Creating change

Photo courtesy of Joyce and Ted Kruse

Joyce and Ted Kruse are wealthy beyond measure. Both in their 60s and retired, this husband and wife team of 23 years travels internationally, they operate their own charitable organization, are active members in the church community, and serve as an inspiration to many.

Co-founders of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Neighbors Near & Far, the Kruses' operation is set up in the basement of their Baltimore, MD row house. Together they offer all of their support to the local community food bank Assistance Center of Towson Churches (the "Near"), and to the Christian Concern for Haiti and its two orphanages, Kay Papa Nou and Unity House (the "Far").

According to friend and fellow traveler Wayne Fritze, "[Joyce and Ted] are tireless in their support of the children in Haiti. Joyce has visited 14 times in four years, often sleeping on the floor of the orphanage so she can better understand how the girls live. She does not want to be thought of as a privileged 'Blanc,' as white Americans are generally thought of in Haiti."

Prior to their marriage, both Ted and Joyce lived in Saudi Arabia. Joyce spent much of her childhood there while Ted worked in Riyadh in the 1980's. Later, Joyce was a packaging engineer with Unilever and Ted, a college librarian. In fact, it was Ted's contacts with magazines and newspapers which became their primary source of charitable funding. According to Ted, "most of our support comes from the sale of donated books. Magazine and newspapers regularly receive free books from publishers in the hope of a book review or other mention. Some publications receive more than three hundred books per month and are very willing to donate these books to a worthy cause that will remove the books from their offices."

To bring this full circle, when I say that Joyce and Ted are "wealthy," I'm not referring to the size of their bank account (of which I have no knowledge); I'm speaking in the more humanistic and spiritual sense of the word. The Kruses are wealthy because they have dedicated their second act to making the world a better place. Their time, money, talent, networks, resources, all of it is spent in the service of others. Clearly their lives are richer for what they're doing, as are the communities and the people they touch. Thank you both for your generosity in answering these questions.

1. IN JUST ONE SENTENCE, WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE? The purpose of life is to serve others, especially the poor.

2. HOW HAS THIS WORK CHANGED YOU? Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the work in Haiti has renewed our belief that there is much good in the world. People unknown to us have supported Neighbors Near & Far financially. In Haiti, people who have very few material possessions are often willing to share with others.

3. WHAT DO YOU GET FROM GIVING? Neighbors Near & Far is very small, but we will make a big difference in the lives of the 30+ children in Haiti. Just because we cannot solve all the problems of poverty in Haiti does not mean there is nothing we can do.

4. WHO IS A LIVING HERO AND WHAT WOULD YOU ASK THEM IF GIVEN THE CHANCE? We are fortunate to have a living hero, Dr. Cecil De Sweemer, who we communicate with regularly. Dr. De Sweemer is a medical missionary in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is 74 years old and has Parkinson's but still regularly sees patients and administers the project, Butoke. All her pension and Social Security income is used to run Butoke. She is a model of sacrificial living.

5. WHAT EVERYDAY RESOURCES COULD HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR PHILANTHROPIC GOALS? Haiti and our orphanages have a host of needs. Because of the lack of infrastructure, the only ways to transport goods to Haiti is by airline luggage or large overseas shipping containers. These transport restrictions mean we must turn-down most material donations. Financial support is the best way for donors to support Neighbors Near & Far.

6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INSPIRATIONAL SAYING? "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." - Mother Teresa

7. WHAT WOULD THE TITLE OF YOUR BOOK BE? The Second Half is the Best would be the book title. We hope our work in retirement with Neighbors Near & Far will be the most productive part of our lives.

8. TELL US SOMETHING YOU RARELY SHARE IN PUBLIC? We are both rather private people so sharing personal thoughts with others is difficult. So, what we rarely share would be a long list.

9. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHERS WHO ASPIRE TO BE CITIZEN PHILANTHROPISTS? Many people are purpose-driven philanthropists but fail to do the basic setup for a sustainable organization. At the very minimum, get a bank account in the organization's name to separate personal and charitable funds. Incorporate to further support the separation and to get certain legal protections. Get 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service to insure donations are tax deductible.

10. WHAT QUESTION DO YOU WISH I HAD ASKED, AND WHAT IS THE ANSWER? QUESTION: Why do you want to be on this blog? ANSWER: We were reluctant to submit to Talking GOOD because we believe the focus should not be on us (Matthew 6:1-4). Our hope is that readers of this blog will be inspired to start their own projects. It really is possible to run a charity that makes a difference out of a basement of a Baltimore row house. Our belief is retired people have a lifetime of experience and many contacts will be even more successful than younger purpose-given philanthropists.

