It has been a while since I have posted. Actually, several years. But I am back and have started a new charitable group called Make-A-Change. I thought of that name from the Michael Jackson song, Man in the Mirror. That song s lyrics rings true for me:

 

"If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place, Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change." - Michael Jackson, Man In The Mirror

 

So my charity groups name is based on the concept of starting with yourself and making a change in the world you want to see. Or as Gandhi stated:

 

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

 

Since it is November and Thanksgiving is around the corner I decided the first event I wanted to organize was a teenage dream of mine. When I was 16 years old I was studying Anthony Robbins Personal Power tapes and came across his Basket Brigades where they would feed the families in need. I always wanted to be part of a Basket Brigade. So when I moved to San Diego nine years ago in 2004 I always meant to volunteer for one or start my own. Each year I have procrastinated doing this and I have come close a few times. But this year I drew the line in the sand and stopped procrastinating. It helps that the Anthony Robbins Foundation sends me emails every year asking me if I am still ready to volunteer for a Basket Brigade :-)

 

So Friday I created my own Basket Brigade called The San Diego Make-A-Change Basket Brigade. I spent all weekend creating a personal website, email addresses, getting organized, etc. It is quite a bit of work setting the foundation of the electronic world - Facebook, Yahoo, websites, Flyer's, etc. But come Monday (today) all was ready to go.

 

I let the world know who we were and advertised our need for volunteers and donations on Facebook and Craigslist and emailed a few trusted friends and family. A couple people have joined the team, a couple donations have rolled in, and even a couple families have asked to join the list of families needing Thanksgiving dinners. The engines are warming up and the ball is rolling.

 

I truly believe you have to meet God half way and I am very certain I have done just that. I fully expect God to hold up his side now. lol. They say God works through people. I certainly can attest to that. I have learned to be open to opportunities as they present themselves - understanding that it could be God's intention. For example, my Craigslist ad for volunteers and donations first response was neither a donation or a volunteer but a family of 8 asking for a Thanksgiving basket. But that is not all. The family lives over an hour away in Corona, CA! That is far beyond my designated area. And before I could let them know that, I said yes I could help them and to spread the word to any other families in need (that was before I knew where they lived). Now I have two families - one in Corona and one in Anaheim. So - what to do. There of course is no way I am turning a family in need of a Thanksgiving dinner away just because they are an hours drive away. I am a man of faith I am going to assume God brought these two families to me for a reason. So I did put an end to spreading the word to more, but I told them I would make sure to help both of their families out. They will be taken cared of. God worked his magic.

 

My charity is non-denominational and non-religious in nature overall. My personal beliefs are my personal beliefs. Everyone must decide what moves them. Some of the kindest and warmest humans I know are atheists. I respects atheists very much and hope to have some as volunteers in my Basket Brigade. You do not need a religion under your feet to give from your heart. You just need to be a human who cares.

 

Without further ado...

 

The San Diego Make-A-Change Basket Brigade is revving up for Thanksgiving! We are looking for volunteers to help make this a raging success. The plan is simple - find families in need of a Thanksgiving dinner, purchase the makings of that dinner, wrap and organize the dinner into baskets on the Saturday/Sunday before Thanksgiving, and then deliver the baskets Sunday.

Click here to volunteer and/or get more information:

Personal SD Make A Change Website
 

San Diego Make A Change Basket Brigade

Anthony Robbins Foundation - Make-A-Change Basket Brigade Website

San Diego Make A Change Basket Brigade

You can also click the Donate button below to donate cash directly. Each family Thanksgiving basket costs around $50, but we gladly accept any dollar amount. It all adds up!

 

Haiti Relief Poker tournament

I am hosting a NL Texas Hold'em charity poker tournament. Haiti was recently devastated with a major earthquake that destroyed most of the capital and likely resulted in 50,000+ casualties.

The world is uniting in offering help.

I am hosting a tournament where every player donates a minimum of $25. I expect to raise at least $250. Then my work will match all donations 100% up to $200K. So if we donate $250, they will donate $250 - bringing the total up to $500.

It is another small effort - but anything I can do to get people involved in the helping of others, I will do.

Operation Warm Winter - New Meetup

Hello World!

I have created a new meetup for my San Diego Grass Roots Giving meetup. Operation Warm Winter is this meetup's second "Operation" and it involves collecting and distributing warm blankets and sleeping bags for the homeless in San Diego.

http://www.meetup.com/San-Diego-Grass-Roots-Giving/calendar/12330159/

I have also created an Operation Warm Winter website - still in its' early phases of development.


http://operationwarmwinter.webs.com/

The plan is to advertise on Craigslist for donations of blankets throughout February. The members of the meetup will drive to people's homes to collect the donations. Then in early March we will gather our group and hit the streets delivering warm blankets to the homeless.

It may end up just being a small group of 5-6 people collecting and delivering the blankets - but small things have a way of making a big difference!

Operation Santa Clause

Hello World!

