Maryland Food Bank

Good evening everyone!
         Hope your day wasn't as cold and rainy as mine was. I really dont like it when it rains although I totally understand that rain is essential for life and I should be thankful for it. I  just get so sleepy and tired whenever it rains and I feel like I have half the energy I usually do. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep all day (a luxury that I can't afford). Anyway apart from the weather, my day was good and pretty productive. Finals are almost here, so I have been on study overload. My study habits have definitely changed to accommodate the crazy amount of information we are expected to learn. Used to be that person that studied 2 or 3 days before an exam, but reality quickly set in when I got into grad school. So for the next 2 weeks I will be hiding in my apartment or in the library buried in books. Wish me luck!
        For my deed today, I donate cans and boxes of food to the Maryland Food Bank (MFB). There were donation boxes in my school's atrium so donating was very convenient and easy. I donated some cans of spaghettiOs, sweet corn and boxes of Mac and cheese. There are a lot of people, especially children, in Maryland that go to bed hungry every night. So the MFB has really been a blessing to the state by trying to reduce that number and it is mostly due to the individuals that volunteer their time and resources. There are food drives happening all over the state and their locations can be found on their website. If there isn't one close to you, then YOU can start a drive yourself. All you have to do is fill the participation form on the website. They also opened a community kitchen this year, to prepare meals for families and soup kitchens creating  a lot of ways  for people to contribute and get involved. They have seen a 30% - 50% increase in demand for their service, many of whom were considered middle class before the economic recession took hold. This is really unfortunate, and I feel that giving back to those that dont have is a good way to show our appreciation for the blessings we have. Please donate as much and as often as you can to the MFB because they really need our help.

 Picture of the donation boxes in the atrium .

Please take a minute to look at the MFB Fact Sheet to get a better understanding of the need.
http://www.mdfoodbank.org/atf/cf/%7BD63BA49B-D699-407E-A9CE-AA4293E06A68%7D/MFB%20Fact%20Sheet%20FY%2011%20-%20dg.pdf


Here is the link to their website for donations and information on food drive locations.
http://www.mdfoodbank.org/site/c.mgLPIYOzGlF/b.5551677/k.BF32/Home.htm




  

Hygiene kits

          It was back to school for me today and believe me I was definitely out of wack. Struggled to keep my concentration through the first 2 lectures but gradually got back into the flow of things. Thank God for mediasite (lectures are recorded online). Well my school is having an HIV/AIDS week and there are alot of interesting things happening on campus. An organisation I belong to, SWAP, decided to make hygiene kits to give to the community during that week. The kit will have basic stuff like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo etc.
         So for my good deed for today I donated items for the kit. I gave some soap bars, shampoo, conditioner and mouthwash (all miniature sizes). Giant supermarket has a lot of them in the travel isle and they were pretty cheap. I think the kits are a great idea because the items provided are such an overlooked necessity. I live in Baltimore, and trust me when you drive or walk in the city you will understand why. Don't get me wrong, its a beautiful city, but there are a lot of homeless people on the street. And it just breaks my heart to see them. Hopefully we can reach out and help as many of them as we can that week.

 *** On a side note, when I started this project I thought it would be hard for me to constantly find things to do. But I'm so glad that these wonderful opportunities keep presenting themselves and that I can afford to do them. When there's a will, there's a way! ***


Goodnight world xxx

Convoy of Hope

Happy Sunday everyone!
          Hope you all got to rest a little bit this weekend, I know I did. Sundays are always bitter sweet for me. I look forward to it because I get to go to church and visit my family but then its the last day of the weekend so it reminds me of how hectic my week is about to be. But hey that's life, bittersweet.
          My good deed for today was actually inspired by my pastor. About 2 months ago, as we were leaving the service he handed us all $10 to be used towards missions. He challenged us to get creative with the money we got and donate whatever proceeds we could get from it to a charity in Kenya. People really embraced the challenge and thought up a lot of great ideas. Some people sold water bottles, others food, ice cream and a group of people combined their money and actually made a praise book. However I baked some brownies and a cake, sold them for $1 each and I was able to double the money. The charity benefiting from our donations is CONVOY OF HOPE. They build homes in Nairobi Kenya for the children on the street and orphans. Their new project involves building a home in Mathare valley in Nairobi that can house approximately 100 children. They need $40,000 to build the home, which will be self sustaining, and plan to begin the project in January 2011. So I encourage everyone to donate as much as they can to help them meet their goal. Any investment made to saving a life is never a waste, so please do the best you can.