LINKS: Neighbors Near & Far

Everybody loves a rebel.

Who doesn't love someone willing to take the fate of the world, and themselves, by the reigns, who isn't afraid to steer and redirect and knock down the walls which hold whatever beast they must slay? Rebels are radicals revolutionaries. They are dreamers armed with a sense of possibility and hope. Hope, that, by the time they're finished, something will be different than it was when they started.

It is no small coincidence the first letter of rebel is "R." R stands for Ronan, and the rebel with a cause who is taking the world of pediatric cancer by storm is his mother, Maya Thompson.

In May 2011, Ronan Sean Thompson died of Neuroblastoma, a disease around six hundred children in the United States are diagnosed with each year. As Ronan fought, his mother made him a promise -- she would continue the fight against pediatric cancer. This type of cancer remains the number-one disease killer in children, until people listened, funds were raised, and ultimately, a cure was found.

It was a mother's love and a rebel's ambition that fueled the start of The Ronan Thompson Foundation, created in honor of the little boy whose name it bears. Though the foundation's ultimate mission is to fund research trials and a world-class Neuroblastoma research and care center, it has swiftly erupted into much more than an organization that collects donations. RTF is responsible for lending a voice to the victims of pediatric cancer and their families, and for encouraging millions of people throughout the world to live like rockstars, like rebels, and like Ronan.

Citing Henry David Thoreau's line "all good things are wild and free" as her mantra, Thompson lives by her own words. She lives, as she states on her blog, Rockstar Ronan, exactly the way Ronan did, and would have continued to, with conviction and courage and love. As she takes to her blog to document everything from RTF's latest goings-on to her daily thoughts, Thompson herself has created a movement. Her loyal followers (who affectionately title themselves "Maya's Mafia") are not only aware of the havoc childhood cancer is reeking, but they refuse to go silent until the rest of the world listens. Proudly brandishing the hashtag #FUCancer, Thompson is brutally, devastatingly honest in her writing and her work.

Apparently another aspect of her rebellion is the ability to multitask with flair: In addition to being at the helm of The Ronan Thompson Foundation, Thompson is hands-on, routinely visiting Phoenix Children's Hospital with Ronan's Candy Cart, distributing goodies to sick patients of all ages (RTF recently teamed up with NFL player Adrian Wilson, who donated toys and clothing to patients). Earlier this year, RTF partnered with SpiritHoods, and Thompson appeared onscreen in a short promotional documentary. When she's not writing on her blog, she's spilling her heart and soul onto pages of a different form: The book she's writing, telling the in-depth story of Ronan and his experience. As a mother of four, there is a mother's love in everything Thompson touches. If anyone ever questioned that love is the most powerful force in the universe, they need no further example than Maya and Ronan.

Another "R" word that describes Thompson is "raw." Heart-achingly, gut-wrenchingly, poetically raw in every blog post, every Instagram snap, and every RTF activity. Gone are the days of young patients being portrayed as nothing more than cuddly bald statistics. Thompson is fierce and poignant, soulful in her ability to write and speak with candor. The truth of pediatric cancer is ugly, and Thompson doesn't shy away from that fact. It's the truth she believes in, and Ronan's truth she will continue to tell.

In a completely jaw-dropping fashion, Thompson turns grief upside down: Something about her ability to be honest, to let the world in, to let them see her family, her son, and herself at their most vulnerable is uplifting even within tragedy. When you read Thompson's writing, your heart breaks --but is filled, in the same moment, with awe, at a woman who let love conquer all. That love isn't just conquering, it is changing. She is not just changing the game; she's changing the world.

It was Ronan's spirit and his story that captured the heart of America's sweetheart, Taylor Swift. It was his charismatic, knowing blue eyes that made the world fall in love, and it was his story that made them listen. It was the bond between two soulmates, a mother and son, that sparked a foundation, and in turn, it is that foundation that will slay the beast, childhood cancer. If we stay true to the fairytales Taylor Swift loves to write, the prince will find his princess, and the world will be at peace.

In this version, the hero, Ronan, has his heroine, Maya, and the two of them will create a world where cancer is no more.

It was Maya, a lover, a revolutionary, a dreamer, a darer, who stood and screamed his story, and told the often-overlooked tales of patients and families who too often suffer in silence. It is Maya, the mother, whose love will rock the boat and make waves.

And it is Maya, the rebel, who helped Ronan change the world.

