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Charity of the Month

CHARITY OF THE MONTH - HEIFER INTERNATIONAL

In December I am riding for Heifer International. Founded in 1944, Heifer International works with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth. Its approach is more than a handout. Heifer provides animals (e.g., heifers, goats, water buffalos, chickens, rabbits, fish, and bees) and training to impoverished people in over 30 countries. The animals can give milk, meat, or eggs; provide draft power; or form the basis of a small business. Communities make their own decisions about what crops, animals, and market strategies make sense for their everyday conditions and experiences.

Heifer International is based on 12 Cornerstones, such as Sustainability; Genuine Need and Justice; and Gender and Family Focus. Perhaps the best known Cornerstone is Passing on the Gift, in which Heifer recipient families pass on the offspring of their animals to others in need. In this way, whole communities can raise their standard of living.

A donation to Heifer International also can make a wonderful alternative holiday gift. Instead of yet another sweater for Grandma that she really doesn’t need, why not donate a Heifer animal or a share of an animal in her honor? Does your child really need so many new toys? Instead of five new toys, give him/her three new toys and a Heifer flock of chicks. Heifer has honor cards to let your loved ones know of your gift on their behalf.

I have set up a Team Heifer page to support Heifer International through A Year of Centuries. My goal is to raise $500. Please make your donation through https://teamheifer.heifer.org/AYearofCenturies. If you would like more information about Heifer’s work, please visit www.heifer.org. Whether you give to honor a loved one or make a regular donation, thank you for taking steps to transform the world for the better.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Tribute to Easy Reader

Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite actors.  He has played complex and memorable characters in such movies as Unforgiven, Glory, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Bucket List as well as Million Dollar Baby, for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.  In the last few years, I’ve enjoyed his work as host of the Discovery Channel’s Through the Wormhole.  What’s really cool, though, is that I first got to know Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader on The Electric Company.

Running over six seasons on PBS from 1971 to 1977, The Electric Company was produced by the Children’s Television Workshop, the same company that brought us Sesame Street.  The Electric Company was aimed at slightly older children to reinforce their reading skills.  As such, the humor was a little more sophisticated, too.  Heck, it’s great for adults, too.  Check out just how groovy Easy Reader is:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u8MY7PjSXU
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