Galina Caraman, writer for the Ocean Beach Good Time's OB paper, wrote a story about Operation Santa Clause.

Below is a copy of the word for word story and a link to the actual site.

http://goodtimesob.wordpress.com/ocean-beach-calendar-of-events/operation-santa-claus-at-your-service/
_________________________________

Operation Santa Claus at Your Service
By Galina Caraman

“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life it’s highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.” – Francis Pharcellus Church

Christmas, 1991 – sad, sad day in my life; huge milestone in my existence. My Dad burst my bubble. My brother and I didn’t sleep the whole night waiting to see Santa just to discover our dad quietly placing the gifts under the tree. I threw a fit; I cried; I didn’t want to touch the presents. They got me some toys, what were they thinking anyway? I asked for a bicycle! Only if Santa existed… My Dad explained that Santa is a busy guy and that he was just helping him. I believed Dad; got over the drama and spent the next 18 years of my life on my quest for Santa Claus.

December, 2009 – my faith got restored! I found Santa on a craigslist add. Believe me or not San Diego Santa lives in Tierrasanta (cute neighborhood at the intersection of 15 and 52). His name is Jay Usher and he also has a Santa’s helper, Lynn Usher, which in real life is his wife. San Diego Santa is not quite the traditional old guy and white beard type of Santa Claus. Mr. Usher is modern; in his 30ies; computer programmer by day; but this Christmas he is being Santa to at least ten families with adopted and/or foster care kids in San Diego area.

It all started with a coffee. Every morning he feeds his addiction at a Starbucks downtown – a grande white mocha with an extra shot of espresso. “Very predictable” he says. But one Monday morning a couple of weeks ago was different. Starbucks had bunch of little ornaments with names of foster kids and what they want for Christmas. That inspired and got him thinking: “I should do the similar”. Went online and found hope4kids, a non profit foster care agency. They were looking for people to “adopt” a family in need for Christmas. Mr. Usher emailed them; ten minutes later Karleen Cox from hope4kids replied with a list of ten families he could choose from. He couldn’t pick just one and picked them all. After some more thinking, Mr. Usher figured that it might be a “little” hard to buy presents for ten families so he created

San Diego Grass Roots Giving

on meetup.com and invited everybody he knows to join. Within a couple of days they raised almost all the money and a bunch of games and toys; and then Santa and Santa’s helper went shopping. It was so cute to watch them going through every child’s “letter to Santa” and carefully deciding which one is getting what. I guess that’s how they do it on North Pole. The presents were modest; bought from Good Will, Ross, Wall Mart but they all were thought over, exactly what the kids were asking for plus a little piece of Mr. & Mrs. Usher’s heart. I’m sure they would put a smile on each of those little faces.



Christmas will be over soon but San Diego Grass Roots Giving will continue on helping others. They are working on the Operation Warm Winter which consists on collecting blankets and sleeping bags and donating them to the homeless.

“The goals for San Diego Grass Roots Giving are two fold. One is to help others in need. But just as importantly, I want people to get involved in the helping of others. These are difficult times and some of our problems are simply not possible to overcome by our selves. I believe if you cannot currently fix a problem you are facing, the best thing to do is help someone else with their problems. Put simply – Give What You Need.”

Reflections

I am curious who will read this blog post just by seeing the word reflections.

To some of us, that word is what we are currently focused on. So if you are one of those focused individuals, this post is for you.

But this will be a short post.

More than anything this post serves as a synchronicity that you are on the correct path.

So in short what are reflections?

The most obvious is if you look into a mirror you will see your own reflection.

On a grander level if you walk around downtown you will see reflections of yourself in others. What does that mean? It means we're all the same person on a grander scheme - playing out some individual roles.

When you see someone - you are seeing a reflection of yourself. Contemplate that for a while.

Those people are you working on a different objective than yourself. Empathy towards others really is empathy towards yourself and its challenges.

Have you ever heard the saign "How We See Others Impacts How We See Ourselves". That is all about self-esteem.

The short of this post is about creating more empathy in the world. It is important to realize that you are helping yourself when you help others in this world.

To hate another person for any reason is to hate a part of yourself. While that person may be doing things you find offensive, empathy is required nonetheless in order to help that person overcome the thing they are struggling with.

Consider yourself an atom on a finger on an arm on a body. The other atoms are other people in this world. But you are all on the same finger on the same arm on the same body. Hating yourself accomplished nothing and manifests excuses to prevent the work of growth.

That is all.

The Fourth Starbucks Card

Hello World!

So if you read the last post, I still had that fourth Starbucks card to give out. For some reason the same day I handed out the other three, I did not find a fourth person to give it to. I thought perhaps I was going to get pulled over by a cop on the way home and need to give the card to the cop.

LOL.

Hey, God indeed works like that sometimes.

The next work day I forgot the Starbucks card at home. Doh! I figured, Okay God, you know what you're doing. Left up to me I would have given it to someone of my own decision - but alas, God had plans.