Love xxx

To make donations to this charity please visit

http://www.potomacag.org/kenya.asp

Or you can mail a check payable to Potomac District Council-KENYA  
And send it to - Potomac District Council-KENYA PO box 690 Gainesville, VA 20156.

    

Angel Tree

27 days till Christmas!!!!!  

         Today I officially started my Christmas countdown and I'm so looking forward to it. Apart from the gifts I get and parties I get to go to, the holiday really brings a sense of joy and goodwill. I also get to take the time to reflect on the passing year and start making new year resolutions (which I try very very very hard to keep). But the most important part of Christmas for me is that I get to spend time with family (who are back home).
           Thinking about all that today made me decide to make a donation to a charity called ANGEL TREE. It's a prisoner fellowship that give gifts to children of inmates. They deliver the gifts in the name of the child's parent and help to keep the family love going through the season. About 1.7 million children have a parent serving time in a state or federal prison but every year the organization strive to deliver gifts to about 400,000 of these children. This is a huge undertaking that the organization, with the support of churches and people, have been able to make for the past 3 decades. Hopefully with more exposure and our help or donations they will be able to reach more children this year. And right now they have a matching grant that doubles every gift received up to $100,000. So for every gift you sponsor, you help to send a gift to another child as well. They ask for a donation of $11.44 to enable them send a gift to a child, and with the matching grant they can send a gift to two children. So for $12 you get to spread Christmas cheer to two wonderful kids in need of love. I really hope you all do so, because it is definitely worth it.



Here is the link to make donations to the ANGEL TREE charity
https://www.angeltree.org/donate-today-drm-at



For more information about ANGEL TREE, please visit their website
https://www.angeltree.org/helpangeltree

Feed the Children

Hello world!
        I hope everyone's day is going peaceful and well. My body is still trying to recover from the thanksgiving festivities yesterday, but I am so grateful for the break. Sadly its back to the school grind for me because I have two exams next week, God is my strength though. Its been an exciting first semester for me and I am actually looking forward to the craziness of next semester. 18 credits, fewer hours of sleep and countless coffee runs.... So excited!!! lol
         Anyway, for my deed for today I made a donation to FEED THE CHILDREN organization. It is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty, or natural disaster (taken from the website). They have been in existence for 30 years and have grown into one of the world's largest private organizations dedicated to helping hungry and hurting people. "Last year, Feed The Children shipped 133 million pounds of food and other essentials to children and families in all 50 states and in 34 foreign countries, supplementing more than 760,000 meals a day worldwide. Since our founding in 1979, Feed The Children has reached out to help children and families in 119 countries around the globe" (taken from the website).
         I must confess that I am guilty of ignoring the mails, asking for a donation, from them in the past. And even when I dont ignore them, I either misplace the letter or forget to mail them (really sad). So since I stayed indoors all day, I decided to finally go online and make a donation. It literally takes less than 5 minutes and they accept donations as little as $5. Most people complain that they are not able to donate money to charities because of their financial situation, and I understand that. However $5 a month does not seem like such an inconvenience to me. Think of it as sacrificing a fast food meal for a day to save a child's life. The organization also sends you updates on the children/child you are helping and that really helps put things in perspectives. It is also a good way to keep track of their progress and see exactly where your money is going to. I just hope that more people will consider donating money to them so that they can continue the great work that they do. They really are an extension/manifestation of God's kindness on earth.
      