In honor of Maya's birth month, January, you can donate to The Ronan Thompson Foundation by visiting: http://www.theronanthompsonfoundation.com/

You can read Maya's personal blog at: http://rockstarronan.com/

Why does a veteran take his life every 65 minutes?

Some veterans have always suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), though it has not always had that name. Today, PTSD is better understood and treated than it has ever been. Why, then, is suicide so much more prevalent in young men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan when compared with the general population?

One of the most characteristic and debilitating symptoms of PTSD is depression. But there is a qualitative difference between traumatic-stress-induced depression and existential despair. Despair is the fundamental lack of hope and complete inability to see meaning in life. I believe depression is not the distinguishing characteristic of those vets who kill themselves -- there are many depressed people who are not suicidal -- it is despair.

Why are those who have served in America's last two wars so afflicted with this crippling malady?

Veterans of many previous wars suffered the lasting after effects of being embroiled in bloody, terrifying combat. But too many of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are mired in a despair that is rooted in the amorphous nature of these conflicts. A fog has clouded everything about these wars; from their start to their inconclusive endings.

Much effort used to be expended trying to explain that fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan would ensure the freedom of future generations of Americans. That was a tenuous proposition when it was first advanced. It seems so utterly implausible now that no one is even trying to defend it. Where does that leave the young man who went through hell in Iraq in the name of liberty for future Americans? What does that say to the young woman who believed her sacrifice in Afghanistan would have an enduring legacy?

No amount of counseling can dispel the gnawing sense that one sacrificed for a bogus cause. From this stems despair -- from a sense that so much of one's life was given for so little purpose. Today's vets do not see themselves as saviors, they cannot identify whom they defeated, they are not certain that they truly liberated anyone, and they fought, at best, a holding action against an ill-defined threat. Progress has been absent.

In Washington, the World War II Memorial is covered with inscriptions of great and noble words offered about those who fought. But the president who started our recent wars only ever offered up two words: "Mission Accomplished." And that was blatantly false. The president who is now trying to bring these wars to an end has offered two different words: "Welcome Home." And all that speaks to is a sense of contentment that these men and women have returned. Nothing meaningful has been said about what they have done, how it has mattered, whether it was of any value to the nation. And that hurts most grievously those who have served most bravely.

We cannot fault a veteran for feeling no sense of accomplishment when there was never any clear goal. We should not fault a civilian for questioning indeterminate objectives, strategy, and tactics. But the military and civilian leadership of the country can and should be heavily criticized for sending the armed forces to fight wars so ill-defined and poorly conceived that they were seen as questionable at best, ignoble at worst.

The percentage of American men and women serving in uniform today is smaller than at any time since the 1920s. Practically, this means that there are markedly fewer today who understand and appreciate what those who serve have endured than in previous generations. The sense of being outnumbered and isolated that comes from this gap in understanding is exacerbated for veterans when the civilian leadership of the nation does not honestly frame the greater purpose for which fighting men and women have gone to war.

Despair is nothing new, and it need not be something unaddressed. Just as there are therapies and treatments for PTSD, there are ways to remedy despair. They start with the communities who support America's veterans and they necessarily must involve the civilian and military leadership of this country. In real and concrete and positive ways these questions must be answered, even if we are uncomfortable with the answer: Why did these men and women fight; what good did they achieve; of what should they rightly be proud; and in what should they confidently place their hope for the future? These affirmations must be addressed to each and every man and woman who has fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. These affirmations must be as loud as the calls for war once were; as eventually became the demands to withdraw.

Postscript: I'm a veteran. What should I do?

A healthy mind and a healthy body are inextricably linked. If you're a veteran, join your local Team Red White & Blue chapter and commit yourself to the best form of mental health therapy: physical training. If you're contemplating suicide, avail yourself of resources outside the Veterans Administration like Save A Warrior and Give an Hour. Then join organizations that give you purpose through continued service like The Mission Continues, St. Bernard Project, The 6^th Branch, and Team Rubicon. Download the app POS REP which connects you via proximity to veterans in your area. Last, do your part to ensure that this never happens again by helping begin a national conversation about the debilitating effects of perpetual war, the risks of blindly following those who wrap themselves in patriotism, and the costs of long-term national engagements where sacrifices are not shared equitably.

When Sesame Workshop was founded in the late 1960s, we reimagined the way widespread technology could be used to advance educational goals like the expansion of literacy. Over 40 years later, we remain committed to both literacy and the innovative use of technology. That is why Sesame Workshop partnered with the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF) to create Every Day is Reading and Writing Day, a new bilingual (English/Spanish) digital destination that helps families make the most out of the opportunities they have to talk, read and write with their young children.

