.13.2011

March 13th is Always a Good Day for Reflection

Since the day that I launched this blog from Taiwan, I've wondered one thing: would I regret making this blog "themed?" After all, doesn't that limit creativity and keep me from posting about a lot of things that I would otherwise be glad to talk about?

About eight months later, I'm about 97.565% sure that I don't regret the decision. And I'm sure you're curious as to why - and trust me, you are - so I'm going to share.

Having a blog that is "themed" is tricky. However, without a theme, and therefore, a purpose, this blog only becomes about one thing: me. So, by not choosing a theme, I automatically would be choosing the default them of, well, me (for lack of a better term; see how this could get old quickly?).

This was never and will never be the purpose of my writings and ramblings. I might do this for myself to a point, but I don't want it to simply be about me. I want to encourage you. I want to inspire you. I want to make you laugh and help YOU to enjoy life a little more fully, even if just for a few seconds every few days.

Having a themed blog has actually forced me to become more creative, not less. Writing about my life goals has truly helped me to find more direction and purpose as I live. It has helped to keep me accountable. However, there are days when I want to post about subjects that don't involve me cliff-diving (it will happen) or flying an airplane (it will definitely happen). This is where the creativity comes in.

Take this post for instance. It was about giving to a great cause: The Adventure Project. However, giving to them wasn't on my Bucket List anywhere, and my 111 in 2011 didn't exist yet, because, well, it wasn't 2011. But I made it "fit" because it matters to me. And frankly, it's my blog, so I can bend the rules a little if I need to.

I'm saying all of this to eventually get to the point of this post. And I promise we are about to arrive. Just stick with me and my unnecessarily circular tangents for a few more moments...

11.29.2010

A Goal Near and Dear: Giving Radically

Today is an exciting day for a lot of reasons.

First of all, it's the 29th of November, which means it is almost December, which means that this semester is almost over.

Second of all, it's the only time the 29th of November in 2010 will happen, so I know something crazy could happen.

Thirdly, it's Cyber Monday, so are there some epic deals available to consumers, and they don't even have to leave their homes!

Finally, and most importantly, I've got a chance for every single person reading (including myself) to REALLY make something crazy happen today, since it IS the only time today (November 29th, 2010) will ever happen. And, to boot, it's Cyber Monday, which means you're obliged to spend buckets of money via the internet that you actually already spent on Black Friday. Want to do something crazy with that money while you're spending it? Keep reading - I've got a GREAT opportunity for you...
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