You can obviously donate money to the charities you support, but there are many ways to help others that do not require donating money. These include:

• Giving blood;
• Helping a friend to decorate or clean up their house;
• Helping a family member in their garden;
• Writing a thank you letter;
• Visiting someone you haven’t visited for ages; and
• Helping a neighbor in any way you like.

It is interesting to note that doing several good deeds in close time proximity is better for you than doing the same good deeds spaced farther apart in time.

Read the complete article at: Create Happiness

But how do we solve this problem?

Read the complete article at: Homeless Cats

1. Determine when and where your golf tournament will take place;
2. Set up lunch for the day of the golf tournament;
3. Decide on the amount of the entrance fee for your golf tournament;
4. Find tournament sponsors;
5. Find local businesses to advertise in the golf tournament; and
6. Promote the golf tournament.

The most important part of golf tournament planning is getting everything done weeks in advance so things go smoothly.

Read the complete article at: How to Setup a Charity Golf Tournament

For example, the loss of loved ones, job loss, domestic violence, divorce, family disputes, depression, untreated mental illness, post traumatic stress disorder, and physical disabilities.

Knowing the real causes of homelessness is the first step to ending homelessness in America and around the world.

Read the complete article at: Top Causes of Homelessness in America

1. Values and Attitudes: The greatest fund raisers have a strong belief in the organizations they work for.
2. Strong Foundation: The best charities have programs that almost sell themselves.
3. Key Sections: The fund raising plan should include 10 key sections.

Read the complete article at: Blueprint For a Powerful Fund Raising Plan – A Summary

Imagine being trapped in an anguished, painful world of your malfunctioning brain… thinking you are alone with your problem, thinking you are “crazy”, ashamed of yourself for not being able to fix the problem, not being able to think clearly, nor stop the unrelenting pain that begins upon waking and ends only upon sleeping… day after day… year after year. You continually think of killing yourself to make the pain stop… but you just never can quite do it.

I have seen statistics that 40% to 60% of homeless people are mentally ill. Imagine the happy and productive lives lost due to mental illness.

And then there’s society. It appalls me to hear all of the jokes made about mentally ill people. Would we make the same “jokes” about people having breast or testicular cancer… I think not! These jokes illustrate society’s “disconnect” from the horrific pain suffered by the mentally ill every day.

Who wants to admit to his or her self that they are mentally ill… let alone to a society that does not understand the biological basis of mental illnesses and the toll it takes on the sufferers.

My take on life is this… “You can handle ANYTHING in life… if your brain is functioning properly”. Take a look at the professor a year or two ago who lectured young people about life while having terminal cancer. I am sure it wasn’t all “peaches and cream” but he was able to get out of bed each day and do what he wanted to do in his last days of life!

About two weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting Elizabeth McIngvale, a brave young 24 year old lady who is the national spokesperson for the International OCD Foundation.

She has been suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) since she was 12 years old, when her normal child’s life was transformed into hell… with intrusive thoughts and rituals that took 12-18 hours of each day.

Her family sought help (against her wishes) and she is much better now, though still struggling with obsessive thoughts and rituals 3-4 hours a day. She completed a college degree at Loyola University in Chicago this past May and started the “Peace of Mind Foundation” to raise awareness of OCD and money for the International OCD Foundation find a cure.

I urge you to listen to her story in her own words at the Peace of Mind Foundation.

Be sure to listen to the other videos of the Peace of Mind Foundation.

You can learn more about OCD at the International OCD Foundation.

I have also posted six articles about mental illness. I highly recommend that you read the articles to educate yourself about mental illnesses and hopefully pass the word on to your friends. Make a difference in someone’s life who is alone and desperately needs you!

“Mental Illness and the Early Insane Asylums – A Shameful Past” discusses the tragic history and naivety about mental illness throughout the ages.

“The Plight of the Mentally Ill in Our Country” discusses how much better our society would be if our governments would provide proper health care for mentally ill people.

“Crazy in America” is about the book by the same title that “is an intense, emotionally-draining portrayal of the lost lives of mentally ill individuals within a system that failed them, a system that failed to understand their illnesses and therefore failed to effectively treat them.”

“Glossary of Symptoms and Mental Illness Affecting Teenagers” is a “must read” article for parents… and for that matter anybody… to quickly and easily learn the basic mental illnesses and their warning signs.

“How to Live With Mental Illness” is a narrative by a “functioning” mentally ill lady about her day-to-day struggles to live life as best she can.

“Therapy Helps Mentally Ill Patients, Family and Friends” discusses the types of therapy available to help mentally ill persons.

Well, I hope that you enjoyed this post and learned some things about the types of mental illnesses, the history of treatment, personal perspectives, and treatment. Please pass along the information to educate others and hopefully help a mentally ill family member, friend, or stranger.

Sincerely,

Sebastian

P.S. I encourage you to join my charity website.

Break down the project into sub-tasks and recruit people with the skills to execute each. Hold meetings in which everyone stays focused on the big picture to develop a reverse time line for the project.

Utilize resolution management, frequent follow-ups, and personal accountability to motivate your team to accomplish great things.

Read the complete article at: Leading Volunteer Projects

She recently brought the following video to my attention which shows the plight of many people in Bolivia. I did not previously know that Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America. People are forced, often as children, to work in atrocious conditions for very little money in order to survive. I am helping her, as well as educating myself and my blog readers, to determine what can be done to help people (and our other fellow beings in the world) out of such a desperate situation.

Firstly, let’s watch the video to get an overall feel for what their situation is. The video is in Spanish which language I personally do not speak. So Mayra was kind enough to provide a brief narrative in English as follows, which I edited a bit for easier reading.

