Stories Of Hope (Part 1)
Positive change very frequently comes from the bottom up.
Individuals and small groups experience a problem in their own lives and among the people they know.
They put up with it for a while, but somewhere along the way,
they decide that things have to change for the better,
not only for themselves,
but also for their friends, their neighbors, their city, their state, and/or their country.
In this section of the website, we will share successful stories of hope from the bottom up.
I will start with some of my stories,
but I invite you to share your success stories.
Share Your Thoughts
A BEAUTIFUL, INSPIRING, AND HOPE-FILLED STORY
669 Children Saved From the Nazi’s by Nicholas Winton of Great Britain
Jewish Children Waiting to Board a train Nicholas Winton, then a 28 year old stockbroker
Nicholas Winton (1909-2015) was a stockbroker born in London. His parents were of German-Jewish ancestry but chose to have their son baptized in the Anglican Church. Between December 1938 and September 1939, Winton worked with friends and colleagues in Prague and London to organize the transport and reception of children threatened by the Nazi racial laws which applied in Czechoslovakia after the German invasion of March 1939.
Winton was asked to come to Prague by his friend Martin Blake, a teacher and a member of the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia. Blake introduced Winton to Doreen Wariner, who showed Winton the overcrowded refugee camps. Working from his hotel room – often hearing petitions while he shaved – Winton collected applications. He returned to London with the names of children and spent his evenings and weekends raising money and recruiting foster parents. He believed that the time was running out before the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, breaking the Munich Agreement of September 1938.
The first transport of children from Prague left by air on 14 March 1939, just a day before the Third Reich invaded Czechoslovakia. Between March and August, Winton and his colleagues organized a further seven transports departing by rail. The last transport left Prague on 2 August 1939, a month before the outbreak of WW2.
Winton’s work was largely unknown until the late 1980s, when his wife Grete found a scrapbook with details of 664 children he had helped. In 1988, an episode of the BBC magazine program That’s Life introduced Winton to just some of those he had helped, as well as to British public attention. Winton was knighted in 2002 for services to humanity. Asked to explain his decision to rescue so many, he claimed that something simply had to be done. He quoted Doreen Wariner’s words to him in Prague in 1938: ‘Look, if anything can be done, perhaps you’d like to try and do it.’ Winton died in 2015, aged 106. To view a 2 minute video of this inspiring story, click on this link: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sir+nicholas+winton+bbc&&view=detail&mid=CFDC6A98F4F5404EC114CFDC6A98F4F5404EC114&&FORM=VDRVRV
‘This is really the shot in the arm that we needed.’ Five CPS schools partner with Hope Chicago to help send roughly 4,000 students to college debt-free.
By Tatyana Turner Chicago Tribune Feb 25, 2022
Morgan Park H.S. seniors react upon hearing will receive debt-free college scholarships from Hope Chicago during their assembly at Morgan Park H.S. in Chicago on Feb. 23, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
Tonya Hammaker, the principal of Farragut Career Academy high school, had been hearing students make comments like " Can you believe it?” and “I wish that was us” in the hallways all throughout the week.
The young scholars were referring to the Chicago Public School students who got the news that their college education has been paid for with the help of Hope Chicago, a citywide, multigeneration scholarship program that covers tuition, room and board, books, fees and surcharges for CPS students and one of their parents or guardians.
This past week the Hope Chicago team, led by former CPS CEO Janice Jackson and Pete Kadens and Ted Koenig, Hope Chicago’s co-founders and co-chairmen, visited high schools — including Benito Juarez High School, Al Raby High School, Morgan Park High School and Noble-Johnson College Prep — that are part of their inaugural cohort to announce to 4,000 students that their postsecondary education will be fully funded.
The last stop for Hope Chicago was Farragut in the Little Village neighborhood.
“I had to play it up so they wouldn’t know,” Hammaker said. “I’m nervous of course, because I want it to all go really well.”
Hammaker planned on having all of her students in the auditorium for a school assembly, but none knew what the event was for. The news is something Hammaker believes her students will view as life-changing.
To read the full article, click on this link: Five CPS schools to help send 4,000 students to college debt-free - Chicago Tribune
At Shepherd Inn, Women Who Have Experienced Sexual Violence Get A Chance To Heal
Victoria Shepherd, who founded the nonprofit, knows their stories all too well.
Because it happened to her, too.
Victoria Shepherd poses for a portrait at Shepherd Inn in Dallas. Shepherd Inn is temporary housing and programming from women ages 18-28 who have experienced sexual trauma or domestic violence and need assistance getting back on their feet. By Sriya Reddy, Published 1/11/22
When Victoria Shepherd learned that the teenagers she worked with at Cafe Momentum often didn’t have a safe place to sleep at night, she was angry. She was angry not only because of the lack of stability in their lives, but also because she knew what it felt like to feel unsafe.
