November 26th, 2009 admin
Here is a picture one of my nieces drew for the Kids for Kids part of the Africa project after she saw all of the other kids’ drawings on the website. She said the drawing was of her and one of the children in Africa. As you can see from the drawing her name is Eve. She is 5 years old.
She also sponsored me for the Fundraiser walk I organized (which I will send a separate email about) for 3 pounds (about $4.50), which was 30p per km I walked. (I asked my sister where she gets her money from as at 5 she doesn’t get an allowance yet and the response was that the house rule is that if mommy or daddy leave spare change lying around unattended, then it is fair game for my two young nieces to claim it. So when Eve looked in her piggy bank, she determined that she could afford to give 3 pounds of her hard earned/diligently found! money to sponsor me for the Africa project.) It was a real treat to get to interact with her in this way so a big thank you for the Kids for Kids theme this year. Great idea.
Gassho,
David
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
November 26th, 2009 admin
For months I collected items for the big yard sale. Friends enjoyed donating “stuff” for this benefit. The Saturday sale was a fun day and we made $325.00 for the Africa Vulnerable Children Project. Yeah!!
As I read the Living Compassion Fun Raisers Blog it’s easy to get tears in my eyes. I feel connected with so many people across the world who also open their hearts and creative minds to the community of people in Kantalomba, Zambia. I appreciate all of our efforts to make an easier and more comfortable life for our children and friends in Kantolomba. As I prepared for the big yard sale day, I felt very motivated and excited and happy to be part of this benefit. It was truly a fun raiser. All the time and effort was wonderfully fulfilling. Again I feel so blessed and as it is said so often, “gratitude wants to give,” again and again.
Thank you Living Compassion for this blessed opportunity. It’s been great fun.
Gassho, Christine in North Carolina
Read the yard sale tips flyer for more information about having your own yard sale.
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
November 26th, 2009 admin
Hello friends and family,
I DID IT! I closed my cycling gap! We got home from our fifteen-day, 1,067 mile cycling tour on Tuesday Sept.1st. My friends Bob, Ric, and I finished our tour on the Blue Ridge Parkway, past Mount Mitchell, down Town Mountain Road, through downtown Asheville and through West Asheville to my house. Aahhh, to be home again.
It was a challenging route this year, once we hit the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. What a surprise when these mountains were more of a challenge than the Rocky Mountains last year. Steeper climbs that roll close together, narrow roads, at times no road shoulders, coal trucks in Kentucky on flood damaged roads, lots of traffic when approaching cities… It’s all part of our great country and I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience it!
Some cycling tour highlights were:
Cycling through rural Wisconsin, great roads and low traffic.
Spending the night with my relative (our Grandmothers are sisters) Andrea and Joe; Beautiful home and land with Alpacas and horses. Check it out: www.alpacanation.com Andrea’s Alpacas
Ferry ride across Lake Michigan and swimming in Lake Michigan.
Camping at the home of Amish family Mervin Miller, wife, and 12 children (6boys, 6girls!) outside of LaGrange, Indiana. This was great! What a privilege.
Hearing the sound of horse and buggy on the road, and getting a horse and buggy ride!
I really, really enjoyed cycling through the Amish areas of Indiana and Ohio.
Friendly and welcoming people at Harvest Fest in Monroeville, Indiana; And my first Demolition Derby…very interesting…(I say with a smile.)
Cycling on the Rails To Trails bike paths in Wisconsin and Ohio. These paths are so awesome to cycle on!!!… No traffic, very relaxing with great scenery. www.railstotrails.org
First seeing the huge Ohio River, and camping near it.
Swimming in a big lake that we passed, on a very hot August day.
Meeting other cyclists who are also cycling across the country. Met four college guys from England and Scotland, a man from the Netherlands, Michael from New Orleans-10,000 miles or bust- www.thoughts.com/wingnutonabike All cycling fully-loaded bikes…
Cycling through the countryside and finding “Harvest Table” in Meadowview, VA, a delicious healthy restaurant - soup and salad- yummmmm.
Meeting Phillip and his two grandkids and lots of miniature donkeys, so cute. Vilas, NC. Need a miniature donkey? Write: donkeypoopoo15@yahoo.com
Cycling the Blue Ridge Parkway is always amazingly beautiful.
