This summer was another busy time for training. As you can see by the numbers below, there was a lot of activity that will bring more hope for future foster children.
3 Directors Training Institutes
• 46 trainees
• 8 Trainers
• 4 Host Couples
• 2 Child Abuse Specialists
• 3 Host camps:
Omaha NE., Portland OR. & Madison AL.
14 NEW camps trained from:
Iowa (2), Nebraska, Illinois, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Arizona, Washington, West Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Florida, Singapore.
Two Passing the Scepter classes
• 23 Trainees
• 3 Trainers
• 2 Host Couples
• 2 Host Camps:
Tulsa OK. & Costa Mesa CA.
14 Current camps represented
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Mid-Year Donor Report 2010
Hello Friends and Family,
I’ve made it half way through my fourth year now, and I wanted to give you an update on how the support raising is going.
I always have two numeric goals when it comes to fundraising, and one connecting goal.
Goal number one - raise my budget for the year, which is usually my salary plus a little bit more. Last year, I raised about 80% of my budget, and I’m really working hard at hitting the 100% mark this year.
Goal number two - have at least 100 donors giving to my budget. Last year, I had 92 different donors, so I set a new goal this year to add 30 new donors. Counting for the fact that I’ll probably lose a few donors, if I add 30 new donors, I should have at least 100 donors for 2010. This is a critical mark that I have to make. I have already added 15 new donors this year, and I’m working toward another 15. Several new donors could only give a moderate amount, but they still count as a new donor whatever the amount may be.
If you’ve been thinking of making a donation, but thought your amount wouldn’t add up to help enough, please understand, it all adds up and every little bit helps. Donations can be monthly or annually, whatever is good for you. Besides, even a little bit helps me to achieve my 100 donor goal for the year. This way, I’m concentrating on connecting with donors, as opposed to connecting with dollars.
Goal number three – connecting with donors. It’s sitting and talking to donors who are helping our cause. Some donors are struggling with their own finances or family issues, so talking and praying with them is a way for me to help the donor who is helping me. I pray that all is going well for you and your family. If not, let me know and we’ll pray about it with you.
Any questions or comments, please let me know.
Jeff Juhala
Hello Friends and Family,
I’ve made it half way through my fourth year now, and I wanted to give you an update on how the support raising is going.
I always have two numeric goals when it comes to fundraising, and one connecting goal.
Goal number one - raise my budget for the year, which is usually my salary plus a little bit more. Last year, I raised about 80% of my budget, and I’m really working hard at hitting the 100% mark this year.
Goal number two - have at least 100 donors giving to my budget. Last year, I had 92 different donors, so I set a new goal this year to add 30 new donors. Counting for the fact that I’ll probably lose a few donors, if I add 30 new donors, I should have at least 100 donors for 2010. This is a critical mark that I have to make. I have already added 15 new donors this year, and I’m working toward another 15. Several new donors could only give a moderate amount, but they still count as a new donor whatever the amount may be.
If you’ve been thinking of making a donation, but thought your amount wouldn’t add up to help enough, please understand, it all adds up and every little bit helps. Donations can be monthly or annually, whatever is good for you. Besides, even a little bit helps me to achieve my 100 donor goal for the year. This way, I’m concentrating on connecting with donors, as opposed to connecting with dollars.
Goal number three – connecting with donors. It’s sitting and talking to donors who are helping our cause. Some donors are struggling with their own finances or family issues, so talking and praying with them is a way for me to help the donor who is helping me. I pray that all is going well for you and your family. If not, let me know and we’ll pray about it with you.
Any questions or comments, please let me know.