When she was in her early 20s, Shepherd was drugged, raped on a beach and left in the ocean in Thailand. If two men from her hostel hadn’t found her, she believes she would have died. She has no memory of the attack beyond what was told to her.
For years, Shepherd’s experience led to her struggle with addiction. She said every time she closed her eyes, her mind would try to imagine what had happened to her on that beach. When she was under the influence, she didn’t need to think about it.
“It took going therapy to realize that that’s why I was drinking and doing drugs every night,” Shepherd said. “Because I just either didn’t want to go to sleep at all, or I wanted to black out so I could go to sleep.”
All she wanted then was a safe place to be. And now, she dedicates her life to building exactly that. Shepherd started Shepherd Inn in 2019 for women between 18 to 28 who have experienced sexual trauma or domestic abuse. Shepherd Inn has an outreach program and transitional housing, and it has supported almost 20 women.
“It is a safe haven for women who have experienced sexual trauma,” Shepherd said. “A safe place for them to recover and get back on their feet. It’s a place where you’ll feel love and security every single day.”
She said that their stories are her story, but she hopes they won’t have to go through all that she went through.
To read the full story, click on this link: At Shepherd Inn, women who have experienced sexual violence get a chance to heal - I Messenger (myimessenger.com)
“My mom came home in 2001 and that’s when my healing started.”
Carmella Glenn | Madison, WI
My mother and biological father separated at a very young age. There was a lot of domestic violence in my home while growing up, which I believe led my mother to self-medicate with drugs.
When the crack cocaine era hit both of them were highly addicted. It took them years to separate; I was fifteen. We moved down to Florida and to Northern Wisconsin. My mom was always trying to geographically relocate, but the trauma comes with you.
My mom eventually went to prison for drugs in the 1990s. I was twenty-two when she was sent to prison. She left me her house and her younger children, but at this point I was a pretty stone cold alcoholic. I was in my own domestic violence relationship with my child’s father. I kind of spiraled. I eventually got arrested for drunk driving in my 20s.
My mom came home in 2001, and that’s when my healing started. She was working with Asha Family Service, a domestic violence program that led workshops in women’s prisons. To read more about Asha Family Service, click on this link: The Collective (ashafamilyservices.org) She took me to Milwaukee to meet Antonia, the founder of Asha, and I fell in love with this work. Since then, I have worked for Antonia in any possible way, going inside the women’s prisons and doing Sister Circles. Any time there was a gap in my life of needing employment and re-centering myself, I always reached back out to her. I’ve been sober now for 18 years. And since my mother came home, for the last 15 years, she has been a chaplain within the prison system.
I’m the coordinator of a program called Just Bakery, a twelve-week educational and vocational training program. I have a culinary degree and a criminal justice degree. Who would have thought these two would go together? It’s just been my sweet spot. To read more of Carmella' story, click on this link: https://www.lovewi.com/carmella/ To learn more about Just Bakery, click on this link: https://justdane.org/just-bakery/
A Heartfelt Donation to Special Olympics of Western Racine County
“When I received this year’s staff email for #Gift2Giving I knew exactly where I wanted to donate my funds. A woman who lives down the street from me, Donna McKusker is the Agency Director for the Special Olympics of Western Racine County. Donna has been a driving force for the Western Racine County agency for many years. She donates so much time and her very own money to make sure her team members are cared for and able to participate in as many sporting programs possible. Her passion to serve the special needs community is genuine and sincere. I thought that #Gift2Giving may be a great opportunity to give back to her agency and team. I sent out an email to Community State Bank (CSB) staff about where I was donating my funds and an additional 10 CSB employees also hopped on board. Our donation to the Special Olympics of Western Racine County will cover a variety of travel expenses for helping get athletes to practices and competitions. Thank you, Donna, for all that you do!” To watch a 2 and a half minute video about this donation and to meet Donna McKusker, click on this link: https://vimeo.com/665356671?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=57287933
Invest, Dream, Achieve Program Changing Lives One Student at a Time
By Sara Rae Lancaster, Peninsula Pulse – September 3rd, 2021
Invest, Dream, Achieve alumna Cora Doumouras, pictured here with her husband, Jake Bastian;
and sons, Lukas and Finn. Photo by Artemis Photography.
School was never Victoria Jacquart’s thing. A self-described rough childhood led her down a rocky path into her teen years, and eventually she dropped out of high school, believing she didn’t have much of a future. Now, as she inches closer to earning an associate degree in business management from Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC), she’s looking beyond that to getting a bachelor’s degree in psychology and, eventually, earning a PhD in psychology and opening a private counseling practice.
Jacquart credits the Invest, Dream, Achieve program – a community-grant program that’s a collaboration between the Women’s Fund of Door County and NWTC – for her shift in mindset.