“The video was shot in a small town called Morococala located about 3 hours from the principal city of Oruro, Bolivia. Morococala is a small town with around 300 families, most of whom work at and live around tin mines. The town is poor with really bad conditions, having only one school and a small church.

Marlene is a woman shown in the video who lives in Morococala and has worked inside the mine for about 14 years. She started to work there when her husband began drinking and abandoned their family. She works inside the tin mine to support her family. She, a well as the other miners, chew coca leaves and drink alcohol to help suppress their hunger as they cannot have food inside the mine.

She is one of the only women that works inside the mine. The men primarily work inside the mine bringing rocks outside for the woman to break up and look for the tin ore. The women primarily work outside of the mine since the men think that woman inside the mine are bad luck. The women must also battle the culture of male chauvinism in Bolivia, called machismo, while working and living.

Another woman in the video named Dona Juana took over her deceased husband’s mining job after he died inside the mine, which is a common practice. She has been working breaking up the rocks to find the tin ore for 13 years.

The miners work about 12 to 24 hours to earn 100 bolivianos (Bolivian money), which is less than $10. It is sad see the cruel reality in far towns in my country.”

Stay tuned for How to Start a Charity – Part Two.

Sincerely,

Sebastian

A paraplegic veteran Marine, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is asked to take the place of his deceased brother due to their physical similarities on one of I assume many combined scientific and military space missions designed to exploit the resources of other worlds.

Jake is sent on the mission to a distant world called Pandora that is inhabited by a blue-skined humanoid race called the Na’vi who have a unique language and culture. The Na’vi live in lush and strangely beautiful woodlands on Pandora.

Upon arrival at a home base on Pandora, Jake learns of the greedy intentions of a corporate figurehead, Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), to drive off the Na’vi from the woodlands in order to mine for a precious mineral deposited underground below the woodlands.

Jake is ordered to infiltrate the Na’vi people with the use of an avatar body which resembles the Na’vi physique that is remotely thought-controlled from the home base while lying in a special coffin-like control box. Several other people also control avatars including Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver). Jake uses his avatar to interact with the Na’vi to gather intel for a cooperating military unit spearheaded by a Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) in exchange for the Colonel’s promise of spinal surgery that will allow Jake the use of his legs. Jake is told by Colonel Quaritch to convince the Na’vi to leave their woodlands so the military can bulldoze it and Parker Selfridge’s corporation can begin mining the precious minerals.

Jake, through his avatar, begins to bond with the Na’vi and quickly falls in love with a beautiful Na’vi named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Through her, Jake’s avatar is accepted in the Na’vi community where Jake learns the ways of the Na’vi. Jake learns that the woodlands are actually an interconnected network of trees or neural network similar to the workings of the human brain that stores memories of the Na’vi from their past and also has mystical powers.

Jake realizes that the woodlands and the Na’vi’s special bond with the woodlands is unique and priceless. Other members of the scientific group including Dr. Grace Augustine and some members of the military group including a helicopter pilot Trudy Chacon (Michelle Rodriguez) see the overwhelming value of the Na’vi and their woodlands and the wrongness of destroying it for the supposedly priceless mineral.

Meanwhile, Colonel Quaritch becomes impatient for the Na’vi to leave the woodlands and moves forward with plans to exterminate the Na’vi using his military might. Upon hearing of this plan, Parker Selfridge has second thoughts about destroying the Na’vi. Jake and his allies are forced to take a stand and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora, its native Na’vi, and the priceless woodlands.

I will not give away any more plot details in case you have not seen it yet, but I highly recommend the movie for not only its stunning special effects (i.e. the whole movie) but a great plot… despite what some critics say… and a valuable lesson we all must learn.

Here are several memorable quotes in Avatar by Parker Selfridge illustrating the “screwed up” mentality of the human heads of corporations in the future (and probably some now too).

“Their damn village happens to be resting on the richest deposit of Unobtanium within a 200 klick radius. I mean, look at all that cheddar!’”
- Parker explaining Jake why there is a conflict with the Na’vi.

“This is why we’re here, because this little grey rock sells for 20 million a kilo. This pays for the whole party.”
- Parker arguing with Dr. Augustine.

“Those savages are threatening our whole operation, we’re on the brink of war and you’re supposed to be finding a diplomatic solution.”
- Parker angry with Dr. Augustine.

“Find me a carrot that will get them to move, otherwise it’s gonna have to be all stick.”
- Parker briefing Jake on his mission

“You know, you throw a stick up in the air in this place, and its going to land on some sacred fern for Christ’s sake.”
- Parker to Dr. Augustine after she is explaining the biology of the forests, and its importance to the Na’vi.

Well, Avatar got me thinking… why is it that we humans want to destroy anybody and anything we do not understand… especially when the value is something money could never buy?

Will we acquire wisdom before we destroy our planet, ourselves, and take out most living beings (of whom I believe we are “caretakers” as they are at our… mercy) in the process… all for the soon to be worthless money!

My concern is that each generation of humans takes much more from our Earth than they put back (e.g. less species of plants and animals, less variety of ecosystems, burning gas and oil, mining minerals, dumping trash in landfills, and a more hostile overall environment due to global warming).

Each succeeding generation of humans will thus inherit an Earth that is less than it was the preceeding generation and will have less expectations as to what the Earth should be. For example, generations subsequent to ours will have no memory of wild lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, and bears living anywhere but in a zoo. Child to mother “You mean these animals in the zoo actually lived on their own in the wild years ago… wow?”.

Here is the movie trailer for your enjoyment.

Sincerely,

Sebastian