Jeff Juhala
Monday, August 9, 2010
DJ at 8 weeks
Parvo Puppy and the Mis-Adventures of the “Dog Wiper”
After months of searching for a family dog, we finally settled on a German Shepherd mix puppy. It’s actually been a laborious task of researching and visiting many local shelters to try and find the right dog for our family. We didn’t want a puppy, I should say, Janet and I didn’t want a puppy, but the kids did. We decided having a puppy would be a great experience for the kids to live through and realize the ups and downs of having a puppy. We stumbled across a litter of nine pups at the Irvine shelter and fell in love with a little guy they named Dunnigan. We said okay and picked him up after he had been neutered. Eight weeks old, 10 lbs. and he was ours. The kids settled on a new name, DJ. We had the dear lad three whole days when he got sick. We had him checked and he was positive for that dreaded puppy virus Parvo. We discovered that the people at the shelter and the vet don’t even like to say the word Parvo out loud. It’s sort of the black plague of the dog kingdom.
The vet said a Parvo Puppy has a 20% chance of surviving if you do nothing, a 90% chance of survival if you hospitalize them for at least three days at $1000 a day, or a 50/50 chance if you buy the meds and administer them yourself at home. That means IV’s twice a day and 4 different shots every 8, 12 and 24 hours. So, I became a part-time Vet, getting up at all hours to give shots and clean up all the doggy messes. You see, Parvo makes the pups vomit and have diarrhea for 4-6 days, all day long. Someone asked me if I had become the “Dog Whisperer” and I said no, I’m the “Dog Wiper”, a far less glamorous job I can assure you. After a very tiring and heart-breaking week of meds, money, and messes to clean up, the skin-and-bones young pup turned the corner. DJ is now Parvo-free, weighs 17 pounds, and is acting like a true puppy once again! He is both a joy and a pain with his razor sharp little teeth constantly finding our flesh and bone. We know his mother was a Shepherd, but those teeth make me think his father was a great white shark!
After months of searching for a family dog, we finally settled on a German Shepherd mix puppy. It’s actually been a laborious task of researching and visiting many local shelters to try and find the right dog for our family. We didn’t want a puppy, I should say, Janet and I didn’t want a puppy, but the kids did. We decided having a puppy would be a great experience for the kids to live through and realize the ups and downs of having a puppy. We stumbled across a litter of nine pups at the Irvine shelter and fell in love with a little guy they named Dunnigan. We said okay and picked him up after he had been neutered. Eight weeks old, 10 lbs. and he was ours. The kids settled on a new name, DJ. We had the dear lad three whole days when he got sick. We had him checked and he was positive for that dreaded puppy virus Parvo. We discovered that the people at the shelter and the vet don’t even like to say the word Parvo out loud. It’s sort of the black plague of the dog kingdom.
The vet said a Parvo Puppy has a 20% chance of surviving if you do nothing, a 90% chance of survival if you hospitalize them for at least three days at $1000 a day, or a 50/50 chance if you buy the meds and administer them yourself at home. That means IV’s twice a day and 4 different shots every 8, 12 and 24 hours. So, I became a part-time Vet, getting up at all hours to give shots and clean up all the doggy messes. You see, Parvo makes the pups vomit and have diarrhea for 4-6 days, all day long. Someone asked me if I had become the “Dog Whisperer” and I said no, I’m the “Dog Wiper”, a far less glamorous job I can assure you. After a very tiring and heart-breaking week of meds, money, and messes to clean up, the skin-and-bones young pup turned the corner. DJ is now Parvo-free, weighs 17 pounds, and is acting like a true puppy once again! He is both a joy and a pain with his razor sharp little teeth constantly finding our flesh and bone. We know his mother was a Shepherd, but those teeth make me think his father was a great white shark!
Skinny Parvo dog after not eating for 6 days
I had him sleeping on my lap one day and he flinched during some strange puppy dream. Janet asked if he was in his REM sleep. I said, “Dogs don’t have REM sleep; they have Rem Tin Tin sleep.”