“When I moved to Door County from Manitowoc, I decided to get my life together,” Jacquart said.
She earned a high school equivalency diploma before enrolling in the business-management program at NWTC-Sturgeon Bay. She knew she was on a better path, “but I still had this fear of not being able to pay for college since I was working a low-wage job at the time,” she said.
Being new to the Door County area, she also lacked a support network – especially one that understood her situation as a nontraditional student. Enter the Invest, Dream, Achieve program. It began in fall 2018 to help Door County women achieve their goals through education, financial stability and career exploration.
A $200,000 grant from the Women’s Fund of Door County made the program possible. But instead of focusing on scholarships alone, the Invest, Dream, Achieve program takes a holistic approach, supporting women in the various challenges that can affect their educational goals.
“These women are juggling a lot on top of wanting to better themselves,” said Karen Peterson, a member of the Women’s Fund’s board of advisers. “From the beginning, it felt like if we could just give them a chance – not by giving them a crazy amount of financial assistance, but the tools they need to help them flourish – they could succeed.” To read more, click on this link: https://doorcountypulse.com/invest-dream-achieve-program-changing-lives-one-student-at-a-time/ To learn more about the Women’s Fund of Door County, read about them below under Hope-Filled Organizations section.
A former ambassador finds optimism at a high school debate contest in Indiana
By LEE FEINSTEIN CHICAGO TRIBUNE DEC 03, 2021
This piece may be disturbing to some readers. It offers limited hope, optimism and earnest language, with brief scenes of unity.
Like many who have worked on promoting democracy around the world, I spend a lot of time these days worried about the state of our democracy at home. The global democratic recession has evolved into an anti-democratic wave.
But as we move into the holiday season of selflessness and good cheer, I found comfort and confidence when I wasn’t looking for it: at a suburban high school in central Indiana, as an amateur judge at one of the first in-person high school debate tournaments since lockdown.
I traveled on a recent Saturday morning on the school bus with my son, a high school senior and the local debate team for a fall day inside watching forensics. The students are instructed to adhere to a judicious mask mandate: Wear them when you’re not eating. Take them off, if you want, when it’s your turn to debate. The students and their parents reacted to the announced safety protocols without a shrug. No complaining. No studied outrage: just a willingness to do what was needed to participate safely in an activity they loved.
The debaters arrived by 8 a.m. at the tournament from large and medium cities, suburbs and small towns across the state. Like their students, the teachers and coaches are a casually diverse and interactive group: white, Black, Asian and Latino. Some of the debaters have been in the Midwest for many years. Others are more recent arrivals to the United States. Dare to think of it not as flyover country, but as America’s third coast.
In the debate rooms, young people of all races and genders face off against each other. To the students and the debate judges, the racial and gender differences are unremarked and unremarkable.
It’s not that the students don’t have different points of view. If you listen carefully, you can detect leans to conservatism, left activism, libertarianism and mainstream politics. But there are no bubbles or algorithms in the debate room. Students are assigned to a side and are prepared to argue both for and against the stipulated resolution; in this case: Resolved: A just society ought to recognize an unconditional right to strike.
To read more, click on this link: Op-ed: A former ambassador finds optimism at a high school debate contest in Indiana - Chicago Tribune
Carthage students create marketing company to promote renewable energy
Racine Journal Times Dec 19, 2021
KENOSHA — Carthage students Sophie Shulman and Zach Gibson are not typical college students.
Together, they’re dedicated to lowering the cost of renewable energy for Wisconsin residents and have started a marketing business to facilitate the sale of residential solar panels.
“Climate change is an urgent need that needs to be addressed, but people don’t always understand the options available to make the change toward renewable energy,” Shulman says. That’s where their business, Blackbird Gen, comes in.
Shulman is a marketing and music major from Gurnee, Ill., and Gibson is a marketing and finance major from Byron, Minn. They started the green energy project with a grassroots approach last year when they joined Enactus at Carthage.
According to its organization page, Enactus is an “international organization that connects students and business leaders through entrepreneurial projects that empower sustainability progress for their communities.”
For their Enactus project, the two entrepreneurs reached out to All Energy Solar, a solar panel installation company that offers a referral program to green energy advocates.
Since forming Blackbird Gen, they have organized a group buy through their partner. That means the more panels people purchase, the higher the rebate they receive. To read more, click on this link: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/education/carthage-students-create-marketing-company-to-promote-renewable-energy/article_c6ad08b3-fe96-58bd-a811-8680d5268152.html
A Steger woman wanted to give her kids an opportunity ‘to fix what they see wrong in the world,’ an effort that snowballed into the bustling Community Closet
By Carole Sharwarko Daily Southtown Nov 17, 2021
Laura Hensley receives a hug at a Community Closet event. Hensley founded the organization as a way to help her children do good works and it's grown over the last decade and now operates out of a church in Lansing.
