In January, a small group of residents answered the call by then President-Elect Obama to honor the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday through a national “Day of Service” first introduced by the Clinton Administration in 1994.  The group, Central Coast United for Change (CCUC), decided to conduct a food drive from January 17 to 9, but it wasn’t just any food drive, it was a “community-organizing style” food drive. This is the type of grassroots activism and action that elected President Obama—regular folks making a difference.

CCUC approached Wendy Lewis, Volunteer Coordinator of the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo with the idea of a door-to-door food drive throughout the County. The neighbor-to-neighbor appeal had worked in developing relationships and empowering people to action during their work for President Obama.  The target was set and CCUC committed to organize and coordinate the event for Lewis. CCUC also approached Kathy Hayes, the Director of Operations of the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County, with the same plan of action.

Read more...

Are you tired of traveling just for the sake of traveling?  If so, ICARE International might be your answer. For the last three years, my wife Jay and I have traveled with I CARE to Mexico and Guatemala to help restore vision to thousands of some of the poorest people in the Western Hemisphere. Since 1989, ICARE has organized trips to Mexico, South and Central America, and U.S. Indian Reservations. Each I CARE mission includes volunteer optometrists and other professionals who give free eye exams, eyeglasses, cataract surgeries, prescription sun glasses and/or hearing aids to indigenous people who can’t afford them. For the past 20 years, I CARE has helped hundreds of thousands to not only see or hear better, but has restored their livelihood and given them a new start. Most of the people served have never seen a Doctor.

Read more...