Today I remembered to bring the card with me.

I remembered at the last minute.

Because it is the last day before my vacation I decided to drive and park downtown rather than park at old town and take the trolley into work. As I was walking towards my building I remembered the Starbucks card and figured maybe this was the moment. I remembered there are usually homeless inside the Starbucks in my building. So I was thinking maybe I would go in and see if there was someone homeless in there now.

Now let's take a brief moment to realize that my focus is on helping the homeless. Perhaps God has to work within my focus too - which is on the homeless. So while I let God tell me who to give the card to, generally speaking my eyes are scanning towards the homeless.(Though I would give the card to someone not homeless if it struck me to do that)

I guess I figure I need to change my attitude towards the homeless.

So, Low and Behold, there was an elderly man sitting on the bench in front of Starbucks - he sort of looked like Santa Clause truth be told. Starbucks puts benches out in front of the store and many times that is where the homeless hang out - usually drinking a cup of Starbucks coffee.

Well I walked up to the man and said hello and handed him the Starbucks card. Now the card is in a little white envelope, so most people do not know what I have just given them.

Then here is the dialog that continues:

Man: Can you spare some money, I am really hungry and would like to buy a sandwich?

Jay: That is what this is for (the Starbucks card)

Man: What is it? (He did not know the card in his hand was a Starbucks card)

Jay: That is a Starbucks gift card. You can buy a sandwich with it.

Man: How much is it for?

Jay: $8

Man: Oh thank you! Thank you so much! How did you know I was hungry? I don't know how you could have known.

Jay: Because God Is Watching.

Man: Oh. I think I am crying. Thank you so much. Do you have a minute to talk, please I really want to talk to you for just a minute.

Jay: Yes. But I work in this building and I do have to get to work.

We actually did not end up talking because the man was speechless. There was tears evident in his eyes. The man was really hungry and he probably was asking God for food.

It was a wonderful moment. It was worth the 2 days wait.

I met Curly, but not Joe or Moe

Hello world.

Yesterday I re-discovered Buddhism. On Netflix I can stream movies instantly to my TV or computer. So I was watching The Four Noble Truths. The 14th Dalia Lama, in 1996, gave his first teachings to the West on the four noble truths in London. They recorded it and I was watching it. It is long. About 4 parts of an hour each.

I discovered that most everything I believed was metaphysical mumbo jumbo was actually Buddhism. Of course my training over the last 15 years goes into more advanced knowledge than the four noble truths and the eightfold path - but I imagine those advanced teachings are also part of more advanced Buddhism teachings.

While I do not match the makings of a Buddhist - they have some strict rules that I am not ready to adhere to - I certainly consider my belief system to be Buddhist. I understand there are a couple different followings of Buddhism and they vary on key belief points. With my quick internet search of the description of the 3 or 4 major sects of Buddhism, I find the beliefs that I accord to most is the Mahayana Buddhism.

So in accordance with my 10% Tithing Experience and my strong desire to help others in need, I decided I would celebrate my new Buddhist path. The basics of Buddhism is there are FOUR Noble Truths and an Eightfold path to travel to reach complete understanding and experience of those 4 Noble truths.

Thus - I decided I would lessen the suffering of FOUR people during my lunch hour with $8 dollar Starbucks gift cards.

The lady at the Starbucks counters was wondering how I came to the number 8 which she found odd. I told her simply eight is a great number.

I had passed a man, assuming to be homeless, who was singing Christmas Carols and holding out a can for donations. The man did not beg, he just sung the songs - terribly I might add. He was the first person of the four I gave a gift card too.

I had to listen to my inner self to know which street to walk down. I did not want to walk my normal path. This was divine work and I told God I would do the walking but he would have to bring the 4 people to me.

The second man was a black man. I wasn't even sure he was homeless. But I knew he was getting a gift card and I pulled one out. As I passed him he asked if I had any spare change. I gave him the gift card and shuck his hand.

I always tell people "God is Watching". I just want people to know that they are not alone.

The third person was the man in the title - Curly. I talked with Curly for a long time, longer than planned. I think I must have been standing talking to Curly for twenty minutes. Curly needed someone to talk to. I gave Curly a gift card. But Curly went on about great a day he was having and he was blessed because he was listening to his music on his wireless headphones. His only complaint was those double AA batteries are expensive!

I asked Curly how much the batteries are and he said about $2.99. He then asked me if I had $3 for AA batteries. I said absolutely and gave him the only $3 I had in my wallet.

I have not met a homeless person yet who did not believe in God. It will happen eventually, but so far my "God Is Watching" has been taken with good acceptance.

I still have one $8 Starbucks gift card to hand out. I tried walking around searching for whoever God was going to present to me. I was even late on my lunch ten minutes. Nothing.

Patience is an important asset when doing Gods work - so I imagine God is working on it and I will know when to give the last card when God tells me.