Laurie Hensley didn’t know exactly what to do when two empty funeral urns got dropped off at the Community Closet of Steger and the Southlands.
Having operated the charity for nearly a decade, Hensley is a pro at processing donations of heaps of clothing, small furniture and appliances. So, however unexpected, she knew the donation of two urns presented a unique opportunity to help community members in need.
“We posted on the Facebook page: ‘This is an odd one, guys, but we’re looking for two specific individuals who need these,’” she said. “Maybe for a loved one they couldn’t afford to put to rest nicely.”
In less than two hours, the Community Closet gave one urn to a man who had been keeping his wife’s remains in a cardboard box, and the other to a woman who couldn’t afford a burial for her adult son.
The Community Closet, which sprung up out of Hensley’s Steger home, had its origins in a desire by her then-young children to help a local family in need. The effort “snowballed,” Hensley said, as she and her family continued aiding neighbors.
“This gave (my kids) the opportunity to fix what they see wrong in the world,” she said. “You can’t keep complaining about things if you’re not willing to go out and fix it.” To read more, click on this link: https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/ct-sta-community-closet-st-1117-20211117-m7zel2v74vgv5ilifdtiablkh4-story.html
How this Racine program helps kids understand the Root River, the water itself, and living things in the water
Lauren Henning, Racine Journal Times, Nov 6, 2021
21st Century Preparatory School teacher Devron Bostick, left, helps LeRon Willis identify the creatures he looked at with his magnifier.
As the program director for WATERshed, Nancy Carlson and her wagon full of buckets of water and critters and magnifying tools help students understand where our drinking water comes from along with the life forms that call the Root River home.
“The watershed program uses the Root River and Lake Michigan as living laboratories to help students make personal connections to the freshwater resources in their community,” Carlson said. “They explore human relationships with our watershed and we provide education about watersheds to help foster students who both understand and care about freshwater resources.”
The program connects with the students at the elementary level and then again during their senior year of high school. Using survey results, Carlson said that 95% of students remember their first experience, even if it was years later and the student came to the center only once.To read more, click on this link: How this Racine program helps kids understand the Root River, the water itself, and living things in the water | Local News | journaltimes.com To watch a 3 ½ minute video of students learning, click on this link: https://watershedprogram.com/field-trips
The life of Vevlon Days-Kimmons: Racine's first-ever black alderwoman
Dee Hölzel, Racine Journal Times, September 30, 2021
Vevlon Days-Kimmons died on Sept. 23 after a lifetime of serving the community of Racine. The first black woman to serve on the City Council, she also served on the Police and Fire Commission and was the director of George Bray Community Center.
RACINE — Her life was rich with important firsts: the first person in her family to earn a college degree and the first African American woman to sit on the Racine City Council.
She was kind but tough when she had to be, as when she fought back against critics of the Alternatives to Prison program, which she coordinated.
Vevlon Days-Kimmons, 69, died on Sept. 23 after a lifetime of kicking down barriers, lifting up those who needed a hand, and giving unconditional love to friends and family…Al Days, a younger brother of Days-Kimmons, spoke of her as a civic-minded woman who sought to speak for those who could not speak for themselves.
She was a petite woman, perhaps 5-foot-1 and 100 pounds…Despite her small stature, her brother said she leaves a giant legacy.
Days-Kimmons was one of six siblings whose parents left Mississippi in the 1950s looking for a better life in the North. She and her siblings were born and raised in Racine, on Memorial Drive. To read the entire article click on this link: The life of Vevlon Days-Kimmons: Racine's first-ever black alderwoman | Local News | journaltimes.com
Not Going Quietly
Nell Minow August 13, 2021
A man in a wheelchair rolls toward the Capitol Building. It is social justice and health care activist Ady Barkan, one of TIME magazine's 2020 most influential people, and he is on his way to testify before Congress. "Ady's been fighting like hell for his life and for all of ours," says Committee Chair Jim McGovern as he introduces him.
Barkan has been speaking in public since he was in high school. But as he tells the committee, this time is different. It is the first time he is not using his natural voice. He has ALS, a "deadly debilitating disease with no cure and very little treatment," and he can now only "speak" through a Stephen Hawking-style mechanical device directed by his eye movements. He is using it to speak on behalf of everyone who is in need of health care, meaning everyone, and he is urging Congress to adopt Medicare for All.
