Being the Difference

Wynona Ward: "I just said this has to stop"

Person of the Year: Mark Horvath

     People often ask me why I decided to write Being the Difference and how I came upon the idea of profiling "ordinary people doing extraordinary things to change the world".  My answer is always the same: we always hear about celebrities and billionaires that display acts of generosity, but I think we don't do enough to celebrate or appreciate "ordinary" people who don't possess fortune or fame but nonetheless give what they have or do what they can to make life better for someone.

     Over the past year I've profiled some of these people on this blog with the hope that sharing their stories will serve as an inspiration for others.  All of the individuals profiled this year are doing phenomenal work in their communities, but today - the last day of the year - I'd like to highlight someone who this year has been the epitome of what being the difference is all about.

     Mark Horvath has been documenting homelessness in America with a no-holds-barred-style to shine the light on a pervasive yet generally invisible problem throughout our country.  Formerly homeless and armed with a video camera, Mark creates compelling video interviews with currently homeless individuals.  But he's not the kind of documentary filmmaker you would expect.  Having experienced homelessness himself, he's not afraid to get his hands dirty in his mission to provide a glimpse into the lives of homeless Americans.  Whether in Sacramento's tent city, a shelter in Los Angeles, or a street corner in Detroit, Mark is there to give us a wake up call about our country's "invisible people".

In his own words:
     "Unlike news media, where you will hear a reporter tell a brief, punchy version of the story, I  wanted to capture the real stories of the real people... Raw, unedited, unsponsored and in their own words."

     That's exactly what he's done.  Mark started with a vision and a camera and in the past year has undoubtedly become a social media phenomenon.  His videos have been viewed widely and his work has been highlighted on numerous blogs and news outlets.  He has been a guest speaker at major conferences and recently became a contributor at The Huffington Post.  But that's only the beginning. On any given night, Mark may be shuttling families to a nearby shelter or hotel, or helping them meet an essential need like getting some clothes for them if they have none.  Here's an example: 

On a recent night Mark sent out the following message via Twitter:
     "mom w/ 9yo boy has nothing! She needs clothes and the boy needs clothes! They were living in their van which was towed! HELP?"

     In an instant a response came that someone would meet him and the family at a nearby Wal-mart to get the family some new clothes. (Read Mark's blog post about that evening here.)  This is not a once-a-month or even a once-a-week occurrence, but a daily mission.  Mark uses his experiences, the people he knows, Twitter followers, and his unyielding determination to help provide a better life for homeless Americans one family at a time.

     This is what "being the difference" is all about -- using whatever you have, to do whatever you can to make a positive change in someone's life.  Over the past year Mark has gone far beyond that and truly demonstrated how much of an impact one person can make.  For offering us an unvarnished look into the lives of homeless Americans, selflessly giving his time and energy to meet the needs of families he encounters, and being an extraordinary example of the difference that one person can make, Mark Horvath is Being the Difference's Person of the Year.

You  can learn more about Mark's work here:
insiviblepeople.tv
hardlynormal.com
twitter.com/hardlynormal

On a mission to shield kids from gun violence

From InsideBayArea.com:

     Hey kids, know what's not cool? Getting shot. Ask Arthur Renowitzky, he knows. The 21-year-old paraplegic told a rapt group of teens at a Boys & Girls Club in East Oakland on Tuesday that despite what some hip-hop heroes may say, there is nothing glamorous about gun violence.

     "It took just one to put me here," Renowitzky said from his wheelchair. "One shot, one bullet and I'm paralyzed. A lot of people see Tupac and 50 Cent, and hear raps about how it's cool to be shot — it's not. It won't get you more girls. ... I'm lucky just to be alive."

     It all went down Dec. 2, 2007. That Saturday night had turned into a wet Sunday morning, and Renowitzky was leaving a San Francisco night club in a good mood, with a "couple of numbers" from women he had met. Turning a corner into the dark alley where he had parked, he heard a loud voice: "Give me your wallet and chain, or I will kill you." He saw a flash, heard a bang. Felt the pain and the panic — I've been shot!

     During his 40 days of rehabilitation at the hospital, Arthur decided that things happen for a reason. Not deeply religious but Christian, Arthur believes that God has a plan for him. And he believes that plan involves teaching youths about the damage a gun can do, and thus began the Hayward-based nonprofit Life Goes On Foundation. "I didn't want the same thing to happen to another happy, innocent kid like me," Renowitzky said. "I didn't think things can happen just like that. I'd see them in street, you know, the guy in a wheelchair, but you never know that it can happen to you just like that."

     He said he wants to change a mindset that glorifies the gun, making it seem like little more than a toy or status symbol. "It's so easy to pick up a gun these days, and people think it's OK," he said. "They don't know the effects of gun violence. ... If they could live one day in my position and see what it's like, I think they'd change their mind."

Continue reading this story here...

    Arthur Renowitzky is a true example of being the difference! Do you know someone who is being the difference in your community?  Tell me about them and they may be featured on this blog.