Passion vs. Zealous
One thing we noticed through this whole doggy searching process is that there are a lot of people who are very passionate about helping abandoned dogs and cats. In fact, some of them have crossed over from being passionate to being zealous. I can really appreciate passion in people for whatever cause they believe in. My definition of passion in this form could be: caring so much about something that you take action and invest yourself in a significant way into what you believe in. The people at many of these shelters and rescue foundations have a passion for saving dogs and cats. I can appreciate that. A zealot, however, could be defined as: expecting others to care about something as much as you do. I’m thankful for the passion of these workers and volunteers, but some of them were practically insulting if we didn’t think and act the same way about dogs that they thought and felt. We were even turned down from taking a dog, simply because we wanted an outdoor dog, not an indoor dog. The zealot dog lover responded to my wife by saying, “Why would you even want a dog if you’re not going to keep it inside?” DJ is an indoor/outdoor dog.
It makes me wonder about what I’m passionate about and what I’m zealous about. How about you?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Rainy Royal Welcome
I just got back from another great Training Camp in Omaha, NE. We had 15 trainees from Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia, Washington and Oregon. It was a great group of people excited about making an eternal difference in the lives of Foster Children in their communities back home.
The Camp Director told us the story of one boy who was riding along in the bus going to camp when the young boy recognized a certain exit off the freeway. The boy said, “I recognize this place, there’s a jail right down this road, that’s the jail where my Dad’s at.” The boy right behind him spoke up and said,”My Dad’s in that jail too.” What a way to grow up. These are the kids we take to camp.
The local Omaha camp did a great job of making the campers feel safe and cared for. When the bus arrives we always give the campers the “Royal Welcome”. This year it was raining pretty hard but the camp volunteers still got out in the rain and yelled and cheered as the kids got off the bus. See the attached video. A special thanks to the Omaha Camp for providing a great “Rainy Royal Welcome” to kids who desperately need to know that they are valuable and cared for by people who are willing to stand in the rain just for them.
Jeff
The Camp Director told us the story of one boy who was riding along in the bus going to camp when the young boy recognized a certain exit off the freeway. The boy said, “I recognize this place, there’s a jail right down this road, that’s the jail where my Dad’s at.” The boy right behind him spoke up and said,”My Dad’s in that jail too.” What a way to grow up. These are the kids we take to camp.
The local Omaha camp did a great job of making the campers feel safe and cared for. When the bus arrives we always give the campers the “Royal Welcome”. This year it was raining pretty hard but the camp volunteers still got out in the rain and yelled and cheered as the kids got off the bus. See the attached video. A special thanks to the Omaha Camp for providing a great “Rainy Royal Welcome” to kids who desperately need to know that they are valuable and cared for by people who are willing to stand in the rain just for them.
Jeff
Friday, May 14, 2010
Twenty Habbits - Book Review
The Twenty Habits That Hold You Back From The Top.
From the book What Got You Here Won't Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith.
This trouble with success often manifests itself in the form of destructive habits in the workplace, of which Goldsmith lists twenty. He lays out very brief summaries of these twenty habits on a single page:
1. Winning too much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations - when it matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s totally beside the point.
2. Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
3. Passing judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them
4. Making destructive comments: The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
5. Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.”
6. Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
7. Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
8. Negativity, or “Let me explain why that won’t work”: The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren’t asked.
9. Withholding information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
10. Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
11. Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
12. Making excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
13. Clinging to the past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
14. Playing favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
15. Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit when we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
16. Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
17. Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
18. Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent who are usually trying to help us.
19. Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
20. An excessive need to be “me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are.
The Twenty-First Habit: Goal Obsession (The habit that is a good trait that can become a nightmare.)
He goes on to devote a few pages to each habit in detail which was very insightful and interesting. He also goes on to devote several pages to the “twenty first” habit, goal obsession. Goldsmith argues that many people lose sight of the here and now because they spend their time plotting out their long term goals, not realizing that the here and now is often the best place to take that first step to whatever you have in mind. In fact, obsession with goals often is the underlying factor in many of these bad habits.
From : http://wikisummaries.org/What_Got_You_Here_Won%E2%80%99t_Get_You_There
From the book What Got You Here Won't Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith.