"Not Going Quietly" is about Barkan's activism, a combination of old school grassroots organizing and new-school social media. When someone raises a question about whether he is exploiting his disease for political gain, he has no hesitation in answering, "Absolutely!" He is a savvy enough strategist to know that an attractive but sick young guy with a wife and toddler is a more powerful argument than a bunch of statistics in a binder. But when his voice finally fails and he has to use the mechanical voice synthesizer, he wonders if he should make that appearance before the committee. Maybe, he says, it would be better to have his remarks read by someone else. To view a 2 ½ minute video about the movie, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJKUBTL34bY
How a public-private partnership is bringing dividends in Racine
Adam Rogan Racine Journal Times, Sep 26, 2021
Dave Giordano, right, spends time with his daughter on Sept. 14 at Pritchard Park in Racine, WI
RACINE — Five years ago, Pritchard Park was a prime example of what happens when you ignore the land. Overrun with an invasive species, prone to flooding, ugly, damaging to Racine’s water supplies. Negatives all around.
During a volunteer day about five years ago, attempting to make a dent in removing the invasive and damaging buckthorn, a woman said aloud: “This is never going to happen.” That pessimism steeled Dave Giordano’s resolve.
Looking back, that volunteer couldn’t have been more wrong. The rooting-out process is simple but challenging. Giordano described it as “hack and squirt” — cut down the invader, spray a bit of herbicide at the base. Then you repeat that, on plant after plant, year after year.
There’s still buckthorn in the park, but it’s now a tiny minority of the plant population as opposed to the predominant resident. Five years ago, as much as 90% of plant life in Pritchard Park’s 15 acres was buckthorn and dead ash trees.
You’d be hard pressed to find a bee in here,” Giordano said. Much less an endangered bee, such as the rusty patched bumblebee discovered for the first time in years at the park along Highway 11 (Durand Avenue) last month. “When you eradicate buckthorn and bring back the natives, all the natives come back and they find their food sources.”
To read full article, see additional pictures, and view a 1 minute video, click on this link:
ROOT-PIKE WIN’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DAVE GIORDANO AWARDED “CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR”
By the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation
SOMERS, WI – Root-Pike Watershed Initiative Network’s (WIN) Executive Director has been awarded “Land and Water Conservationist of the Year” by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. Presented on August 21st, 2021, this prestigious award honors individuals for outstanding contributions to the conservation of land and water within the fields of watershed management, soil conservation measures, wetlands conservation, wild rivers protection, and protection of surface or groundwater water quality. To read more
CITY OF GRANDVIEW, MO RECEIVES INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION AWARD
2021 Community Partnership Award: 10,000-49,999 Population
Move Toward the Badge, Grandview, Missouri
Protestors and police faced each other in the streets of many U.S. cities in the summer of 2020, including in the Kansas City, Missouri, metro area. While activists called for defunding police in nearby cities, in the minority-majority community of Grandview the Pastors Alliance was praying with and for Grandview Police Officers, and residents were thanking officers for their service and inviting them to engage in real community conversations. These are the positive results of a long-term commitment to community through partnerships from a police department project implemented years earlier.
To read more, click on this link: https://icma.org/2021-community-partnership-award-10000-49999-population
Brief Editorial Comment: My career background is working as a City Manager in 3 cities and working with over 300 cities around the country as a management consultant. I understand that positive police and community relationships are not always what they could and should be. But I also know that many Police Departments work diligently and creatively to address these issues. This story is one of the positive efforts made by cities to foster better relationships between the Police Department and the communities they serve. Robert Beezat
‘We’re all together, one big family, right?’
'Any way we can help':
Racine County hosts donation drive for Afghan refugees in Wisconsin
Diana Panuncial, Racine Journal Times, September 20, 2021
Volunteers of Racine County's donation drive for Afghan refugees at Fort McCoy sort through food donations on Saturday. The drive saw the county's Veterans Service team up with Team Rubicon and the Journey Disaster Response Team for the drive.
RACINE — It was Phil Hartnell’s first time volunteering on Saturday, and the cause he chose was the Racine County Veterans Service’s donation drive for Afghan refugees in Wisconsin on Saturday.
“We’re all together, one big family, right? So I think we want to help those that need the help,” said Hartnell, a member of the Journey Disaster Response Team from Pleasant Prairie. “It’s just a great feeling to help people.”
Hartnell was one of a few dozen volunteers at the drive, which was a partnership between RCVS, JDRT and Team Rubicon, a Marine-founded humanitarian organization. Amazon in Kenosha also donated a truck to help bring the donations to Fort McCoy. The drive called for donations of clothing, food, baby items and other necessities to bring to the refugees, who are currently at Fort McCoy following the overthrow of their country’s government.
As of Sept. 3, almost 9,000 refugees are at Fort McCoy; the base has a capacity of to host 13,000 people. Zdroik said he estimates refugees will stay at Fort McCoy — and other bases across the country — for three months at minimum. To read more, click on this link: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/any-way-we-can-help-racine-county-hosts-donation-drive-for-afghan-refugees-in-wisconsin/article_b631ea4d-31af-580b-84db-7be8bb2ea293.html
Watch now: Madison women donating 'mountain' of fabric for Afghan refugees to sew own clothes
EMILY HAMER Sep 9, 2021
Connie McElrone, left, and Cynthia Hirsch organize fabric donations destined for refugees from Afghanistan while preparing the items for delivery at Hirsch’s Near West Side home Wednesday.