The foundation for literacy is laid years before children ever enter school, even before they can actually read and write. It begins when they scribble purposefully on a piece of paper or overhear their parents talking. These early experiences with conversations, stories, books and print are the clay from which literacy is eventually shaped.

But the richness and frequency of these experiences varies wildly between children from different economic backgrounds. Studies have shown that less than half of children between birth and five years (47.8 percent) are read to every day by their parents or other family members. According to studies conducted by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 44 out of 50 children who are having trouble learning to read in kindergarten will still be having trouble in third grade.

The need for a renewed focus on the importance of literacy is real. That's why the IICF and Sesame Workshop felt there was a need for a resource like Every Day is Reading and Writing Day.

This digitally-driven literacy initiative is guided by the belief that everyday moments can be made into educational activities. Any opportunity to talk, write or even scribble is an opportunity to expand literacy. Children's interests may vary wildly, but those interests are also an opening: They can be used to increase a child's vocabulary or teach a child to describe something purposefully. In other words, Every Day is Reading and Writing Day is a practical tool, meant to reflect the reality that children have diverse interests and aptitudes.

The site includes video segments and guides that help parents leverage their day-to-day interactions with their children into literacy-expanding activities. But the resource is for more than just families. It also includes hands-on materials for volunteers who are looking to facilitate rich, literacy-based experiences for young children. And given that teachable moments occur far more often than a family finds themselves in front of a computer, the site's literacy content is easily accessible through smartphones and tablets.

It is nothing short of essential that, when young, every child have rich experiences that drive them towards literacy. In order to ensure that takes place, Sesame Workshop, the IICF and other organizations have to work tirelessly to ensure that children from every economic background have an opportunity to achieve their full potential. With that unwavering commitment to the importance of early education in mind, we created Every Day is Reading and Writing Day.

To see the site and all the educational tools it has to offer, click here. To learn more about Sesame Workshop and all the ways we bring learning and laughter to children across the globe, click here. To learn more about all the critical work the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation does to improve American communities, click here.

As a veteran of the Gulf War some 20 years back, Rosemary Morales-Vargas said she didn't think she initially fit in at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post on Montezuma Avenue in Santa Fe.

"I remember seeing the World War I and World War II veterans here and thinking, 'This is not for me,' " the native Santa Fean said. But she came back in 2010 and joined the organization, which is 400-plus strong these days. "I was looking for something I could hold on to. This is it."

The majority of that post's members served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. But it's been tough to recruit young veterans who served in recent conflicts.

It's the same story over at the American Legion Post on Berry Avenue, where Cmdr. Pat Patterson, a member for 25 years, said younger veterans are not joining. "Once they get out [of the service], they want to be a civilian again and get away from us guys over here telling our war stories," he said. While membership in the last few years has remained at about 250 people, few come from today's military personnel.

Santa Fe's veterans organizations are attempting to reverse the trend toward declining and aging membership by drawing in new members. At 1 p.m. -- or 1300 in military time -- Tuesday, a Veterans Assembly will be held in the Governing Board's conference room at Santa Fe Community College on Richards Avenue. Though the event is aimed at those who served in recent conflicts, all veterans are invited to attend, and refreshments will be served.

Army and National Guard veteran Frank Schober, 80, is one of the organizers of the event. He is a member of the local Military Order of the World Wars, which, he said, has about 15 regular members. "It's beginning to look like the Grand Army of the Republic," he joked, noting that it is nearly impossible to attract younger veterans.

"They're not joiners in a lot of ways, even generationally," Schober said. "It's endemic in that population cohort. Volunteer fire departments are also having a hard time getting young people to join. So are the Masons, the Knights of Columbus and other groups." He said older veterans can do more to connect to younger veterans.

While many of these organizations are housed in buildings that many assume are simply private clubs, they often offer links to social services for veterans and, in some cases -- as with Santa Fe's VFW -- financial support for widows and college scholarships for high school graduates.

The VFW's leaders are leading a charge to bring in the under-40 crowd. Afghanistan War veteran Dante Halleck, who is in his mid-30s, said he wants to see a swell of new veterans coming in the door. "We want to help them return and make them realize they are part of the community," he said. "And let them know that this is someplace where they are always welcome."

The Women Veterans of New Mexico, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Albuquerque, reaches out to younger veterans through the Veteran Resource Center at The University of New Mexico, according to Judy Quintana, president of the organization. "A lot of them, once they come out [of the military], transition into school to help the move forward with employment." She said younger veterans often are not immediately focused on hooking up with a support group while they are looking for work or reacclimating themselves to a community.