Here is the link to make donations to the organization:

 https://secure2.convio.net/ftc/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=285784&s_src=TopRightAlone20090424&mboxSession=1290812456133-84513&JServSessionIdr004=horer7bqm2.app220a

And for more information about FEED THE CHILDREN please visit their website 

http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dotorg_homepage

   

The Alamo

Happy thanksgiving everyone!!!
            I hope you all found the time to bond with your family and friends and also thank God for his many blessings in your life. I am totally exhasuted from cooking thanksgiving dinner and I am just looking forward to eating it all :-) (not looking forward to the extra pounds though). I am definitely very thankful this year. I am in good health, have a wonderful family/friends and I am pursuing my dreams. I've had a few ups and downs along the way, including losing an uncle in October and a dear friend on the 19th of Nov. But through it all I know that there is still so much to be thankful for and I choose to dwell on that.
           Well for my good deed today, I volunteered at a neighborhood restaurant that was giving out free lunch to the less privileged. The restaurant is THE ALAMO in Riverdale MD, and they have been doing these lunches every thanksgiving for the past 9 years. It is a Mexican restaurant with a lot of character, history and might I add really good food. The restaurant owners have collaborated with various churches over the years and my church happened to be one of them this year. The lunch was served from 12am to 3pm, but the volunteers got there at 11am to get ready and set up the serving stations. I went with one of my very good friends and we both had a good time and I am sure others did to. The people were kind, the portions very generous and the atmosphere was just filled with cheer and love. They served both Mexican and American meals but I was working at the Mexican station and got to learn a few Spanish words lol.
          In addition to the lunches, coats, gloves/scarves and bread were also given out. I have to commend the owners of the Alamo for the wonderful job they did. They did not spare on cost and were very organized and welcoming. One of the owners said that one year they served lunch to about 900 people. Wow! I really admire their giving hearts and appreciate all the volunteers that came out to support today because they couldn't have done it by themselves. This a classic example of the great things that can be done when people come together for a good cause. I am just thankful that I was able to be a part of this and I pray that God continues to reward their efforts, and provide for many more meals in the future.

 

Trinity Assembly of God

Hey world!
        Today was totally awesome for me. I got to sleep till about 11am and just watch TV afterwards. I know that might not seem like such an exciting thing, but for a grad student its bliss. We don't get alot of sleep, so when we do we tend to overdo it lol.
       Well for my good deed today, I donated some of my scarves, gloves and hats to the homeless. My church is having a coat drive and asked the members to bring any extra winter clothing to donate to the homeless. There are collection centers all over and it is definitely a good way to spread love this season. So please look for one and donate whatever you can......
       

My church is TRINITY ASSEMBLY OF GOD and it is located on 7800 Goodluck rd lanham, MD 20706.

                            ***Feel free to stop by and bring whatever you can***

The Children's Home

***The mind is a terrible thing to waste***

        Hey guys! Hope you all had a productive day, I know I did. I had one of those 7.30am killer exams but totally squashed it so that was one highlight of my day. The other highlight was the countdown I started for thanksgiving. Usually Thanksgiving isn't one of the holidays I look forward to, but having a 4 days weekend definitely changed that. I finally get to relax, hang out with friends and family and donate more of my time to spreading goodwill. 

        So my good deed for today was done for a set of people that hold a special place in my heart, kids. They are loving, honest and so unintentionally inspiring. I donated a couple of my textbooks to The Children's Home located in catonsville and also signed up to volunteer as a tutor once a week. The home was established in 1863 and is a residential care facility that provides long and short term services to youth 13 to 21. They also have a diagnosis center that is an emergency placement center for girls 13 to 19, and a treatment foster care program that provides specialized care to youth with behavioral and social/emotional problems. 