Connie McElrone and Cynthia Hirsch carried dozens of colorful fabric bolts from a pile on Hirsch’s front porch out to a small silver SUV Wednesday afternoon on Madison’s Near West Side. “Oh, I hope two cars will do it,” McElrone said to another neighbor.
The women, along with a network of people from the local sewing community and beyond, raised $8,000 in less than a week and amassed a “mountain” of fabric to donate to Afghan refugees staying at Fort McCoy in western Wisconsin, McElrone said.
McElrone got the idea while having dinner with a friend, Sue Savage, who has been volunteering at Fort McCoy. The two worried about the “culture shock” the Afghans would experience when coming to the U.S. after fleeing from Afghanistan as their country fell to the Taliban, McElrone said.
Although Fort McCoy has received piles of new and lightly used clothes from the community, McElrone noted that those donations “would not be traditional clothing.”
“Right off the bat we had a sense that fabric to sew tunics would be welcomed,” McElrone said. Hirsch said they wanted to give the Afghan women at Fort McCoy the “comfort of being able to make what they need and what they want in their own fashion,” rather than forcing them to wear Western clothes.
To read the entire article and watch a two minute video at this link: Watch now: Madison women donating 'mountain' of fabric for Afghan refugees to sew own clothes | State & Regional | wiscnews.com When you get to the website, scroll down to the second video on the page.
Racine pastor keeps 20-year promise on 9/11
Dee Holzel Racine Journal Times, September 11, 2021
Bill Thompkins made a promise that he would never forget the events of Sept. 11, 2001. When it looked like Racine would not have a major 20-year-anniversary memorial, he planned one himself and invited folks to join him on the grounds of Nehemiah Gardens, 4414 Northwestern Ave. (Highway 38).
RACINE — Following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Pastor Bill Thompkins made three promises: he would remember, he would pray and he would speak hope to the nation.
“For those 20 years, I’ve always remembered this particular day,” he said.
However, as the 20th anniversary approached, there did not seem to be many in Racine planning to mark the occasion.
True to his word, Thompkins planned a memorial event in the Nehemiah Gardens, 4414 Northwestern Ave., which began in the inner city of Racine in 2004 and now grows plants that are distributed to families throughout the area.
At the garden’s new home along Highway 38, there is a permanent display dedicated to 9/11, first responders and the “Day of Gray” — so called because the people covered in ash and soot from the collapse of the World Trade Center’s twin towers became one color. To read more click on this link: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/racine-pastor-keeps-20-year-promise-on-9-11/article_c1ea8a50-2158-59bf-89fd-33986ca61723.html
The Great Story
The Great Story (also known as the Universe Story, Epic of Evolution, or Big History) is humanity's common creation story. It is the 14 billion year science-based sacred story of cosmic genesis, from the formation of the galaxies and the origin of Earth life, to the development of self-reflective consciousness and collective learning, to the emergence of compassion and tools to assist humanity in living harmoniously with the larger body of life.
The Great Story encompasses meaningful ways of telling the history of everyone and everything. The Great Story is humanity's sacred narrative of an evolving Universe of emergent complexity and breathtaking creativity — a story that offers each of us the opportunity to find meaning and purpose in our lives and our time in history.
The universe took 13.7 billion years to evolve to the point that it could learn and celebrate its own story. Wow! Where it goes next, at least in this sector of the galaxy, is in part up to us. Are we ready? Courtesy of Michael Dowd. Videography by Ursa Minor Arts + Media.
To view this video, click on this link: 13.7 billion years of evolution in 85 seconds - YouTube
Contribute to the Co-Creation of an Evolving World.
By Robert Beezat: The following essay is taken from Chapter 21, titled “Work” from my book
Knowing and Loving: The Keys to Real Happiness.
I think most of us, particularly when we are young and contemplating a career, at least had some desire to make a contribution to a better world. I think there are many ways to contribute to a better world. That term means different things to different people. We usually associate that idea with being involved with one of the helping professions such as a doctor, nurse, or teacher. To some it means inventing a new product or discovering a cure for cancer. To some it is a call to public service or a religious life. To others it means creating a work of art which people find beautiful. And to yet others, the desire to entertain people is a motivator. The list is endless, and I will not try to capture every type of work imaginable. I think the hard thing is finding a career which will blend the dual goals of making an adequate living and contributing to a better world.