Media reports from around the country have emphasized the challenges many veterans groups are facing as older members die off and younger veterans embrace a "non-joiner" attitude.

Many of these groups were founded nearly a century ago. The VFW began in 1899. The American Legion and the Military Order of the World Wars both started in 1919. Others, such as the Women Veterans of America, began as recently as 1990.

Shober said he will consider Tuesday's event a success if "it gets these younger veterans meeting and talking to one another."

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com. ___

Visit The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) at www.santafenewmexican.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Firefighters man, they just have a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Sylvie, a 13-year-old Siberian husky, was playing with her owner and accidentally ran across a patch of ice covering Boston's Pleasure Bay last week, falling through. Sean P. Coyle, a firefighter with South Boston's Ladder 19, jumped to the rescue, donning a safety suit and hopping in a rescue basket to help the pooch escape the frigid waters, according to a report from the Boston Herald.

husky rescue 1

During the rescue, Coyle fell in himself, telling the Herald that his first instinct was to make sure to save Sylvie. “If the ice breaks and this goes south, I’m in this," he said. "I’m not going to let her drown."

The story's made headlines around the country, with many praising the firefighter as a hero, and we'd have to agree.

husky rescue 3

Last Friday marked a big step forward for New York state's animal rights activists, as well as dog-lovers everywhere.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a bill that enables local municipalities to enact and enforce their own laws governing commercial dog breeding facilities known as puppy mills -- and to crack down on breeders harder than the state ever has before, according to the Buffalo News.

"Inadequate state resources previously made it impossible to detect unlicensed dog breeders who intentionally avoid regulation by quickly selling dogs online and through private sales," state Sen. Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo), a co-sponsor of the bill, told the paper.

The new law will give pet dealers greater oversight on the health and safety conditions of their animals, LongIsland.com reports. Local governments can require that pet shops only sell dogs that have been properly raised and do not come from puppy mills.

"This is a good step in the giant undertaking of getting rid of puppy mills, which only produce suffering," said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), another sponsor of the bill, according to the New York Daily News

The law comes after years of activists pushing New York state officials toward greater regulation. Among the bill's supporters were the Humane Society of the United States and "Glee" actress Lea Michele, who penned a letter to Cuomo just days before he signed the new law, according to E! Online.

h/t The New York Daily News

One Thursday last summer, the weather in greater D.C. was typically sunny, hot and humid. The Weather Service, however, had warned all morning about the potential for severe pop-up thunderstorms, micro-bursts and other alarming possibilities that afternoon. Sure enough, around lunchtime, black clouds swept across the sky, lightening flashed, thunder rolled, and rain poured down, the storm clouds then disappearing as swiftly as they had arrived.

Out for a sandwich, I had stayed dry under an awning until the worst of it passed, returning to find Jasper, a man living on the streets for years, sitting on Bethesda Cares' doorstep. He was drenched only from his knees to his feet.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Oh, it was totally my fault. I fell asleep in that doorway a little earlier, but forgot to make sure my legs were covered in case anything happened! Totally my fault," he said, looking down at his wet feet and shaking his head. I didn't think he was to blame, but didn't say anything.

This past Monday afternoon, while I was at work at our Drop-In Center, outside temperatures hovered in the high thirties. I thought back on that summertime exchange. On that chilly Monday, like that summer day, nothing in the air gave a clue about the swift impending changes, weather-wise. Monday's weather was cold, but I could not sense the dangerous "polar vortex" of sub-zero temperatures that newscasters kept warning would descend on the mid-Atlantic that very night.

Not for the first time, I wondered about life on the street.

What happens when you are not part of the social fabric? How do you function if you don't watch the news? When you have no phone texting you helpful alerts?

By Monday afternoon, one answer was clear: If you did not know about the impending frigid weather and you lived outside, you could die.

Of course, some people living unsheltered have cell phones, on-line access at libraries, and/or regular relationships with Drop-In Centers like ours. And I don't really know the nature and extent of any informal informational networks in this subculture, but they exist.

The problem that night was the people who might fall through the informational cracks -- the price could be so high. So we got the word out. Working along with County police, our outreach team canvassed the County well into the night, at great personal risk. They went to parks, parking lots and anywhere else they know that people are living outside. Speaking in English and in Spanish, they warned people about the weather. They urged people to go to emergency shelters. They made sure that undocumented people knew they could safely walk into shelters that night. They carried with them heavy army blankets, hats and gloves for those who would refuse to budge.

And they posted updates on Facebook...

