Creative Giving Opportunities

When you ask people for money, some people say yes, some say no, and some people get CREATIVE. I have several people, or groups, who have donated money over the years that are creative in their giving. Below is a list of some of those people or groups who have helped make a difference for the kids we work with. I will try to highlight a few of them in my newsletters in the future. I also have a new method of giving through ebay that I’ll mention in the next newsletter.

God’s Garden Group – Bible Study of women who meet and occasionally take an offering. They have been able to bless us with some of the dollars donated through their group.

Contra Costa Electric Golf Tournament - This is my former employer of 15 years, and they hold an annual golf tournament for clients, employees and vendors. Each year they give part of the proceeds to RFK for local campers and for starting new camps.

Just Ask - Renee Conn works for Contra Costa Electric (CCE) and helps with the Golf Tournament each year. She and I have been talking about camp for years, and she has always wanted to help in a significant way. One year while working at the golf tournament, she decided that since only the vendors pay to play in the tournament, she would “just ask” the other non-paying players if they would like to donate to the camp. The first year she collected cash donations of $700.00, and last year she collected over $1,000.00. Renee always had a heart for the camp, but she wasn’t sure how she could help. She got creative, and when her desire to help intersected with her time at the sign-in table, she simply asked and she was able to make a significant difference for the kids we serve. Thanks Renee!

Giving through Wills and Trusts – When Matthew Hart was putting his business plan together, he decided to distinguish his business from others by giving 10% of all fees earned to charity. Matthew has selected two local, two regional, and two National charities. The client chooses one of the charities after the service is provided. Matthew's article is featured in the April 2012 newsletter. www.MatthewHartLaw.com Thanks Matthew!

Losing for the KIDS – Dave Mennens is Project Manager at CCE and occasionally challenges other employees to a bowling tournament. They bet each other about who will win, but instead of the loser paying the winner, Dave said, “we have enough money, how about the loser makes a donation to RFK and help the kids who don’t have enough money”. Now there is some creative giving right there, when people lose, the kids still win. Thanks Dave!

Refi for Charity - Don Mclain recently helped us refinance our home. Don is encouraging his clients that when they save money by refinancing their homes, to take the first month's savings and donate it to a charity. This is a real creative way to donate without really losing any regular income. dmclain@coasthills.net Thanks Don!

Car Donations
Last year, I had two cars donated to charity and we received the proceeds. One came from my brother, Jerry, and another from Pac Integrations Inc, a local business. Thanks to both!

Buzzer Beater - Perfect Season 10-0

Jonathan’s fourth year playing basketball at Fountain Valley rec. resulted in a perfect season 10-0. Jon played well through the season and I caught him on video with a game winning 3 pointer on the last game of the season. Wow, what a game!!!

Here's a link to the buzzer beater three point shot by Jon. The shot is right at the beginning of the clip, Jon's team is in red. The other team then attempts one last shot. I'm the camera man and I got just a little excited. Proud Dad moment!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/65179634/Juhala-Bball-Final-Shot%20copy.mp4

You might have to copy and paste the link into your browser.

KID Facts

Here’s some of our totals for Camp and Club from 2011

Living History

I recently attended a meeting of the Freedom Committee of Orange County, www.fc-oc.org/. This group of Orange County Veterans meet every month to discuss their service years, but their main reason for existing is to bring living history to local schools as speakers of freedom. At the meeting in February, there were 3 members who had served in WW2, Korea a

nd Vietnam, and there were 3 members who were at Pearl Harbor during the

bombing. The 3 Pearl Harbor survivors were all the their nineties, 92, 96 and 97 respectively.

I later got a picture with Jonathan and Jack Hammett, 92, at another event showing a B-17 Bomber at a museum near by. What an honor to be in the room with some true heroes of freedom.

Abuse On The Rise With Bad Economy

"There is absolutely no doubt that since the economy started getting worse, the number of reports to child abuse hotlines has gone up and the severity injuries has increased as has the number of kids who end up in the hospital due to child abuse," Lambert said. Earlier identification of at-risk families may help stem some of the violence, he said.

The onus is on everyone in society to help buck this disturbing trend, Amaranth said. "Speak up in a very loud and clear voice because a lot of these children don't have the voice to speak for themselves," she said. "If you feel that a child is being harmed in some way, you have to call it in." Every state has a child abuse hotline.

http://www.everydayhealth.com/kids-health/0206/thousands-of-us-kids-hospitalized-for-abuse.aspx?xid=aol_eh-news_1_20120206_&aolcat=HLT&icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl11|sec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D133127

Mother Abandons Two Children on Conrner

A woman dropped her two children off on a street corner and then just drove away. They were unharmed, but totally abandoned. Now they will be in Foster Care. They might be better off, and they might not be. Should they be returned to a mother who abandons them to the street?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/dalisha-adams-arrested-fo_n_1241442.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl7|sec3_lnk1%26pLid%3D131203

Volunteerism Drops as Governments Raise Social Spending

“An increase in governmental spending on social benefits by 1 percentage point of GDP decreases an individual's likelihood of volunteering for religious, sports, arts, or any other kind of organization by about 2 percentage points, say Franz Hackl, Martin Halla, and Gerald J. Pruckner of the University of Linz in Austria. Another factor that diminishes volunteerism is the population's confidence in its elected officials. Among the countries with the smallest proportions of adults doing unpaid work are Hungary, Japan, and Spain, at 16%; at the other end of the spectrum are Sweden, the Slovak Republic, and the U.S., with volunteer rates of 56%, 54%, and 50%, respectively.”
Source: Volunteering and the state

So the more government pitches in to pay, the less likely that people will volunteer?

Videos About RFK

Here are a couple of links to videos showing and telling the story about what happens at a Royal Family KIDS Camp. Enjoy.

Rewrite Their Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QjG9bFQZSE

Concord CA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy3zo5RPfv0&feature=related

Colorado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riU2oMvWWDM&feature=related

FIVE REGRETS OF THE DYING

Below is an condensed article by Bronnie Ware about regrets of the dying. I think it is pretty sobering to read and should help each of us plan some better goals for next year. For the full article, see her site at http://www.inspirationandchai.com/Regrets-of-the-Dying.html.

REGRETS OF THE DYING - BY BRONNIE WARE

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

More family photos

If you received our Christmas Newsletter you'll notice some of the photos were pretty small. Here are some larger versions.

Summer Training Report

4 Directors’ Training Institutes
• 45 Trainees
• 8 Trainers
• 3 Host Couples
• 2 Child Abuse Specialists
• 4 Host camps:
Omaha, NE, Kearney, NE, Bellingham, WA & Madison, AL
• 11 NEW camps trained from:
Nebraska (2), Colorado (2), Minnesota, Georgia, Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indianapolis and Idaho.

2 Passing the Scepter classes
• 38 Trainees
• 3 Trainers
• 1 Host Couple
• 2 Host Camps:
Norman, OK & Costa Mesa, CA
• 20 Current camps represented

Family Time

At the end of a busy summer, we finally got a chance to get away as a family up to the San Bernardino Mountains. On the trip, we visited Lake Gregory, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. We did some hiking, kayaking, shopping, games and lots of quality family time. As you can see from the photos, I also made some new friends. I’m hoping they will become future donors, but you know, it’s a tough economy right now.
















Here are some potential new donors I met on vacation!!!