Making a Difference Through Story Time

From Reader's Digest:

    Tammy Barry sits in the front of the library, trying to transform a newspaper into a boat. Her audience is young women and their toddler children, and she has just read aloud a book about Curious George—that naughty monkey!—who neglects to deliver newspapers along his paper route and instead folds them into boats and floats them on a pond.

    But Barry is not exactly a whiz at shipbuilding. "This is hard for me," she tells the mothers in Spanish. That's when one of the women, who had only paper boats to play with as a child, shows the group—in 30 seconds flat—how to make one. Once the fleet is folded, the group launches their boats in water-filled Tupperware "ponds."   It's moments like these that Barry, 46, most loves about her volunteer job teaching three reading classes a week at Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Continue reading this story here...

    Tammy Barry is a true example of being the difference! Do you know someone who is being the difference in your community?  Tell me about them and they may be featured on this blog.

Teen Urges Others To Give

From The Washington Post:

      As a high school student, Krysten Thomas was alarmed by the number of Washington, DC residents living with HIV and AIDS and wanted to help. So she devised a way to collect and donate toiletries to those affected.

     Thomas initially gathered items from family, friends and church members, but she struck the mother lode when she wrote letters to more than 50 hotels seeking donations. She collected about 4,000 items, which were distributed equally to District residents and people affected by the virus in Tanzania.

     "Every time you go to a hotel, people don't even use the toiletries most of the time," said Thomas, who graduated in June from National Cathedral School in Northwest Washington. "I got toiletries they weren't using and were willing to donate." 

Continue reading this story here...

Krysten Thomas is a true example of being the difference! Do you know someone who is being the difference in your community?  Tell me about them and they may be featured on this blog.

An American in Pakistan

     Today's New York Times features a profile of Todd Shea, an American currently serving a community in Pakistan.  As the Times reports, "Despite no college education or a medical background, a rugged American named Todd Shea runs a charity hospital in Kashmir, where a 2005 earthquake killed 80,000 people."

Check out a video of Todd's remarkable journey, here.

Todd Shea is a true example of being the difference! Do you know someone who is being the difference in your community?  Tell me about them and they may be featured on this blog.

An Angel in Queens

From CNN:

     Every day, unemployed men gather under the elevated 7 train in Jackson Heights, Queens. Many of them are homeless. All of them are hungry.  Jorge Munoz estimates he has served more than 70,000 free meals since 2004.

     At around 9:30 each night, relief comes in the form of Jorge Munoz's white pickup truck, filled with hot food, coffee and hot chocolate.  The men eagerly accept containers of chicken and rice from Munoz, devouring the food on the spot. Quiet gratitude radiates from the crowd.  For many, this is their only hot meal of the day; for some, it's the first food they've eaten since last night.  "I thank God for touching that man's heart," says Eduardo, one of the regulars.

      Watching Munoz, 44, distribute meals and offer extra cups of coffee, it's clear he's passionate about bringing food to hungry people. For more than four years, Munoz and his family have been feeding those in need seven nights a week, 365 days a year. To date, he estimates he's served more than 70,000 meals.  Word of his mobile soup kitchen has spread, and people of all backgrounds and status now join the largely-Hispanic crowd surrounding his truck -- Egyptians, Chinese, Ethiopians, South Asians, white and black Americans and a British man who lost his job

      "I'll help anyone who needs to eat. Just line up," Munoz says.  And at a time when food banks are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing demand, he's never been needed more. But for Munoz, a school bus driver by day, this work is a labor of love.  "When I see these guys on the street," he says, "it's like seeing me, 20-something years ago when I came to this country."

      Munoz began his unorthodox meal program -- now his nonprofit, An Angel in Queens -- in the summer of 2004. Friends told him about large amounts of food being thrown away at their jobs. At first, he collected leftovers from local businesses and handed out brown bag lunches to underprivileged men three nights a week. Within a few months, Munoz and his mother were preparing 20 home-cooked meals daily.  Numbers gradually increased over the years to 35 per night, then 60. In recent months, that number has jumped to as many as 140 meals a night.

     Sustaining this endeavor consumes most of his life. To his mother's dismay, his family's Woodhaven home is bursting with goods related to this work. An oversize freezer takes up most of the dining room, and the porch is lined with canned food and paper products.

      Daily operations now run like a well-oiled machine. Munoz gets up around 5:00 a.m. to drive his bus route, and he calls home on his breaks to see how the cooking is going. When he gets home around 5:30 p.m. -- often stopping to pick up food donations -- he helps pack up meals before heading out to "his corner" in Jackson Heights.  "He comes here without fail," says one of the men. "It could be cold, it could be really hot, but he's here."

      On Saturdays he takes the men breakfast, and on Sundays -- his "day off" -- he brings them ham-and-cheese sandwiches. It's a relentless schedule, but either Munoz or his sister does it every night of the year.  "If I don't go, I'm going to feel bad," he says. "I know they're going to be waiting for me."

      With the economic downturn, donations have slowed as the crowds awaiting Munoz's arrival have grown. But he is determined to do all he can to meet their needs.  Munoz estimates that food and gas cost approximately $400 to 450 a week; he and his family are funding the operation through their savings and his weekly $700 paycheck.