7:08 p.m We'll be doing outreach tonight to visit our homeless neighbors living unsheltered. This is dangerous weather, and the situation underscores the need to have efficient systems and housing preferences for people experiencing homelessness. Stay tuned for our updates throughout the evening...

...which I read from the warmth of my home...

10:00 p.m. The temps are frigid. It's -4 with the wind chill right now, and it appears most of our unsheltered street homeless have gone into shelters or underground into parking garages. We'll continue with our outreach for a while longer

11:48 p.m. We just wrapped up checking a few more hotspots and delivered several blankets to unsheltered homeless. The wind chill is down to -9. Please call the crisis center if you see someone in need of help. 240-777-4000.

...as I thought about Longfellow's poem on Paul Revere's ride.

"One if by land, two if by sea." The number of lanterns in the belfry of the North Church told Revere how the British were approaching. Revere's job was to hoof it through the countryside with the news.

Tuesday morning dawned and, miraculously, all of our clients had made it through the night. I keep thinking about the poem. Sure, we need our news media, our lanterns in the church. But we still need our riders as well.

My heart is troubled to be reading about more racially motivated deaths toward black males. Alfred Wright and Kendrick Johnson are two names that have recently come up since Trayvon Martin and I am quite sure there are others that have not been publicized.

According to the 2011 FBI report on hate crimes, racial bias accounted for 46.9 percent of those. That is almost half of hate crimes. That means we still have a race problem in America.

This blog post isn't going to discuss poverty, education and the political system in regards to race. That will come in later entries as they all factor in. We want to start with the visual bias, the unconscious perception we can hold towards black males. Because we believe that is where it all begins. If we can get leaders to shift their perception of how they view young black males, we can then affect change with poverty, education and the political system, because that means someone cares enough to do something different for their fellow humans that only have darker skin.

I was speaking with a colleague the other day who confessed that he at times felt scared/uncomfortable around young black men he passed by on the street. He found that so troubling because he was indeed black himself. He said, even he was taught to be scared of other black men, it is what he heard and saw growing up. This same man has a Masters from Harvard and works with youth. So not only is he educated, but he works directly with young people. Those are some powerful messages that he was given as a child. That gives a lot of credit to images and subtle messages we can all come in contact with growing up.

Think of characters on TV and in movies. Are the villains or rapists usually black? Are the heroes usually white? I am talking about the every day movies and shows many grew up on, not the indie, conscious films or shows that strive to make a point or have a moral compass. Even if unintentional, those images shape our thoughts and actions.

NYU psychologist John Bargh's experiments on "automaticity of social behavior" revealed that we often judge people based on unconscious stereotypes -- and we can't help but act on them. "Stereotypes are categories that have gone too far," Bargh told Psychology Today. "When we use stereotypes, we take in the gender, the age, the color of the skin of the person before us, and our minds respond with messages that say hostile, stupid, slow, weak. Those qualities aren't out there in the environment. They don't reflect reality." Stereotyping various groups of people based on social group, ethnicity or class is something nearly all of us do, even if we make an effort not to -- and it can lead us to draw unfair and potentially damaging conclusions about entire populations.

I live in Los Angeles, which is extremely diverse and pretty liberal when it comes to race. However, I grew up in Indiana and went to college in Missouri. I know what it's like to hear racist people talk. I also know that Trayvon lived in Florida, Alfred lived in Texas and Kendrick lived in Georgia. All southern states which are sadly conveying to me that racism is still alive and well.

We are using our campaign to shift the images and stories that people hear about black males. We want to do what we can to bring the human side of black males to life in an otherwise closed off society. EVERYONE is human. EVERYONE deserves a chance to thrive. EVERYONE bleeds, pays bills, loves, feels fear, laughs and has family. We want to do our part to shift the perception that a lot of society holds towards black males because the black men we know live just like you and me and it is time to tell their stories.

About the I Am Just Like U Campaign:

I Am Just Like U is founded on influential, heartfelt storytelling of the every day black male. Communicating these stories of healthy, productive and integrity filled lives through a series of unique and simple images. To rise up and call out the role models of the current generations.

IAJLU is looking to accomplish the following in 2014: INTERVIEW 1000 men = 1000 stories (ages 10 and up), HOST One-Day Workshops in correlation with the IAJLU Photoshoot Tour, PRODUCE Annual IAJLU 5 Day Conference in LA, as well as interactive city-wide campaigns (billboards, bus stop posters, etc.).

The IAJLU campaign is invaluable because it is time to make a greater impact on society; shifting perception and inspiring change.

