Health & Wellness

Holiday HOGs

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 11:25:00 -0600

Think Santa only uses sleds?

This December, in towns all across the country, toys will be delivered to needy children by black-leather-clad men and women on big, rumbling motorcycles.

That's right: Harley Owner Groups—otherwise known as HOGs—run holiday toy drives. What's more, they've been at it for decades.

The Art of Compassion

admin — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:51:00 -0500

Two little children in Calcutta, India, a teeming city of millions, most of them poor. Urchins, they would have been called in a Dickens novel. The boy maybe eight, the girl 12 or so. They might have been brother and sister. I don't know.

Man Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to Help Blind

batch — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:05:11 -0500

Brad Hart says he is dreaming of the inspirational moment he will see the sunset from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

This is no idle fantasy. The school principal from Berks County, Pennsylvania has set off on an eight-day journey to ascend the mountain in order to raise money to help save children's sight.

Cycling Canada to Battle Childhood Cancer

batch — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:05:18 -0500

In June, 36 cyclists rode more than 4,300 miles across Canada to raise money and awareness for the fight against childhood cancer.

Among the riders who took part in the Sears National Kids Cancer Ride were cancer survivors, parents of critically ill children, medical professionals and others who wanted to make a difference in young patients' quality of life.

Bald Is Beautiful

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:54:00 -0600

In her twenties, Laura Duksta loved the nightlife. She was working as a bartender in South Beach and, as her mom joked, "using my degree in sociology to have a great social life." And it was great, but Laura found herself wondering if that was enough.

Say Anything

admin — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 11:39:00 -0600

Watch actor Taro Alexander stride across the stage and say his lines with flair, unintimidated by the large audience. It's hard to imagine that for most of his life, simply speaking to a single person filled him with anxiety and embarrassment. Taro has stuttered since he was five years old. He learned early on to mask his problem by using only words that wouldn't trigger his stutter. "I felt so alone, keeping this big secret."

Recast

admin — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 10:30:00 -0500

The students filed out of the building with their heads tucked low. No one shouted goodbye or meandered on the playground. The March sky was a relentless gray. Nearby, cars and trucks zoomed past on I–95. Beneath the highway a cold wind blew plastic bottles and newspapers onto the empty basketball courts. I looked for a girl named Tanisha, a first grader in the class I had covered that day as a substitute. That morning, near the coatroom, she'd told me she was ugly and stupid. I knelt beside her and said, "No, sweetheart, that's not true at all."

Way Off Broadway

admin — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:45:00 -0500

"Neal, please!" I begged, bleary-eyed, tucking my seven-year-old son into bed for the third time that night. "We've got to get some sleep." Neal just shook his head. It had been a difficult evening. First, at the dinner table, Neal threw his silverware. Later, he ran from his bath into his room. It took me an hour to coax him back into the tub, and even then he thrashed so much I feared he'd hurt himself. Now I kissed him goodnight on the forehead for the third time and turned toward the door.

A Good Apple

admin — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 08:05:00 -0500

Cheeseburgers, tater tots and canned fruit cocktail—school lunches back in our day weren't the most nutritious. With the alarming child obesity statistics in this country—30 percent of kids ages six to 11 are overweight—it seems today's offerings aren't much better.

Their Songs

admin — Tue, 01 May 2007 07:48:00 -0500

Musician John Beltzer has produced 11,000 songs but you won't find his name on top of the charts. That's because he has an unusual audience—seriously ill children, for whom he writes personalized songs.