      Asked why he spends so much time to help people he doesn't know, he answers, "I have a stable job, my mom, my family, a house... everything I want, I have. And these guys [don't]. So I just think, 'OK, I have the food.' At least for today they're going to have a meal to eat."

Jorge Munoz is a true example of being the difference! Do you know someone who is being the difference in your community?  Tell me about them and they may be featured on this blog.

Washington, DC's homeless earn and give their two cents

    

    

     Writing on the Street (audio slide show)

     If you live in Washington, DC or have ever visited, you've probably encountered someone on a street corner or atop a Metro escalator selling a Street Sense newspaper.  Street Sense features writing and reporting mostly by homeless or formerly homeless individuals.  With the mission of raising public awareness of homelessness and poverty, Street Sense pays vendors about $40 a day to sell the newspapers and has been able to help some homeless vendors earn enough money to move out of shelters and find a full-time job.

     The New York Times recently published an article about Street Sense along with a compelling audio slide show that provides a glimpse into the workings of Street Sense and its impact.  Take a look at the audio slide show, titled Writing on the Street.

Photo from the Washington Post.

Uptown Liz: Where shopping gives back

     Ramona Russell is a natural promoter. Whether she's raving about a new web site or a cause close to her heart, Ramona is always promoting the things she is passionate about. With a Bachelor's Degree in Communications and years of experience in marketing, public relations, fundraising and sales, Ramona used her talents to start a company, Uptown Liz, in her sister Liz's memory that promotes products from companies whose proceeds directly give back to charitable organizations.

      Through its online database you can search by cause or product with the knowledge that every time you link to a company and make a purchase you are making a difference.  Uptown Liz's mission is to build a bridge between compassionate consumers and concerned companies in order to improve the world around us.

I asked Ramona a couple of questions about Uptown Liz and her motivation for starting it:

Faced with the loss of your sister, what inspired you to start a website that allows shoppers to purchase products that support charities?

"My sister died in February of 2006, and I did not come up with the idea for Uptown Liz until later that year.  I sent out a monthly newsletter for my marketing and public relations company, and for October I focused on breast cancer awareness.  I talked about the prevention, and showcased products that supported the cause.  That sparked the idea to have a web site that showcased all different products for all different kinds of charities."

Many people face challenges or see problems in their communities but just don't know what they can do to help.  What advice do you have for these individuals who don't realize how much of a difference they can make?

"I have worked for many nonprofits almost my entire career, and volunteered a lot of my times for causes close to my hear.  Making a difference always starts with one person - whether it's an idea, reaching out to someone in need, or helping your neighbor - and inspires people to follow."

To read more about Uptown Liz and Ramona's story, visit these links:

Fox News

Uptown Liz Blog - How it all began

Ramona Russell is a true example of being the difference! Do you know someone who is being the difference in your community?  Tell me about them and they may be featured on this blog.

Roy Foster: Providing a home for homeless vets

From CNN:

      Following a faint trail through a dense patch of woods in Florida's Palm Beach County, Roy Foster is a man on a mission.  Foster, 53, is searching for homeless veterans -- and he knows where to look.  Whether in a vacant lot behind a supermarket or a small clearing off the highway, homeless vets aren't that hard to find: one in three homeless adults has served in the military, and more than 150,000 veterans nationwide are homeless on any given night, according to the Veterans Administration.

     Working with the sheriff's homeless outreach unit, Foster finds vets camped in tents or makeshift lean-tos, where he delivers a message: There's help for you if you want it.  "For our heroes to be living in [these] conditions, it's totally unacceptable," said Foster.

     Since 2000, approximately 900 veterans have found life-changing help at Foster's facility, Stand Down House. Named for the military command that gives troops time to rest after arduous duty, the program provides homeless male vets food, shelter and a safe place to recover, as well as the tools to conquer their personal problems.  "The idea is that they can relax now; we'll take care of them," Foster said.

     Foster's motivation to help these men is personal: He used to be one of them.  Born in rural Georgia, he joined the Army right after high school. During his six years in the military, he began drinking and experimenting with drugs. He was an alcoholic by the time he left the Army in 1980, and his drinking and drug use escalated as he struggled to adjust to civilian life.  He spent the next decade battling his addictions.

     While struggling to get clean, Foster had difficulty finding a program that accepted veterans and provided the recovery services he needed, he said. The experience inspired him to design a program specifically for his brothers-in-arms.  "That's when the commitment in my heart was born," Foster said.

     Foster joined forces with another vet, the late Don Reed, and established the nonprofit Faith*Hope*Love*Charity.  After six years, their non-profit created Stand Down House, which provides transitional housing and support services to 45 veterans in different stages of recovery.  When vets arrive they receive meals, housing, clothing, counseling and transportation to the Veterans Administration hospital for additional medical and mental health care.

     As of 2008, Stand Down House reported that 93 percent of its eligible residents found work and 84 percent of graduates went on to live independently. Foster and his staff are now working with other programs around the country, sharing what they've learned.  When asked why he does this, he simply answers, "It's my calling."

Roy Foster is a true example of being the difference! Do you know someone who is being the difference in your community?  Tell me about them and they may be featured on this blog.