Prosperity

The Letter

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 12:22:00 -0500

The letter came on a frantic spring day, knee-deep in planning my daughter Keri's wedding. I wouldn't have noticed it except for the strange brown envelope. The paper was thin and crinkly. The stamps looked odd, too—-foreign. Then I saw the postmark: Harare, Zimbabwe.

Housing Them in Her Heart

admin — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:27:00 -0500

The irony isn't lost on Diane Nilan. She voluntarily became homeless to try to end homelessness.

Her first exposure to poverty was in childhood, through her family's maid Minnie, who supported 13 kids on a salary of $8 an hour. "It started getting me to ask 'Why?'" says Diane. "I realized that the happiest times in my life are ones that are centered on others."

Wheels of Change

jbloustein — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:19:39 -0500

Kenneth Behring walked down the dusty path, the last steps in a trip that had brought him from his home in California to a village in Vietnam.

He stopped before a hut. A couple invited him in. In the corner on a pile of rags huddled a little girl. She watched the stranger cautiously, wrapping her arms around her legs.

Bui Thi Huyen couldn’t walk. For her whole life she’d crawled or been carried. Now that would change.

The Power of Half

mcherkezian — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:10:40 -0600

How would you react if your teenager wanted you to sell your house and donate half the money to charity? Kevin Salwen of Atlanta, Georgia, said he was in shock when his 14-year-old Hannah suggested just that, and then wouldn’t let it go.

It all started in 2006 when they were in the car together one morning. Hannah noticed a man driving a Mercedes on one side of the street and another man holding a sign asking for money for food on the other. It really bothered her; she knew what she was seeing just wasn’t right and something stirred in her head, heart and soul.

On the Wings of Love

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 06:57:00 -0600

Do you collect those little bottles of shampoo and lotion from hotels? Flight attendant Nancy Rivard did, and it paid off.

But first a little bit about Nancy. She thought she had her path mapped out. She was a supervisor at American Airlines, rising up the corporate ladder. Then her father's death made Nancy take a closer look at her life, at the rungs of that ladder. She saw no higher purpose for herself.

Help Somebody Who Needs Help

mcherkezian — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:09:31 -0600

To do more for the world than the world does for you—that is success.—Henry Ford

Try helping someone else. It’s called “altruism,” and it not only benefits those you help but is a proven way to reduce your own stress and anxiety.

Helping someone else is guaranteed to help you feel better about life in general, and it will get you involved in something that is bigger than yourself.

Better Than Gold

admin — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 10:57:00 -0500

What difference can I make? I had a chance to address that question at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, when I stood on the podium as an Olympic gold medalist in speed skating. It was the end of a 17-year journey, something I'd been training for since I was a boy.

I grew up in the sleepy town of Greensboro, North Carolina. Now, before you say it, yes, I know there is not much ice in North Carolina. When I was about 10 I convinced my mom to let me join the roller speed-skating team at Skateland U.S.A., the local roller rink.

Something Old, Something New

batch — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 04:05:06 -0500

The recession is not only affecting how Americans approach everyday expenses, but also how they celebrate major life events.

As many families cut back, some recently married women are donating their wedding dresses to brides who are not able to afford new gowns.

Johanna Stubblefield of Littleton, Colorado, told KUSA-TV she is offering her $1,000 gown for free on an internet listings site to a "bride that is in need."

"To see another bride who can really, really use it, it would mean the world to me," Stubblefield said.

Girls Inspired by Mission Trip

batch — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:05:10 -0600

Two high school seniors were inspired to start a fundraiser to help an impoverished teen in Belize go to high school after they heard the story of how her mother was forced to drop out of school, get married and have children at the age of 14.

Annie Stoddard and Kayla Shelly had traveled to Punta Gorda, Belize, last summer as part of a mission trip with their high school, Chaminade Julienne in Dayton, Ohio.

NFL Player Pays It Forward

batch — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:05:10 -0600

New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove knew what it was like to grow up in dire straits.

Which is perhaps why he didn't have a second thought when Ben Aucoin asked him for help in a Walmart parking lot, according to WWLTV.com.

Aucoin approached Hargrove for some spare change to help pay for diapers. However he was facing more problems. Aucoin had lost his job three weeks before, the family car had broken down, he had four kids to support and the family's electricity was scheduled to be turned off because they couldn't pay the bill.