Let's face it -- everyone can use some help in something in our lives whether we ask for it or not. My history is being a person that has a very difficult time asking for help but one that loves to help others. To be healthy I believe you need to be able do both. It is important not to become a martyr, over-extend yourself or become the victim of energy vampires..... But helping others can enliven you and actually does have a healing affect. There are many ways to help people from assisting a neighbor or friend, to donating to a worthy cause to just being there to listen and encourage someone. I would like to tell you about 2 people that I believe could use your help, about a few few sites you can go to to donate to others in real need without spending a dime, a few places to get help and I would like to thank a few people that have helped me recently.
2 Bloggers (and wonderful people) who could use your help --
Camille & Suzie
I have written about Camille when I included her article "The Art of Change" in my post "5 Steps for Embracing Change". What I did not tell you is she is an animal lover and beyond that can really communicate with and understand animals. She is love and you know that from the first minute you hear her lovely voice. Camille lost her good friend (and dog) Raja a few months ago and because of health issues had put off getting another dog for a while. When she saw an ad in the paper about a very injured dog who needed a home she knew she had to help. She took the dog to the vet and it had to have a toe amputated to stop an infection from spreading. The dog was malnourished and obviously sca
red and Camille has used her connection with animals and her love to heal this dog. Vet bills are not cheap and she is asking for assistance to go directly to the vet if possible. Please visit her page on Buddy on her site to learn more. Here is a picture of her new "Buddy". Camille, Buddy is in such wonderful hands now and I know you will both help to heal each other with your mutual love. I know you'll receive the support you need to care for him.Suzie of the "Abundance Highway" has a goal she is hoping to reach using The Law of Attraction that she calls "My Big Hairy Audacious Goal" and I am also hoping she reaches it. She is a big fan on Michale Losier and wants to attend his "Law of Attraction Facilitators Program" but it is a lot of money to travel from where she is to see him ($8,000) and she is asking for donations to get her there. Please check out her site which has lots of resources and wonderful articles and donate to this cause to make her law of attraction goal a reality. She exudes realness and kindness and I know she will use whatever she learns at the conference to help her readers and others. Suzie -- I wish you the best for your big hairy audacious goal and hope to hear about your trip!
Sites to go to Donate for Free and Have some Fun While you Do it!
I highlighted the game "Free Rice" on my Kid's Non Violent Computer Games blog and this is a wonderful idea. Below is SOME of my review from my site:
"Give Rice to the Hungry While Improving Your Vocabulary"
Free Rice is an amazing site. It is a sister site to poverty.com which has a very important message about hunger in the world that follows:"About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds. Unfortunately, it is children who die most often. Yet there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families. "
There is a site site freerice.com where for every correct answer you give to a vocabulary question they will donate 20 grains of rice to hungry people. 5 questions right = 100 grains of rice for the hungry. FreeRice has two goals: To provide English vocabulary to everyone for free and to help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. This is made possible by the sponsors who advertise on their site.
Please visit freerice.com and increase your vocabulary and give to the hungry at the same time. I don't know about you but I find it very difficult to be hungry even for a few hours -- for many their life consists of being hungry on a daily basis. Please take a minute and help them out and sharpen your vocabulary at the same time. Do it with your kids as a way to educate them about hunger and about helping people in need. The vocabulary varies in difficulty but even if you get some wrong it won't take away the rice you already have won.
When I wrote the above article on Free Rice, Tom wrote in to tell me about another similar site "Answer 4 Earth" that asks general questions and you are helping the environment and saving trees as you answer questions. It is a fun game and you learn while playing! Their mission statement is as follows:
"Answer4Earth was founded as a call to action to the people of the world in response to our growing environmental crisis. It has reached a critical stage where the average global citizen can no longer just stand by idly hoping for others to solve this problem. You now have the opportunity to jump in and make a real difference. We are not asking you to donate money. We are not asking you to get your hands dirty. All we need you to do is simply play a game and have fun (and learn some interesting information along the way)!Just by you playing this game, trees will be planted throughout the world (to find out how this works, read our FAQs). In addition to helping stem global warming, the trees planted by our partner charities clean the air, improve soil quality, prevent erosion, create animal habitats, sustain valuable water sources, and provide healthy nutrition to needy populations. So get on it, start playing, save the environment, feed the poor, get smarter, all that good stuff... Please don't forget to tell your friends to play too! Our Earth needs all the help we can give... are we smart enough to save the planet? "
The next site is to help Silverback Gorillas and the game is free to download to your mobile phone. This game will help you learn about the Silverback Gorillas and donate to a worthy cause at the same time. From the site:
"The mountain gorilla is one of the largest and strongest animals on the planet, yet it is also extremely vulnerable. Little more than 700 individuals survive in the dense forests of Central Africa. The International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), a partnership between Fauna & Flora International (FFI), African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been working to protect the gorillas since 1991. Dedicated conservation initiatives have ensured that mountain gorilla numbers are now slowly increasing. The global population of mountain gorillas has increased by 17% since the start of the Programme. Make your mobile work for conservation! Recycling your mobile can not only reduce the demand for coltan but also directly support gorilla conservation! For every mobile phone it receives, Fauna & Flora International gets £5 for its conservation work. "
The game has received good reviews and who can resist the cute face of a baby gorilla!