This trouble with success often manifests itself in the form of destructive habits in the workplace, of which Goldsmith lists twenty. He lays out very brief summaries of these twenty habits on a single page:
1. Winning too much: The need to win at all costs and in all situations - when it matters, when it doesn’t, and when it’s totally beside the point.
2. Adding too much value: The overwhelming desire to add our two cents to every discussion.
3. Passing judgment: The need to rate others and impose our standards on them
4. Making destructive comments: The needless sarcasms and cutting remarks that we think make us sound sharp and witty.
5. Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: The overuse of these negative qualifiers which secretly say to everyone, “I’m right. You’re wrong.”
6. Telling the world how smart we are: The need to show people we’re smarter than they think we are.
7. Speaking when angry: Using emotional volatility as a management tool.
8. Negativity, or “Let me explain why that won’t work”: The need to share our negative thoughts even when we weren’t asked.
9. Withholding information: The refusal to share information in order to maintain an advantage over others.
10. Failing to give proper recognition: The inability to praise and reward.
11. Claiming credit that we don’t deserve: The most annoying way to overestimate our contribution to any success.
12. Making excuses: The need to reposition our annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
13. Clinging to the past: The need to deflect blame away from ourselves and onto events and people from our past; a subset of blaming everyone else.
14. Playing favorites: Failing to see that we are treating someone unfairly.
15. Refusing to express regret: The inability to take responsibility for our actions, admit when we’re wrong, or recognize how our actions affect others.
16. Not listening: The most passive-aggressive form of disrespect for colleagues.
17. Failing to express gratitude: The most basic form of bad manners.
18. Punishing the messenger: The misguided need to attack the innocent who are usually trying to help us.
19. Passing the buck: The need to blame everyone but ourselves.
20. An excessive need to be “me”: Exalting our faults as virtues simply because they’re who we are.
The Twenty-First Habit: Goal Obsession (The habit that is a good trait that can become a nightmare.)
He goes on to devote a few pages to each habit in detail which was very insightful and interesting. He also goes on to devote several pages to the “twenty first” habit, goal obsession. Goldsmith argues that many people lose sight of the here and now because they spend their time plotting out their long term goals, not realizing that the here and now is often the best place to take that first step to whatever you have in mind. In fact, obsession with goals often is the underlying factor in many of these bad habits.
From : http://wikisummaries.org/What_Got_You_Here_Won%E2%80%99t_Get_You_There
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Family Photos
Judy - Self Portrait
Jessica - 15 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jonathans basketball game
Lunch on the Lawn with Janae at school
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Paradoxical Commandments
The Paradoxical Commandments
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
Jesus Did It Anyway
The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians
Kent M. Keith
Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
Jesus Did It Anyway
The Paradoxical Commandments for Christians
Kent M. Keith
Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Friday, February 5, 2010
Pray over your children at night
Here's something to pray over your children at night.
Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Jeff's Donor Report - 2009
Thanks once again to all of you who donated finances on behalf of abused kids across the country. We can not do what we do without the help of many people.
As most of you know, part of my work here is to raise my own salary. This enables us to train more camps and reach more kids with hope for their future.
This makes me a part-time trainer and a part-time fundraiser. Please see the “Summer Training Report 2009” for more info. on the training.
My first year I raised 60% of my budget, my second year goal was to raise 80%, but I only reached 73%. Last year, 2009, my goal was 80%, but I only raised 76%. The good news is that it went up in a bad economy, but the bad news is it was only 76%, and not the 80%, and certainly not the 100% that I need to get to.
Last year I had 93 donors give, which is great! Originally my goal was 100 donors per year. My adjusted goal is now to reach 120 donors for 2010 so I can reach my full budget.
Here’s some of the resources of my fundraising:
9 Speaking Opportunities
4 Church services, 2 Missions Conventions, 1 District meeting, 1 Civic Group, 1 Men’s Meeting.
Many individual opportunities to ask people for their support.