Eight states (Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina), fifteen days, 1,057 miles, three friends, three bikes.
Last highlight: Cycling up my driveway safe and sound and seeing my happy excited dog Daisy.
Together we have raised over $2,500 for the Africa Vulnerable Children Project this year! I am really thrilled with your participation and support. This money will make a huge difference in the lives of so many children and parents living in Kantalomba compound, Zambia. Hooray! Let’s all do an African celebration dance together, like I see the woman doing in Kantalomba compound! (See the videos and enjoy their songs online www.livingcompassion.org.) I am excited to be part of this transformation. And I am excited to have accomplished my goal of cycling across the United States.
Thanks a million, again and again, to my friends and family. Love and peace,
Christine Kemp North
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ALL!!!!!
Christine Kemp North CLOSED HER CYCLING GAP!!! PACIFIC TO ATLANTIC OCEAN!!
“Closing the Gap” August 2009 Cycling Fundraiser
Africa Vulnerable Children Project
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
August 28th, 2009 admin
Cheri,
In April I called in to the talk show and shared my tale of woe. I had come out of my fourth shoulder surgery which was unsuccessful. The surgeon had called with news that I needed a total joint replacement. I went into a tailspin, but then remembered that it was my choice to suffer. Pain, as you have said, is inevitable but suffering is optional.
At the threshold of a breakthrough.
I will be getting the Titanium shoulder with the chrome finish. No biggie.
But I had, a few weeks earlier, dedicated my practice with a charity garden to give produce to my neighbors as a means of generating donations to the Africa project. I was limited in my physical activities but had laid out with string the size of the new and bigger garden. Now, I am a can-do kind of guy. A rugged New Englander who built his own clinic, house, boat and worked as a grease ball mechanic to get me and my family thru grad school. But asking for help? No thank you. I can do it myself.
But now I couldn’t. What we would do for others we wouldn’t do for our self. So, I picked up the phone and let go of my identity. “Hey, I need a hand tilling the soil for this charity garden…”
Well, the help came. And came. And came. Hours and hours of sweaty backs and smiles and lemonade. A few times I went out to the garden and laughed. I was part of something bigger than my egoic will. And it felt wonderful even though the shoulder was paining me something bad.
A half dozen professional growers jumped at the chance to donate starter plants, seaweed fertilizer and steer manure. I played classical music with sonic overlays to stimulate plant growth, sprayed exotic mist laden with secret mystery to increase flowering. A neighbor brought blossoming plants to attract pollinating bees. Another gave me materials to build a farm stand in front of my house with a roof and a hand-painted sign offering free food and the invitation to support needy kids in a slum in Africa. People brought plastic bags for others to take home the free produce. Others brought fruit from their trees to share at my little oasis of generosity.
It is still early in the season, I have some one hundred plants pumping out delicious food. A friend came over to visit, I plied him with Swiss Chard, cucumbers and zucchini squash and little gold tomatoes. The next morning he invited me over for dinner and presented me with two gold maple leaf coins as a donation. I mean he gets a few gold tomatoes from me and gives me $1920 in gold. I came home to my desk and opened the new video on Kantolomba, the coins in my hand.
I don’t know if it was the faces of the children, their elders, the voices singing Acapella or the living compassion at work, but it squeaked open my heart a little wider. The tears of gratitude. And I have found a way to express it.
But the story doesn’t end here.
A good buddy lives a few houses across the park and walks his dogs past my farm stand. He calls to me just as I’m wiping my eyes and sees the rare emotional discharge in public.
I show him the gold (two ounces is really heavy, not like a couple of quarters) and he says he wants to buy them. He offers $1900, smelling a deal. I had checked the internet for the spot price and told him the market value. But he wouldn’t have it, saying he never pays retail and besides, “I’m not gonna get hosed on buying anything from anybody.”
I closed my eyes for a few breaths. I replied, “A street guy might think he was getting cheated, but another guy might see this as an invitation from God to show up.”
I’m not sure, but that seemed to turn his heart. “Okay, I’ll give you two grand. The pictures of the kids in Africa convinced me, not this God talk…..”