"The mountain gorilla is one of the largest and strongest animals on the planet, yet it is also extremely vulnerable. Little more than 700 individuals survive in the dense forests of Central Africa. The International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP), a partnership between Fauna & Flora International (FFI), African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), has been working to protect the gorillas since 1991. Dedicated conservation initiatives have ensured that mountain gorilla numbers are now slowly increasing. The global population of mountain gorillas has increased by 17% since the start of the Programme. Make your mobile work for conservation! Recycling your mobile can not only reduce the demand for coltan but also directly support gorilla conservation! For every mobile phone it receives, Fauna & Flora International gets £5 for its conservation work. "
The game has received good reviews and who can resist the cute face of a baby gorilla!
Places to go to Get Help
The Thirty Day Challenge
If you want to learn about internet marketing, blogging, SEO or internet tools at all I HIGHLY recommend signing up for this year's Thirty Day Challenge. It is how I discovered my love for blogging last year and begins in August as a free month long class. Run by the fantabulously entertaining Ed Dale and Dan Raine -- you will get more than your moneys worth -- oh right it's free AND it is priceless! ;-) The pre-launch is officially June 1 and for the next 2 months leading up to the challenge (Starts Aug 1) they will supply you with tons of resources to hone your internet marketing skills or to start off a new blog or site. It is their way of helping others and giving back as they are VERY successful internet marketers and this is the 30 Day Challenge's 4th Year! Thanks guys -- you helped me to discover my passion for blogging and I am so grateful for the style you teach in. You are funny, bright and make things very easy to understand! Here's my tribute:
Personal Development Partners (PDP)
Aaron Potts started PDP for the specific purpose of helping connect people so they can help each other achieve their goals and reach their dreams. I found real friends at PDP, two of which I am in a Mastermind Group with and have helped me tremendously in the last 7 months. (Thanks guys!) It is a supportive environment with tons of resources and I can never get over JUST how SMART everyone is. Ask a question and you will get 10 GREAT answers. Thank you Aaron... you know I am a huge fan of Today is That Day and PDP!
Personal Thank yous
(For all the help, love and guidance I have received in the last few weeks)
Personal friend/Family Thank yous
This past weekend was Mother's Day and boy do I have some thank yous to dole out for a wonderful Mother's Day.
Ray: My husband is away all week for work but came home and spent his weekend ensuring I had a truly amazing Mother's Day. He worked on the house and pool so we could have friends over, made me a beautiful Mother' Day card and poem, got me a gift certificate to my favorite farm/garden store, took care of the kids so I could go and enjoy Pangea Day and grilled and cooked to perfection. Thank you Ray -- I appreciate all you do for me and love you madly.
Mom: My own mom helped to no end with the festivities and with the kids and as always helps me in 10 ways before I can even think to ask for help. Thank you mom for being an inspiration in how to be a wonderful mother to my own children. I truly do not know what we would do without you. Thank you for your never ending love and support. We all love and appreciate all you do more than words can express.
Whitney: (My step dad) Thank you for being our "pool boy" while Ray is away. We never would have gotten the pool ready in time without you. We appreciate all you do for my mom and for us and the kids! Thanks for your generous spirit and support -- we appreciate it even if Christina does have her choice names for you. ;-) Really, having Christina call you a farting elder is a term of endearment!
Angela & Chris: (Celebrated Mother's Day with us) Angela -- my wonderful friend, confidante, fellow cross country skiier, walker and a great parent to my son's good friend Elias (what a GREAT BOY) along with her husband Chris. Ange -- those cupcakes were yummy! Thanks for celebrating Mother's Day with us -- you know I love you and our friendship more than I can say. Chris -- thank you for mowing our overdue lawn, taking Christina in the pool and playing with her with the boomerang for ever! You guys are awesome and I am so grateful for your friendship.
Janet and Mark -- (Also celebrated Mother's Day with us) If it weren't for you we probably wouldn't even live in this wonderful town now. You showed us how beautiful it is to live upstate, helped us pull off a beautiful and memorable wedding and your children and ours will grow up knowing each other forever. You show us how to balance hard work and get-aways with the kids and are a constant source of inspiration to us. Boy can you cook Markie and Janet you are one Queen of a bartender! Thanks so much for your generosity and for sharing Mother's Day with us. We love you guys and your incredible family.
Internet friends
(Proof you do not even have to be in the same Country to help others out)
Edward Mills -- (of Evolving Times and Edward Mills.com) Yes, Ed you might be getting sick of my hailing your praises but truly you have been an inspiration. Your Energetics of Attraction free ebook and teleseminars offered great tools I can see using indefinitely. Thank you for your friendship and I look forward to seeing your continued success in all you do (which is QUITE a lot) . If you haven't jumped on board for Ed's Energetics of Own Deliberate Creation Course -- I highly recommend checking it out!
Camille -- Ahh sweet Camille -- you have helped me SO MUCH with difficult family situations and life in general. Your love of animals is an inspiration and I am so happy you have found "Buddy". I look forward to your continued healing and know one day you will be as strong physically as you are emotionally.
Kate Strong -- Kate -- you shined light on such a blind spot in my life and I am so very grateful. I know my invention will move forward now with great success because you guided me to the right space I needed to be in. I look forward to you getting stronger physically and know you will accomplish all you set out to do.
There are so many ways to reach out and help others and there are innumerable ways to ask for help. Do not forget to thank those who help you and feel gratitude that they were there to shine some light and assist you. There is nothing that makes my heart warmer than hearing my words or actions have helped someone else. Empowering people to realize their internal healing strength is my passion and I know when people heal they want to pass on that healing to others. Be kind, look for ways to help others and you will feel rewarded and healed in many ways. Thanks to everyone for your continued support -- I am very fortunate to have so many wonderful and inspirational people in my life.