Since how each of us does that is so unique to what our deepest motivations are, I would like to use as an illustration, my own experience of meshing together my deepest motivations with making a living. To read more
Chicago youth storytelling program focuses on art and beauty, not violence
By REX HUPPKE CHICAGO TRIBUNE |JUL 30, 2021
Nyjah Johnson, 19, from left, David Gonzalez, executive director of The Port Ministries, Cosette Nazon-Wilburn, executive director of LUV Institute, and Nadia John, 24, are collaborating on Chicago Stories on the Block, a new storytelling, visual and performance art project. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Nyjah Johnson is searching her Englewood neighborhood for stories untold, stories that push back on the narrative drummed into Chicagoans’ minds that the place she calls home is solely a place of violence, misery and decay.
Many news stories reveal the bad that exists in Englewood, but no place is all bad. Few places are even largely bad. There are stories everywhere of friendships and loves, of simple acts of kindness, of gardens and gatherings and all the good things that make a community.
So, Johnson, along with about 40 other young Chicagoans from neighborhoods across the city, is out to find those stories and bring them to light through art, movement, music — whatever it takes.
The 19 year-old is part of an ongoing project called Chicago Stories on the Block, launched by a Back of the Yards charity organization called The Port Ministries in conjunction with an array of other community groups. The goal is to encourage young people to embrace the good things around them and not be caught up in the violence that plagues many city neighborhoods.
“We invest so much time on what’s wrong with Chicago,” said David Gonzalez, executive director of The Port Ministries. “I think we need to equally invest in the creativity and the power and talent that people have. What if we celebrate the voices of young people?” To read the full story click on: Column: Chicago youth storytelling program focuses on art and beauty, not violence - Chicago Tribune
A True Story of Hope About the Basic Goodness of People (cont.)
This is another story about what happened on 9/11/2001
When the people in Gander, Newfoundland became emergency hosts to thousands of people
Who were unable to continue flights from around the world to the United States.
We had the original story in the June 2021 Newsletter.
This story was written by a flight attendant who was on one of the 38 flights forced to Land in Gander
On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic. All of a sudden, the curtains parted, and I was told to go to the cockpit, immediately, to see the captain. As soon as I got there, I noticed that the crew had that "All Business" look on their faces.
The captain handed me a printed message. It was from Delta's main office in Atlanta and simply read, "All airways over the Continental United States are closed to commercial air traffic. Land ASAP at the nearest airport. Advise your destination."
No one said a word about what this could mean. We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. The captain determined that the nearest airport was 400 miles behind us in Gander, Newfoundland.
He requested approval for a route change from the Canadian traffic controller and approval was granted immediately -- no questions asked. We found out later, of course, why there was no hesitation in approving our request.
While the flight crew prepared the airplane for landing, another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. A few minutes later word came in about the hijackings.
We decided to LIE to the passengers while we were still in the air. We told them the plane had a simple instrument problem and that we needed to land at the nearest airport in Gander, Newfoundland, to have it checked out.
We promised to give more information after landing in Gander. There was much grumbling among the passengers, but that's nothing new! Forty minutes later, we landed in Gander. Local time at Gander was 12:30 PM!...that's 11:00 AM EST. There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world that had taken this detour on their way to the U.S.
After we parked on the ramp, the captain made the following announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. The reality is that we are here for another reason." Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the U.S. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. The captain informed passengers that Ground Control in Gander told us to stay put. To Read More
Farm an outlet for those with Special Needs
Frankfort Couple Helping them make friends, memories
Steven Warning, right, and his dad, Craig Warning, tend to eggplants last week at Navarro Farm in Frankfort. (Michelle Mullins / Daily Southtown)
When Sherri and her husband Damion Navarro purchased a 5 acre farm last September in Frankfort, they didn’t intend to be running an agriculture learning experience where people with special needs can learn real-world skills and make memories. To read more, click on this link A Frankfort couple turned a weedy old soybean plot into a farm where young people with disabilities tend and sell their own produce, ‘grow with confidence, knowledge and inclusion’ - Chicago Tribune
Basketball and brotherhood is bringing Racine closer together,
and it's here to stay
By Diana Panuncial, Racine Journal Times, August 26, 2021
Isaiah "Lul Icey" Lambert, organizer of Put the Guns Down Basketball Association, talks with TJ Poisl, co-organizer of Soul Revival Church. Poisl has been helping Lambert put together the PTGDBA games since the start.
RACINE — Larry Canady lost two cousins to gun violence. He doesn’t want to lose any more.
Harry Canady, Jr. was shot on his girlfriend’s porch in 2017; he was only 20, the same age Larry is now.
“He was like a brother to me,” Larry said. “His mom and my mom, twins. His dad and my dad, twins.”
In 2019, one of Larry’s other cousins, 32-year-old Marcellus “Nino” Martinez, was shot inside a vehicle on LaSalle Street in 2019.
So, Larry, a Park High School basketball record-holder, decided to join the Put the Guns Down Basketball Association, an adult basketball league formed earlier this summer dedicated to stopping gun violence.