The magic continues, to be part of something bigger than my personal security and control.
Thank you for everything. I have no complaints, whatsoever.
Gasshō
Rico
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
July 9th, 2009 admin
“CLOSING THE GAP”
A LONG DISTANCE CYCLING EVENT TO BENEFIT
THE AFRICA VULNERABLE CHILDREN PROJECT
AUGUST 17 – SEPTEMBER 3, 2009
Hello friends, supporters and sangha,
This August, 2009, I will be cycling again to raise money for the Africa Vulnerable Children Project, www.livingcompassion.org. As many of you know, in 2008 I completed a 3155 mile cycling adventure across the Western United States, into Canada, and finishing in Wisconsin. This was an awesome trip and together we raised over $3,500 for the people living in Kantolomba Compound, Ndola, Zambia. Thank you again to all last year’s participants.
This year in addition to supporting Kantolomba Compound, I am sponsoring two children who are now eating and going to school. Their names are Sumba Bulaya, a completely adorable 6 years old boy and, Christine Kalenga also a smiley beautiful little 6 year old girl. Both of these children are considered “most vulnerable”, meaning among other things, the remaining living parent finds it very difficult to feed and care for their child or children.
August 17, 2009 I will be cycling self-contained from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin south to my home in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s about 1,000 miles of cycling in about two and a half weeks time. I will be closing my cycling gap between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. When completed, I will have cycled from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.
Also, I hope to assist in closing the gap between extreme monetary poverty and extreme monetary wealth. Together we can close the huge gap between wealth in our country and poverty in Africa; the gap between haves and have-nots; between abundant food, clothing, shelter, clean water, sanitation, land, beauty, opportunity, etc. and the opposite. Starvation, unclean water, disease, no health care, no sanitation, roofs collapsing during monsoon season, children not having an opportunity for schooling… These situations are life’s daily challenges for the citizens of Kantolomba Compound in Ndola, Zambia. These realities are not so “far away” on our beautiful abundant small planet Earth.
When we step back and see our awesome earth’s abundance, we can know that a shift is needed to include all people’s basic needs.
Closing the gap is an opportunity for us to shift, and share our abundance. The work in Kantolomba is making a huge difference in people’s lives. Africa Vulnerable Children Project has been feeding and schooling hundreds of children, has dug a well providing clean water, has stabilized roofs, and is currently constructing a medical building; Above and beyond providing basic needs for people, this work has given back some dignity to people who had been forgotten. This work unites us all in humanity. Every dollar donated goes directly to Kantolomba where children are fed while attending school. Please see the website for more details about this work It is impressive what a small group of people can do. Please consider supporting this nonprofit organization dedicated to peace and service. Thank you for helping to close the gap.
All donations are Tax-deductable ; 501C Nonprofit
100% of your donations go to the Africa Vulnerable Children Project
HOW TO DONATE:
- By check – Checks* can be made payable to Living Compassion and mailed to:
Living Compassion,
P.O. Box 1756
Murphys, CA 95247
*Please note on the check that it is for “Christine’s Cycling”
Thank you so very much for your support and your participation in this fun and exciting fundraiser!
In huge rolling gratitude,
Christine Kemp North
“We cannot exist as a little island of well-being in a world where two-thirds of the people go to bed hungry every night.” - Eleanor Roosevelt in a speech 8 December 1959
Recent accomplishments in Kantolomba include:
- Sponsoring adults in Africa in vocational training.
- Providing meals for over 350 children in Kantolomba. For most of these children, the meals they receive are the difference between life and death. For a close-up and very moving account of the children assisted in Kantolomba, please watch the video
- Employing over 30 people in Kantolomba.
- Providing Microfinance opportunities in Kantolomba as an avenue for project sustainability.
- 15,000 liters of clean water are now flowing into Kantolomba Compound every day from the new Living Compassion well.
Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. - Goethe
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
July 7th, 2009 admin
All Shades of Green is a retail and online store, design center, and educational hub based in Los Angeles that serves as an inspiring and practical resource for people who want to “go green” from head to toe, kitchen to garden, and home to office. All Shades of Green provides eco-conscious products of all varieties that make it easy to live green in all aspects of life.
