Making a Difference

One of my greatest passions is reading (and writing) about people making a positive difference in the lives of other people. I came across a great article published in the Daily Herald this week about a man who lives in Alpine, Utah. This man had the opportunity to visit an orphanage in Indonesia. This experience had such an impact on his life that he decided he needed to take action and help the children in Asia and South America with much needed school supplies and scholarships.
I am impressed with the fact that this man saw a need and acted on it because he not only had the means to do so, but also the desire to make it happen. He wanted to share the gift of knowledge and found a way to make it happen. I believe that it doesn't matter if we are rich or poor, we can find ways to reach out to other people in the community and make a positive impact in their lives.
I know that I personally have a lot of work to do toward reaching my goal of making a positive difference in the lives of other people. I am inspired to do better in this area as I read articles of people who take action to help others in need. To read this article, visit http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/north/alpine/article_b07b5827-3993-5b65-8cf7-e7ed1bb18a62.html.

How sad is this????

I came across an article on Fox News that told about a couple who had in Vitro fertilization done in order to get pregnant. This couple was fortunate to have had the procedure work. This mother and father have bonded with this baby-- felt him move, hiccup, kick, etc. Apparently this couple who went to such lengths to conceive this baby was told that the infertility clinic implanted the wrong embryo inside of her. How devastating is that! This lady is about to give birth by c-section in about two weeks. Can you even imagine going through the entire pregnancy and bonding with this baby just to have to give it up? What makes a parent a real parent anyway? Is it just sharing the same genetics? I don't think so.
I can empathize with this couple because my husband and I also had a difficult time getting pregnant. We have been blessed to have two children biologically. We have also been blessed to have a child through adoption. She is no less our child just because we didn't give birth to her. Her birth parents are not the ones who have gone through life with her-- taking care of her. Just because they share the same genes, doesn't make them her parents.
I can also empathize with the couple who are asking for this child because it was their embryo that was implanted into this woman. It would be difficult to know that your child (genetically) was with someone else. However, this baby has already bonded with the parents who are giving birth to him in a couple of weeks. In my opinion, this couple should have the in Vitro procedure and try to have a baby together that has not already bonded to another set of parents. Check out the article at http://www.foxnews.com/. Look under the Health section. The title is Mom Implanted With Wrong Embryo to Give Up Baby.

ACORN in the news--again!

After many scandals associated with ACORN, which stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the House voted to discontinue their federal funding. In my opinion, this is a good thing. Although it has been difficult for me to follow news as much as I should, I have been listening to Glenn Beck on my way home from college. He has been discussing ACORN's most recent scandal about a couple who were posing as a prostitute and her pimp that are advised from ACORN employees to lie about their profession and her money laundering. I heard the audio on Glenn's program. After listening to his program about the scandal, I was pleasantly surprised to see the headline House votes to strip ACORN of all federal funding. Apparently, the Senate has already voted to deny housing and community grant funding from ACORN.
It seems like there have been so many scandals in the news over the past few years that are allowed to continue without consequences to their actions. Although ACORN is known for its left-leaning views, it really doesn't matter to me what political affiliation an organization is associated with. Any time there is corruption involved, every organization (or individual) should be held accountable.
To view the article from the Salt Lake Tribune, visit http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13359311.

Keeping our children safe

What could possibly be more important than keeping our children safe? I can't think of anything more precious than our children. As we are busy raising our children, we often find ourseves needing some advice. With the internet at our fingertips, it is easy to find advice. However, we all need to be careful from whom we take advice. I came across an article in the Salt Lake Tribune about a web-site created by the collaborative efforts of the Utah's Department of Health, Safe Kids Utah and other partners. I checked out the web-site at http://www.safekidsutah.org/ to see what it was all about. I am very impressed with the articles on this web-site. There are articles about a variety of topics: travel tips, amusement ride safety, trampolines, ATVs-- to name a few. There are classes offered to parents, as well as events that the whole family can attend. As I looked further into the web-site, I also noticed a newsletter that gives safety advice on a variety of subjects. There really is something for everyone.
Whether you are a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent or friend, there will certainly be a time when you are going to be responsible to help keep a child safe. Check out the article at http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13291780.

Helping others in the community

I am so inspired to be a better person when I read stories in the news about people who come together in the community and help a family or an individual who is in need of a helping hand. Since most of us have needed (or will need) some help to overcome difficult times in our lives, it is great to know that we can count on family, friends or community members to give us a helping hand when we need it the most. I came across an article in today's paper (Thursday, September 3, 2009) about a recently divorced woman who has three children to raise. In addition to her children, she also has her mother, who has a disability, living with her. She received a flier from her son's preschool that told about the Habitat for Humanity project to build a new home for someone in need. Although she knew it was a long shot, she signed up for the project and attended the meeting for prospective recipients. She and her family were chosen to be the recipients of this wonderful project!
Utah Valley University has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build the home for this family. The university's construction management team will oversee the project. One of the great things about this project is that it is a "win-win" situation for everyone working on the project. The recipient family are required to help build the home-- under the supervision of UVU Construction management team. It also gives the volunteers an opportunity to give service and to add the experience to their resumes.
You can follow the link to the news story at http://heraldextra.com/news/local/central/orem/article_b56446e9-579b-52b0-9ba6-fa88eeec2201.html