The league aims to give community members a chance to enjoy the game and set an example to youths that there’s more to summer in Racine than the gunfire often heard and seen. Organizers and players say the league has worked. “For me, this is a good thing for the youth, and letting the youth know that there’s more than guns and stuff like that going on,” said Larry.
For the last eight or so Sundays, the young ballers — along with all the community members who gather each week to watch the games — have been able to see exactly that on the Dream Court outside the Dr. John Bryant Community Center, 601 Caron Butler Drive. To read more click on this link: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/basketball-and-brotherhood-is-bringing-racine-closer-together-and-its-here-to-stay/article_f549a74c-b20b-5961-a7d9-41c41086fd0c.html
Sports: Moments of Joy, Love, and Hope
Women and men, young and old, black and brown and white,
Milwaukee Bucks fans celebrate the Bucks winning the 2021 NBA Championship.
One of the best things about sports is that it peacefully unites people as team members and as fans.
It fills them with joy.
Almost always, after a team wins a Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, or the NBA Championship
team members talk about how they love one another.
It is one of the few times when men say that they love one another.
They help each other grow individually and grow together for the common goal of winning a championship.
They all want to be the best they can be individually,
but just as importantly, they want to be the best they can as a team.
It fills me with hope that the same openness, mutual support, and thriving as individuals and as groups
as demonstrated in team sports can carry over into our lives
As families, as neighbors, as a community, as a country, and across the world.
Working together as a championship team, We can do it!!!
Olympic Motto Amended
It was “Faster, Higher, Stronger”
On July 20, 2021 it was changed to
“Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”
The change was made in response to the Covid pandemic and to recognize and promote the idea
that we need the best from everyone and that we need to all work together to make progress
in fighting Covid and making the world a better and more peaceful place.
Volunteers help Racine be more 'House-Proud'
Dee Hölzel, Racine Journal Times, July 6, 2021
RACINE — They scraped and painted, weeded, planted, fixed, tore down and rebuilt. There were teens and adults, some skilled labor, all were volunteers.
Juan Morales, 15, gets a lesson in using the drill as he helps to rebuild a porch. He said what he has learned so far is "we can turn anything around and make someone's home better."
For a week, starting on June 21, ACTS Racine Youth Ministry and the Racine Christian Reformed Church provided the labor through a summer services work camp. Throughout the week, the teens and their adult mentors made repairs to 11 houses between the 1100-1400 blocks of Villa Street and Park Avenue.
The effort benefitted the “House-Proud Program” of Racine Revitalization Partnership, Inc., which offers homeowners home repair and improvement services. To read more, click on this link: Volunteers help Racine be more 'House-Proud' | Local News | journaltimes.com
One of the Partner Organizations in this project is Racine Revitalization Partners (RRP).
To learn about RRP and see a 4 ½ minute video about the Partnership, click on these links: http://revitalizeracine.org/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6BdItfBNL8
One Man’s Crazy Idea For Michigan Town Lands Them As Finalist
in “Nicest Places in America” Contest
This story was chosen as one of the top ten nominations to win the Reader’s Digest “Nicest Places in America” contest: a crowd-sourced effort to uncover nooks where people are still kind and compassionate in an era of global pandemic and political divide.
It was a Field of Dreams, just waiting to be built.
On Christmas Eve 2020, fire trucks rushed to the Chittle home in the sleepy little town of Manton, Michigan. It wasn’t because of an accidental fire, or anything you might associate with a holiday nightmare. Instead, it was a dream come true. The local fire department was there to pitch in on a project that would capture the imaginations of the 1,287 souls who call Manton home, bringing them months of mirth during one of the darkest winters in memory.
Outdoor activities and a slower pace of life are a mainstay in this rural town about 110 miles North of Grand Rapids. But, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the town to shut down, Scott Chittle decided that the community needed a safe place to come together, and something to spark some joy during the dreary winter months.
And what is a better activity to get people outside in the cold than ice skating?
In order to make his dream a reality, Chittle scoured the Internet for YouTube tutorials on how to build an ice rink. He ordered a large 3,000 square foot tarp online and purchased some lumber to create the walls. It took 12 firetrucks to get enough water to fill the plot.
After his ‘field of dreams’ was built, however, nobody came.
So, Chittle went door-to-door coercing neighbors to convince people to come see his creation, and soon Chittle’s backyard ice rink became a Manton hotspot. Parents pitched in to help Chittle purchase second-hand skates and hockey sticks for all the neighborhood children. Soon enough, the children were skating and shooting, a fire was burning, and hot chocolate was steaming in to-go mugs. To read more, click on this link: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/michigan-man-builds-ice-rink-nicest-places/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=weekly_mailout&utm_source=14-07-2021&fbclid=IwAR00VabOOEcT190Y5di40QQ7-NymJfBqazJQChYU7w3qIbdCYzHTQWLyzns