Clik here to view.
UPDATE: Linnie Mae’s New Friends
Two weeks ago we launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for our new children’s book LINNIE MAE’S NEW FRIENDS. Our goal was to raise $5000 to help cover the expenses involved in printing and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Brown Bag Lunch To Stop Abuse
What is child abuse? Could you properly define it if someone asked? We could ask one hundred people and we would probably get one hundred different answers. I am sure that many definitions would be...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Getting On Board
This week’s volunteer experience is a little bit different from what we normally share. Most weeks I write about an experience with a specific organization. The goal is always to share our story,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rube Goldberg, Students, and A Lot Of Sawdust
Rube Goldberg was a Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, sculptor, and author. He was well-known for his inventions that took simple tasks and made them unbelievably complex. A Goldberg contraption...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clik here to view.
Sometimes All You Need Is A Smile
I have two questions for you. First, can you say “Good morning! Welcome to Focus on Health! How are you today?” Let’s try it. Say it with me, “Good morning! Welcome to Focus on Health! How are you...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Teaching Global Marketplace to 25 Sixth Grade Boys
Could you engage with and teach 25 middle school students about the global marketplace? What if I told you that they were all boys? Feeling confident? Those were the questions that crossed my mind...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I’m Born To
What were you born to? Were you born to sing, to dance, to become a parent, to practice medicine, or change the world? There is no doubt that we were all born to be and/or do something. I believe...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lending A Hand Through A New Store
The Franciscan Center has been lending a hand to its neighbors for more than twenty years. Those in our community who are less fortunate are served through programs like food pantries, sack lunch...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Improving The Lives of Those with HIV/AIDS
I first heard about the HIV/AIDS virus as a youth growing up in Indiana in the mid 80s. Ryan White, an Indiana teen, was expelled from his middle school after contracting the virus through a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Painting For Children
We are not artists. We are not painters. We are not professionals. We are volunteers. This week, the kind folks at Crossroad Child and Family Services learned that first hand. We arrived on the 47...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Stranger, Teens, and The Zoo
Our journey continues and year 3 is underway. It started the same way that year 2 of our project began, with a volunteer experience in an animal enrichment workshop. The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Want To Empower Women
Raised the daughter of a Baptist pastor, I have always had a desire for helping others, but I never knew in what avenue or even if I was mature or equipped enough for the task. So I spent much of my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Cardinal Friend
Have you ever smiled so much that your face hurt? Experienced soreness in your cheeks from a “perma-grin”? I have and it happened this week. I had been in the car for more than twenty minutes after...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Greyhounds In The Park
We love animals, especially dogs. Greyhounds are a favorite. Greyhounds are a docile and easy-going breed of dog that make for great pets. We should know, we have adopted three retired racing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kickball and Reading Books Break Down Barriers
When you pull into the Autumn Woods apartment complex, you feel as if you have entered a different country. That country, in fact, is Myanmar (formerly called Burma). Men and women are walking about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Proud Moments of a Mentor
It has been almost four years since I enrolled to be a mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. I remember that day like it was yesterday. The questions, the nerves, the butterflies, and the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A New Coat of Paint With Meaning
A fresh coat of paint can be symbolic. It can represent a new beginning for a group of women on the road to living a life free of drug addiction. It is a sign of maturation in a young girl who moves...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Most Colorful Week Yet
Writing a blog can be difficult and very frustrating. Week after week I sit in front of this computer making an effort to put volunteer experiences into words. Some weeks, the words flow like a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Showing Love Through a Teddy Bear
Did you have a favorite teddy bear or other furry animal as a child? A stuffed toy that you played with, told your secrets to, and snuggled with at bedtime? If you are like me, and most, you did....
View Article
