Change The World and Change Ourselves

Together We Can Change The World Day (T-Day) is the first Saturday of every month. It is a day in which everyone is encouraged to participate in large or small acts of service to help make the world a better place. As our motto says: Mobilizing Millions, One Person At A Time.

Our T-Day projects can be as simple as lending a helping hand to a friend in need, but they can also be way outside of our comfort zone. Sometimes our projects can have a surprising impact on our lives. Every now and then, a cause comes along that literally rocks our world!

Such is the case for Tina Marie Katz from New York City.

As she began selecting a project for our Kick-Off T-Day on March 7, she discovered a cause that has catapulted her into a whole new world of architectural preservation, entertainment history, media relations, and political maneuvering!

Tina has embraced a project to help save the famous RKO Keith's Theater in Flushing, New York. The Grand Lady, as it is lovingly called, was once one of the most celebrated theaters in New York City. Now it is only a ghost of its former self and its future is in jeopardy.

The theater was opened in 1928 and a vast array of stars have personal connections with the surrounding community and with the theater itself. Since the RKO Keith's was sold in the 1980s, it has been empty and awaiting its fate.

Tina believes the theater is a beautiful and historic building that should be redeveloped and restored. She had her dance recitals there when she was a child, and she is working with a dedicated group to work on fundraising, marketing, non-profit status, community awareness, preservation group awareness and involvement, media awareness and involvement.

Her March T-Day project started a ball rolling with public meetings and media attention. The group has already plotted out a plan of action in getting its non-profit status, website, social networking sites (facebook, youtube, etc.), and fundraising goals.

This project has had a major impact on Tina's life, and her dedication has had a major impact on the preservation efforts. As we say, "Mobilizing Millions, One Person At A Time" is the essence of T-Day, and we encourage you to visit our website at http://www.togetherwecanchangetheworldday.com/ to look at other projects, get ideas, find information about volunteer activities, and register your own favorite T-Day project!

T-Day Hits Home

Just wanted to share a fabulous email I received from MPM Director of Marketing Jacki Varacalli:

Jean, I thought you may want to know your bug is catching onto everyone in our house. The best way to tell this story would be in monologue style, so here goes.

First let me introduce you to everyone. My name is Jacki Varacalli and I work with TWCCTW/MPM (I think we all knew that), my husband’s name is Mark and our 7 year old daughter is Zoe. My 3 year old son’s name is Brandon but because most of his input was “Yeah, ok” or “Let’s do it” I have decided to leave him out of it but just know that he is all about this too.

Sunday morning Zoe came up from the basement with a toy cash register in hand and her brother running behind her.

Zoe: Look Daddy, I’m collecting money for people that don’t have homes!

Mark: That’s a great idea Zoe.

Zoe went running up to me; her mom and pushed the button to open the drawer on the cash register, as she did there was money sticking out every where, coins and paper money both.

Jacki: Zoe why don’t you put your money away so you don’t lose it.

Zoe: No, I’m giving it to people that don’t have a home!

Mark: It’s just the money from the kid’s bank down stairs.

Jacki: No it’s not, that’s her money from her birthdays, chores and even the tooth fairy too.

Zoe: But mom… I want to give it to the people that don’t have a home!

Jacki: I think it’s a great idea Zoe and very kind of you.

That afternoon she started doing the dishes.

Zoe: I’m doing chores so I can earn more money for the homeless, I don’t want points, I want money for this.

We have a points system so the kids earn points to get things they want including TV time, computer time, special outings and extras.

Mark: Since you are doing this for a cause I think you can earn points and money for doing these chores.

Jacki: I think that’s a great idea and I will match everything she earns and donate it to her cause.

The next day Zoe came home from school very excited.

Zoe: Mom, Nicholas is going to help me collect money! He is going to start doing chores so he can get money to give to the people that don’t have homes.

This brought on a very long conversation about how we can send out fliers to her classmates to let them know what she is doing and how she can do this for her own T-Day project. She was involved in the school grounds clean up for this month’s T-Day project so she was very excited to do this on her own; she has always been very grown up. It then turned into how we can have the children that raise the money take it to the shelter on Sat. 4/4. Then she decided when she grows up she would like to start a shelter of her own so that no one ever has to sleep outside again. This is something that has bothered her since we were walking around DC when she was 3 and said “Mommy, why is that man sleeping on the side walk?” Since that day we have planned to do a Habitat for Humanity project as soon as she turns 16(the minimum build age).

