Search Results for: blog blessings in a backpack

‘Blessings’ Founder Faces Prison

As recent events grimly reminded us, good and evil are often intertwined and that can also be true of social consciousness. I was sad to read recently that Stan Curtis, the man who founded “Blessings in a Backpack” is facing counts of tax fraud and money laundering. “Blessing in a Backpack” is an incredible program that was started by Curtis, a stockbroker who grew up orphaned.  Each week, the program sends backpacks filled with food items such as peanut butter, tuna, crackers, and cereal home with school children who live in food insecure households.  The food is donated by local companies … Continue reading →

Blessings in a Backpack

I devour PEOPLE magazine every week and have for more years than I care to say. This week, the magazine had an interesting article about people trying to help out those who are hungry, mainly children. Stats show that about 16 million children are in what is called “food insecure’ homes. That is, there are times when these children are hungry and there is no food. Tama Clapper made a vow that no child in Gillette, Wyoming (pop. 30,000) would go hungry. She was inspired when told by a school principal that about 50 of the 430 children in the … Continue reading →

Think Positively and Save Money

Thinking positively can help you save money. When you focus on the blessings in your life rather than on the things you don’t feel that you can afford, you will naturally be happier and require less of the material things. Also, thinking positively may help you figure out creative solutions the next time you feel as though you need to acquire something expensive. We do our best thinking when we are in a positive emotional state. Here are some ways that you can think positively about being frugal and consequently save money. Have goals and imagine how your life will … Continue reading →

A Taste of Hunger

It sounds ironic, doesn’t it? A Taste of Hunger? But, that is the name of a recent event held in Memphis. It was sponsored by Balmoral Presbyterian and the Memphis Jewish Federation Anti-Poverty Task Force to show the hunger in the surrounding area. The event invited many community leaders to the event to experience the local food disparity for themselves. A few weeks ago, our pastor, who attended the event, told us that Memphis is one of the hungriest cities in the nation. The gallop poll showed that 26 percent of the people in Memphis said that they couldn’t buy … Continue reading →

Teens Turning Green

Sometimes I think all the young people of today think about is cell phones, video games, and iPods, then I read about an organization like Teens Turning Green and I have renewed hope for the future. Teens Turning Green is a student-run organization that helps other teens go green. That is, not just become more aware of environmental issues, but also green up their own lives by living a healthier lifestyle. Teens Turning Green began in 2005 when Judi Shils and her then 13-year-old daughter Erin Schrode got together with 80 other teens concerned about how chemicals could be harming … Continue reading →

Arby’s Pledges to End Childhood Hunger

I don’t know about you, but I tend to think more highly of a company when it tries to give back to the community. Not long ago, I blogged about Blessings in a Backpack, a program to send food home with children who might not otherwise get any. It breaks my heart to think about children going to bed hungry at night. Today, I was thinking about lunch and there is an Arby’s restaurant around the corner from where I work, so I looked up their web page. I had no idea they were trying to fight childhood hunger. Arby’s … Continue reading →

It Is Great To Work From Home In The Winter!

With winter on its way, I am once again very thankful to be a home-based professional. As much as I have been careful to avoid the subject of winter because I did not want to acknowledge that it was in fact on the way, I can no longer do so. A few inches of wet, heavy snow has already fallen here in New Hampshire, where I have been for the past few days. That wet, heavy snow (or a car accident related thereto) has caused a power outage at the hotel where we are staying – and a whole lot … Continue reading →

Safety: What You Should Teach

Truth be told, many of the things that I’m going to talk about in this blog were listed under things that should be covered in kindergarten by many of the sources that I’m using to compile my standards. I have two problems with this. One is that I don’t want you to think od safety or health issues as a checklist that you’ve taught. Safety needs to be taught over and over and over again. Anyone who has been in a serious emergency and survived or helped someone else survive, will tell you that the ability not to panic was … Continue reading →