For more information on our vision, please visit: I AM JUST LIKE U
To support the campaign, please visit: INDIEGOGO

Join I Am Just Like U in shifting perception and inspiring change...to reach its full impact and EXPANSION as intended.

"See my two legs?" Agnes Zhelesnik, America's oldest working teacher, asks in the video above. "They still move."

The home economics teacher, better known as "Granny," celebrated her 100th birthday on Sunday, CBS News reported. But her age hasn't slowed her down.

Granny's been a beloved face at the Sundance School in North Plainfield, N.J., since she began teaching there part time in 1995, according to CNN. She was the ripe age of 81 at the time.

Granny was a stay-at-home mother for 60 years before she began teaching, CNN reported. She has kids, grandkids, great-grandkids and, of course, her students, who she's been teaching to cook and knit for almost 20 years.

"The children make my day," she told the Star Ledger. "It’s a great life watching them grow up."

Her "kids" -- and their parents -- are certainly grateful for Granny's devotion.

"It’s like she’s [my son's] granny, not just a teacher at the school," Sundance parent Marina Gvatwick told the Ledger. "She teaches about real life, and it’s symbolic that she has such a healthy and long and full life."

h/t MSN

The chemical that spilled into a major West Virginia river last week forced about 300,000 people in Charleston and surrounding areas not to use their tap water over several days for drinking, cooking, bathing or washing clothes or anything else. Having to use bottled for many daily tasks has no doubt been an inconvenience, and a handful of West Virginians have been treated for mild, flu-like symptoms after being exposed to the chemical in the water.

For many people around the world — especially in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia — a lack of access to clean water is a fact of everyday life. Here is a snapshot of access to safe drinking water and sanitary conditions worldwide, according to the World Health Organization and UNICEF's Joint Monitoring Programme, which used data gathered in 2011: — An estimated 768 million people were using drinking water sources that weren't adequately protected from outside contamination, particularly from fecal matter, and 185 million used surface water (from lakes, rivers, streams or oceans) for daily drinking.

— 2.5 billion people, or about 36 percent of the world's population, did not have access to a bathroom that hygienically separated human waste from human contact, say by flushing. Of those, 761 million used public facilities and 693 million used facilities that didn't meet minimum hygiene standards.

— Diarrhea was the leading cause of illness and death in the world, and the majority of diarrhea-related deaths resulted from a lack of access to bathrooms, as well as unsafe drinking water and insufficient access to clean water for hygiene.

— There were 45 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, where fewer than 50 percent of the people have access to bathrooms equipped to hygienically separate human waste from human contact.

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Online:

http://www.wssinfo.org/

Medical students, as part of their training, are assigned to examine "patients" who pretend to have various maladies. Remember Kramer's (fake) bout of gonorrhea?

Only sometimes it turns out those medical actors aren't pretending.

Back in March, a University of Virginia medical student Ryan Jones examined Jim Malloy, a retiree who's acted out a whole range of ailments for aspiring local doctors.

Malloy had, in this case, been instructed to exhibit symptoms of abdominal aortic aneurysm, "a condition in which a small section of the lower aorta begins to balloon," according a news release put out at the beginning of January by the University of Virginia.

But as Jones was doing his examination, he found symptoms of an actual abdominal aortic aneurysm -- these conditions are fatal 80 percent of the time, if they burst, according to the National Institutes of Health.

"I said, 'I think I found an aneurism' and he played along because that's his job and so I'm like: Does he actually know he has this?" Jones said to WDBJ7.

But in fact he did not know. Malloy was advised to go see a cardiologist. Which he did -- after several months, per the news release, and not a moment too soon:

The Malloys, who live in Crozet, Va., and have seven grown children, say life was busy at that time, and a few months went by before Jim actually made the appointment. When he was finally checked, he learned that he did indeed have an AAA, which was large enough to be of concern. He underwent stent placement surgery at the University of Virginia Medical Center in August and is now doing fine.

"Jim's life was saved by a University of Virginia medical student, no doubt about it," Malloy's wife Louise told ABC News..

"Had he been portraying a [disease] with another symptom, I wouldn't have done that part of the physical exam," said Jones, a fourth year med student who plans to become a radiation oncologist. "It's not a routine portion of the exam, it's only because he was portraying that case of [abdominal aortic aneurysm]."

My 2013 holiday season was one for the books -- I had an awesome Thanksgiving in Tahoe with my wife Ashley, and we split up Christmas between L.A. and Lake Arrowhead. I worked hard to balance each holiday between both my family and Ashley's since this was the first year that we were married. It became overwhelming at times, but each holiday was filled with so much love, laughter and celebration that any and all stressful moments seemed insignificant.