This summer, All Shades of Green is offering you an opportunity to support Living Compassion while making sustainable choices through an online fundraiser that will last all summer. Starting today through August 31st, when you purchase items from the All Shades of Green website, http://www.allshadesofgreen.net/, you can choose to give 5% of the sales to Living Compassion. Simply visit the website and type in the code LCMay2009 when placing your order.
These eco-friendly (and now community friendly) products make for great graduation, birthday or any occasion gifts! So share the gift of environmental awareness with products that aren’t just “greenwashed,” but selected with care by a team of people who are as passionate about peace and sustainability as you are.
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
July 7th, 2009 admin
Watch Jake and Eli on video.
My name is Elijah Carrick. I am 9 years old. I am going to help Edward. I would like to raise $250, and I will send it all at once as soon as I get it, probably about 5 months, but you never know, it may come in sooner than you think. My brother, Jacob, decided to help Paul and it encouraged me to help Edward and I couldn’t stand seeing the video of all those poor kids. My mom, Marnie, and my brother, showed it to me. I saw another Elijah on the list of kids and I would have partnered with him, but he was already partnered. I hope you believe that I really am 9. I can’t wait to see the smile on Edward’s face when you send the picture to me, that is, if he is smiling in the picture. I plan to ask some of my classmates for money, I will use the money I make at my town-wide garage sale, I will give $10 of my own money, and ask some of my family. How old is Edward? Does he have any parents? I would love to send Edward toys, but money is what he really needs. Earlier this year I cleaned out my whole room and donated a bunch of toys to kids who live closer.
My name is Jacob Carrick. I am 9 years old. I am hoping to raise $350-$400 dollars to help Paul. The money I hope will help feed, educate, board and clothe him. I found out about Paul because one day I was talking to my mom, Marnie Carrick, about poor kids in Africa and she showed me a video of poor kids in Africa on the computer. It was on your website. Then my mom asked if I wanted to look at a fundraising activity to help poor kids in Africa. I said OK. There were three kids that I wanted: Paul, Franco and Frank. So I wrote their names down on three sheets of paper and put them in a jar and picked one. I picked Paul. I hope the money I raise will help Paul. I will probably send the money all at once in 4-6 months.
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
July 2nd, 2009 admin
Here’s the toughest part of putting on our Annual Yard Sale to benefit Living Compassion’s African Vulnerable Children Project: finding the words to express our deep, heartfelt gratitude for your participation. So, we’ll quote Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” We treasure the gift of your contribution to our life and to the lives of the folks of Kantolomba.
We raised over $3,200 this time around and it’s a bonus to know that it will go further in Zambia because of the favorable exchange rate.
We keep doing this because it is so much FUN … and we’ve succeeded in raising over $15,000 in the past 5 years.
We deeply appreciate that you continue to say YES to our fund-raising effort …. and that is what puts the FUN in it.
We don’t worry about the “sorry state of the world” because we share this life with folks like you.
THANK YOU!
In Joy, Sande & Lin
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
April 24th, 2009 admin
LIVING BEYOND KARMA PROJECT
Artist Carolyn Stewart has been a Zen student and Sangha member of the Zen Monastery Peace Center for the past 10 years.
Cheri Huber, the founder of the Zen Monastery Peace Center in Murphys and the Palo Alto Zen Center (formerly the Mountain View Zen Center), recently held a three-month long e-mail class entitled “Living Beyond Karma” in which she challenged, encouraged and supported us in creating and completing a project that would connect us to our authentic nature—something that would bring us a deeper sense of well-being and connection with life. I chose to create a collection of collages and assemblage based on quotations from my favorite teachers (including Cheri), authors, philosophers and poets.
All proceeds from the sale of these works will go to benefit Living Compassion in our collaboration with the village of Kantalomba in Zambia, Africa, to feed, clothe and educate nearly 400 children who have lost one or both parents to aids. In addition, we have provided the financial support for the villagers to dig their first well, build metal roofs for their mud homes so they don’t collapse during the rainy season, and build their first medical center. We invite you to join us in supporting this work of transforming lives and ending suffering.
For more information, please visit www.livingcompassion.org
Posted in Fun Raiser Stories