93 Donors Total -
7 Churches
4 Business donors
2 Sources as a Safety Consultant
1 Golf Tournament Sponsored by Contra Costa Electric
79 individual or family donors
Note: One donor had a bowling team lose a bet on a game and instead of paying to the other team they sent the money here for a donation instead. I happily accepted.
It’s a lot of work and a lot of travel, but it all comes down to helping hurting kids. If you were a part of that support, thank you so very much. Your part, whether it was large or small, does make a difference and it does transform lives.
If you weren’t a donor last year, please help this year. I need to add another 30 donors for 2010, large or small, a donor is a donor. I have some donors who give a lot, but some can only give 10 or 20 dollars for the year, they all count as a donor.
If many people do something,
it makes a difference for kids who need a hope and a future.
Thanks, Jeff Juhala
Summer Training Report 2009
Here's a brief report of our summer training activities for 2009
3 Directors Training Institutes
• 36 trainees
• 8 Trainers
• 3 Host Couples
• 3 Child Abuse Specialists
• 3 Host camps from:
Omaha NE., Portland OR., & Madison AL.
• 15 NEW camps trained from:
Nebraska (2), Illinois (2), California (2), Colorado, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and, Wyoming
2 Passing the Scepter classes
• 20 Trainees
• 3 Trainers
• 2 Host Couples
• 2 Host Camps from:
Tampa FL. & Costa Mesa CA.
• 12 Current camps represented
Additional resources for current existing camps:
Training Library on the web providing resources to Camp Directors for local training. www.Traininglibrary/rfkc.org
Day Trainer Program to train and provide resources for area trainers to assist new camps with their first year of training.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Caring Christians?
From the book, Quick to Listen Leaders, page 32 states…
“We recently asked more than fifty ordinary people on the street what they thought of Christians. Most people responded with colorful adjectives such as pushy, disrespectful, and judgmental. Not a single one used the word caring.”
Fifty people aren’t a large sampling but you get the point.
How would your friends, family, or more importantly, your co-workers describe you?
Does your example of being a Christian lead people to think of other Christians as caring?
“We recently asked more than fifty ordinary people on the street what they thought of Christians. Most people responded with colorful adjectives such as pushy, disrespectful, and judgmental. Not a single one used the word caring.”
Fifty people aren’t a large sampling but you get the point.
How would your friends, family, or more importantly, your co-workers describe you?
Does your example of being a Christian lead people to think of other Christians as caring?
Monday, January 25, 2010
New Report about Child Deaths in America
This info is from: http://www.everychildmatters.org/
The Growing Crisis in Child Protection
According to “We Can Do Better,” our report released in October, nearly five children die in America every day from abuse or neglect. In fact, federal data show that 10,440 children in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect between 2001 and 2007, but experts say the real number may be as many as 5,000 higher. A weak economy and resulting state budget cuts are putting even more children at risk, as evidenced by the multitude of newspaper stories from across America that link an increase in child abuse to the worsening recession. This document, entitled “The Growing Crisis in Child Protection: A sampling of news stories from across America," shows a number of these stories.
To read more and see the detials please go to:
http://www.everychildmatters.org/National/Resources/The-Growing-Crisis-in-Child-Protection.html
Thanks for caring for the fatherless,
Jeff
The Growing Crisis in Child Protection
According to “We Can Do Better,” our report released in October, nearly five children die in America every day from abuse or neglect. In fact, federal data show that 10,440 children in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect between 2001 and 2007, but experts say the real number may be as many as 5,000 higher. A weak economy and resulting state budget cuts are putting even more children at risk, as evidenced by the multitude of newspaper stories from across America that link an increase in child abuse to the worsening recession. This document, entitled “The Growing Crisis in Child Protection: A sampling of news stories from across America," shows a number of these stories.
To read more and see the detials please go to:
http://www.everychildmatters.org/National/Resources/The-Growing-Crisis-in-Child-Protection.html
Thanks for caring for the fatherless,
Jeff
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)