I am so thankful to TWCCTW, we were fortunate enough to host the SIFA choir children and we were able to be involved in their entire US trip by following their journey through their blog. I think a lot of the conversations that came from that and now T-Day are ones children usually don’t have until they are much older and less selfish. My husband and I volunteer with a group of friends and family every year for the National MS Society so the practice of giving back is nothing new to our family but to have my 7 year old start her own T-Day project made me so proud. Way to go Zoe!

Jean, we now have 2 projects scheduled for the April T-Day and I will let you know how both go. Thank you for making T-Day a reality, I can already see how it is going to spread so widely and that many changes are about to happen.

Jacki Varacalli
jacki@mypowermall.com

Professional Service

Projects for Together We Can Change The World Day (T-Day) come in all shapes and sizes. When people consciously participate in service projects on the first Saturday of every month, they frequently do something that is completely different from what they do for a living.

Perhaps accountants are painting walls in public housing units, or bus drivers are cleaning up a riverbed, or bakers are visiting lonely senior citizens, or students are creating a television program about volunteerism for public access cable.

It can be a lot of fun to dive into a project that falls outside our own comfort zone! It gives us a chance to learn new things, think new ways, and see the world from a slightly different perspective.

But sometimes a T-Day project is an opportunity for us to utilize our career skills in a new and different way through pro bono activities. Several reports of projects from March 7 show us a side of volunteering that combines people's individual skills and talents to help make the world a better place.

Kathy is a graphic artist, and she spent T-Day creating an invitation for a gala fundraising event for the Duwamish Tribe in Washington state. She explains that the Duwamish Tribe has over 500 members who will benefit from the funds, which will be used to cover the cost of operating expenses for the tribe. Also, the gala will be attended by approximately 200 people, who will have a chance to experience the culture and history of the Duwamish people. Kathy is already planning her April, May, and June T-Day project as a follow-up to March 7, as she coordinates donated artwork and mails the printed invitations, and creates a catalog for the gala.

Plenty of computer specialists have donated their time and talents to help out those who need to upgrade their technological capacities.

Gary spent the day with two senior citizens programming their computers to access the Internet and teach them how to do basic web surfing and most importantly send and receive email from friends and family. Both ladies became very excited as they were able to see emails they created being sent to a family member or friend. The email program they wanted to use is IncrediMail which makes it very easy for a novice to send colorful emails with animation.

Jim helped a small non-profit upgrade its five donated pcs with software downloads and basic set-up and maintenance. The computers needed to have their hard drives cleaned and defragmented to make them run more smoothly.

Jean is an experienced manager of non-profit organizations, and she spent the day with the Board of Directors of a local youth development program to assist them with strategic planning, Board recruitment, and budgeting.

Mark is an attorney, and spent T-Day volunteering at his city's legal clinic for low-income families facing homelessness and dealing with their legal issues. He has volunteered at the clinic before, but now intends to offer his services there on the first Saturday of every month as a T-Day project.

Maggie works in the dietary division of a large hospital, and spent T-Day volunteering at a soup kitchen in her community. Because of her massive experience in food handling, food preparation, food service, and food sanitation, she was treated "like a rock star" at the soup kitchen because the staff and other volunteers were thrilled to have someone with her expertise on board for the day.

Those are just some of the stories of people who gave freely of their time and talents on T-Day by offering their "work" as volunteers. Great job!

Now is the time to plan what YOU are going to do to help make the world better on the next T-Day, April 4.

For The Want of a Nail

We've all heard the old proverb about little actions having large consequences. In the context of Together We Can Change The World Day, we can find some fresh insights into the role service plays in a world that is hurting for love.

For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

On Saturday, March 7, we had our big kick-off of T-Day, and projects large and small all over the world provided a loud and clear message that each one of us CAN and MUST be the change in our world today.

Every act of kindness and love starts a chain reaction of amazing consequences. Every act of kindness and love brings the world closer to a place of personal responsibility, justice for all, and peace.

The next T-Day is the first Saturday in April, the 4th, and projects are already being listed on our website www.togetherwecanchangetheworldday.com to recruit volunteers, raise awareness of key issues, and to inspire. Please add your T-Day project today!