        I must say I was very impressed when I visited the home. The personnel there were very kind and receptive and made the trip worthwhile. I didn't get to meet any of the children because they required people have a background check done before they can interact with them which I think is very good. But I got to see the facility and get a general feel for the daily activities and how things were run. I am really thankful for the founders of the home, because they have impacted the community and given so many abandoned, abused and neglected children a second chance. So I encourage everyone to find a home and support it. It could be with your time, money or other resources. Nothing is too small and no effort is ever unappreciated. 

     

http://www.thechildrenshome.net/

Car meter

           As you can imagine I am uber excited about this project. I have 365 opportunities to impact somebody's life positively and also better myself in the process. I really dont know how I intend to complete it, but there's so much good in this world and so many wonderful people to draw inspiration from that I know I'll be fine.
            That being said, the first day was very intimidating for me. My competitive/overachieving side wanted to immediately save the world, but i quickly came to realization that that might not happen today lol. So as I was walking to the school's car garage, still contemplating on what to do, I noticed a parking meter that had expired but still had a car parked. Usually I would have walked right past it, but my brain being on help mode quickly noticed it. So I stopped and filled it up to an hour because I only had 4 quarters and continued on my way. I got into my car and was still deep in thought about what to do when it hit me. I had just performed an act of kindness and didn't even pay attention to it because no one was there to thank me/it seemed so little. There was no applause, no thanks, no smile, no prayers nothing. I was the only one that knew about what I just did and the owner of the car would probably drive off not noticing it either.
           For a moment that was pretty hard for me to come to terms with, but I quickly realized that that is life. You will not receive a "thank you" for every good deed you do. There are tons of people who do extraordinary things everyday that go unnoticed and never stop. So why should this deter me? There has to be something else that motivates you apart from the gratitude, and it's up to you to find out what it is. For me it is the feeling I get and my wanting to always leave a place better than I met it. There is such a sense of pride and improved self worth that wells up inside of you that words really can't describe. All I can say is that I was smiling a whole lot afterward and probably looked a bit crazy. I could have saved the person some money, made them feel good knowing that someone took the time to be nice or had no profound effect on them.Who knows.....
           So today I learned two things.  I learned that not every good deed has to be elaborate, expensive or big and that I will not get thanked for everything I do along the way. I'm actually content with that because the feeling I had today was PRICELESS! I have no clue what I'm going to do tomorrow but I'm looking forward to it. Hmmmm I really have no idea, scary lol... Goodnight World!
        
       

How it all started...

       There is just something about that smile of gratitude, look of appreciation and sense of relief that makes helping people worthwhile. I get such a sense of pride and a feeling of fulfillment that is almost addictive. Before I'm done with one project, I already have 5 lined up in my head waiting to be executed. The problem is that I always think up big and elaborate plans that take considerable effort and time to complete. And as a result I tend to obsess about them till they are completed and do not really take the time to enjoy the spirit of giving because I'm on to the next project. It has almost turned into a competition within myself to do better each time, which is I realize has got to stop.
       However, being in pharmacy school has made it hard for me to be consistent because I devote at least 60 hours a week to it, and still try to maintain a decent personal and social life. I have turn down a lot of volunteer opportunities because of my crazy schedule and feel really bad about it. So I decided to do something about it and that was how the 365 days of goodwill blog was born.
        It's pretty simple, I intend to do a kind act for a stranger everyday for the next 365 days. I decided to blog about it for 2 reasons;
1. To ensure I do not get lazy or "too busy" and forget to stay on track (I was kinda inspired by the movie Julie and Julia lol).
2. To encourage others through my experiences to do the same.
I know the timing is pretty random, but I am a chronic procrastinator (this has been on my mind for about 4 months) and I need not wait any longer. I am not blogging to get praised by or seek the approval of others, rather I want to be a catalyst or a spark of sorts to get people to start thinking about others more. Hopefully I make a bigger impact than I expected by the end of next year. But if not hey, at least I made someone smile each day and that's good enough for me....

***I encourage everyone to join in be it for a day, week, month or a year. And please share your experiences with me and others . Together we can be the change we hope to see in the world***