I don’t understand how the United State of America is allowing it’s people to go hungry. Where are the celebrities now? Where are the Bill Gates billionaires with their Foundations and Aid money? Why are the focusing their attention over seas right now when so many people RIGHT HERE IN OUR OWN BACK YARD ARE HUNGRY?

Please – if you’re reading this – take a moment to clean out your pantry and make a small donation to our nations food banks. It’s the only way some families will eat this week. Visit www.feedingamerica.org to find out how you can help.

It’s the Windy Season in Central Florida .. and that means we have to be extra careful when it comes to fire.   It seems that every year – for the past 5 years or so – a major forest fire has hit our area.  The majority of the fires are started by man – whether intentionally or  through carelessness.

The son and I were driving home from USF yesterday.  We decided to to do some shopping at the local Mall before heading home – so we took the highway a bit further than we normally do.  Right before our exit … out of the corner of my eye … I spotted a grass fire along the road.  The wind was kicking up the flames and the fire was headed quickly towards homes on the other side of the fence.  We would never have spotted it if we weren’t slowing down to take the exit.

I was pissed to say the least – there’s only one way that fire started.  Someone threw a cigarette out their window and it ignited the dry grass.  The wind took care of the rest.  If we had not spotted the fire it may have spread quickly to the houses.  We dialed up 911 – spoke with the Fire Department – then continued on to the Mall.

The fire was close to the ground – when the fire Department arrived they couldn’t spot it right away and had to call me to find out exactly where we had seen it.  I gave them directions and heard him say “Oh .. there it is … that little spot over there”.  Obviously they didn’t see it as that big a deal .. must have taken them all of 3 seconds to extinguish.  But the way I see it – disaster was adverted.  We did the right thing by making the call.

My son knew I was angry about the situation.  When I first came off the phone with the fire department he said “I know why you’re mad”.  At that point I hadn’t realized I was angry – so it was kinda cool to see he spotted it.  I replied – “Yep – if that person hadn’t thrown their cigarette out the window – the fire would never have started”.

People are so careless!  And selfish!  They don’t think about the consequences of their actions.  They don’t really care about anything that doesn’t affect their own lives.   I too have been guilty of this act … of not paying attention to the things going on in the world around me.  Perhaps it’s time we all took a step back and did something GOOD for the world?

The Biggest Loser has teamed up with General Mills to help Feed America.

Several months ago – during our Fall Challenge – I mentioned what a great idea it would be to tie our exercise and weight loss endeavors to a chairty – and give back in some way. NBC and the Biggest Loser must have heard my wish – as they’ve created the Pound-For-Pound Challenge.

Basically, you sign in to their web site and pledge to lose weight. For each pound you drop between now and May 1st, General Mills will donate 1 pound of food to the Feed America Food Banks – IN YOUR LOCAL AREA! If you sign up – you’ll be helping the people directly in your own community.

It’s a fabulous opportunity for us to say Thank You to the Biggest Loser franchise for all they do for us … as well as to help end poverty right here in the United States. Please consider signing up by clicking here — Pound-For-Pound Challenge – www.pfpchallenge.com.

For those of you in the Central Florida area – from my Orlando Sentinel blog:

It has been a year in the making, but this local student feels the project is well worth it. Lazer Kopansky from Freedom High School is organizing a very special event to benefit Give Kids The World, and now he needs our help.

Lazer learned to make pillows in the 7th grade, it was during a shopping trip for his latest creation that he ran into Margaret Thorton, the woman in charge of the Wish Pillow program at Give Kids The World Village. This special program is one of many provided for terminally ill children during their week here in Central Florida. The pillows are given to the child of honor and are filled with “happiness”, “laughter” and most important “love”. Each pillow has a pocket that holds the child’s wishes. Give Kids The World awards 200-250 pillows each week on average.

Lazer decided to take his passion for pillow design and make it into a grand benefit for the Give Kids The World organization. On Saturday, April 26th , Lazer with the help of over 150 volunteers will attempt to make 1,200 pillows in 12 hours. Lazer has spoken with experts in the manufacturing process, and after making several pillow adjustments, he’s broken down each step and laid the pieces out in an assembly line format to most efficiently make each pillow. His team of volunteers will each be responsible for one step in the process.

This is where Lazer needs our help! After securing a location, receiving donations of materials and refreshments for volunteers, Lazer just needs his volunteers! He’s asking for 52 people to work each four hour shift starting at 8am and ending at 8pm. The shift are from 8am –Noon, Noon-4pm, and 4pm – 8pm. Volunteers will be cutting fabric, ironing, pinning hems, sewing straight stitches, stuffing and trimming the pillows. Volunteers with sewing skills AND machines they can bring along for the day are desperately needed, and any volunteer with good quality scissors for cutting fabric are asked to bring them along.

In a time when the media is focusing so much attention on the crime committed by young people around us, it is refreshing to talk to teens like Lazer. By becoming a positive influence on others within the community, teens learn to become a part of that community. Lazer told me he’s doing this because, “I believe if you learn to give your time as a youth, you will continue it into your adult life.”

The reward so far for Lazer are the skills he’s learned in the process. The leadership, organization and problem solving skills are some he’ll take with him for the rest of his life. “I think the best reward will be when I hand over the pillows to Margaret and know there will be enough pillows for the weeks to come,” said Lazer. “Watching the kids faces light up as they get the pillows and knowing our community pulled together to make them will be so cool.”

Please consider donating your time for this very worthy project. If you have any questions, or you’d like to volunteer, please send your name, contact information and desired shift time directly to Lazer at pillowman007 @ bellsouth . net. This is a fantastic project for high schoolers looking for additional community service hours for the Birght Futures Scholarship – so remember to bring your volunteer forms with you for Lazer to sign. Let’s see what 150 + community members can complete in one day!

Give Kids The World Pillow Project
South Orlando Baptist Church – Orange Blossom Trail
Saturday, April 26th, 2008

52 Volunteers needed for EACH SHIFT

Shifts: 8am – Noon; Noon – 4pm; 4pm – 8pm

All right … I’m going to do a bit of pan handling here. The ONE campaign has been something I’ve supported since it’s inception – so Idol Gives Back is a cause that I go out of my way to raise funds for.

Anyone wanting to make a donation can do so via the donor form on my MySpace page. I’m attempting to raise the most funds on MySpace and I can’ do that without bothering all of my online friends too. I also receive points for every donation made towards winning tickets to the Idol finale … so there is an ulterior motive.

If you’re thinking of making a donation today can do so via the Idol Gives Back Donor Form found here.