Now that the holidays are over, I am excited to jump into 2014 because I have some exciting things on the horizon. For example, I am participating in TPAS, which is an alumni organization that helps keep alumni from all different facilities nationwide connected to one another. It's one big support system that I am excited to be a part of, especially because I know first hand how important it is to have support during recovery. Participating in a program like this is something that I always hoped would happen for me, and now it is all coming to fruition. Having seen my involvement in the field of addiction and efforts to raise awareness, TPAS reached out to me to be a part of their community, and I couldn't be happier about it.

It's no secret that I went through recovery myself. One thing I know about recovery is that going through treatment is not nearly as hard as trying to stay sober once you are out. Aftercare is truly where the challenge of sobriety lies. Because I can connect with the idea so deeply, I have jumped into this project whole-heartedly.

Through TPAS I will be able to collaborate with other members and use peer support and advocacy to help encourage others to stay sober. One thing I am really excited about is getting involved in the annual alumni events we get to host. For example, we are holding a Super Bowl party in just a matter of weeks for all members to attend.

The most important aspect of my involvement with this program is to help others navigate through the hard times that life after recovery can bring. I also want to continue to raise awareness about the disease of addiction. It has been really cool to see how far I have come and I am proud of the direction I am going in!

The coming year is a crucial one for humanity, the future and the planet. Throughout 2014, in a series of global and regional deliberations, representatives from all member states of the United Nations will begin negotiating the basis for a new development framework to be adopted in 2015 that will affect the lives of billions of people from all countries, rich or poor, developed and developing, from north and south, for decades to come.

The framework under discussion, known as the Post-2015 Development Agenda, will build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which comprise specific goals and targets and served to motivate the international community's mobilization for its followup. The new Development Agenda will need to have as its essential objective eradicating poverty and promoting social, economic and environmental sustainability.

The Millennium Development Goals, whose 15-year horizon ends in 2015, have been successful in reducing poverty, improving access to clean water and sanitation, galvanizing health advances, and expanding primary education in the developing world. But we still have a long way to go. The Post-2015 Development Agenda offers us the opportunity to build on what went well, learn from what didn't, and reduce gaps among countries and within our societies, so that they are aligned with today's realities.

These realities include the fact that more than 200 million women who wish to avoid or delay pregnancy lack the means to do so. Every day some 2,000 young people contract HIV and 37,000 girls are given away in marriages before they turn 18 years old. Forced marriages are just one aspect of an epidemic of discrimination and violence that continues to undermine the lives and aspirations of women and girls. The toll, in terms of death and disability, lost opportunities and human suffering, is incalculable.

These realities rob individuals of the fundamental human right to make consequential decisions about one's own sexual and reproductive life, including if, when and whom to marry, as well as whether or not to have children. I joined the United Nations High-Level Task Force for the International Conference on Development (ICPD) to help make sure that sexual and reproductive rights for all are specifically addressed in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and that the rights of women and young people receive the priority they deserve.

The Task Force promotes these issues not only as matters of human rights but as important aspects for achieving development, given that they contribute greatly to health and well-being and help reduce glaring social, economic and gender-based inequalities. These inequalities are directly related to the dimensions of sustainability that the United Nations will be working toward and that the Task Force has analyzed in detail. And they are among the most cost-effective investments possible.

Discussions of sexuality and reproduction are often swept under the table, because these are uncomfortable and contentious topics to raise. However, the price of ignoring them is too high. When these issues are ignored, the rights of women, young people and especially poor and excluded sectors of society -- the very people who we should be empowering, the very people we are counting on to help generate a more sustainable world -- are trampled.

I have spent much of my life studying human sexuality and observing the many ways it affects the lives of individuals, families and communities. I am convinced that human rights will not be fully realized unless sexual and reproductive rights, which are so basic and intrinsic to human life, are protected. I have also witnessed how positive change can take hold, proof of which is the landmark progress in policies and laws in some countries on the rights of sexual minorities.

When sexual and reproductive rights are supported, everyone benefits. More people are able to realize their potential and fully participate in public, social and economic life. This, in turn, stimulates an evolution in the way people think. They begin to regard others in terms of their individual worth, not through a lens of race, gender, disability, migrant status, sexual orientation and gender identity, or any other factor. That uplifts us all.

These are some of my wishes for the new year. I wish us to promote a global development agenda that enhances the freedoms and full capacities of women and young people by protecting all their human rights, especially those related to their dignity and their sexual and reproductive lives. I want this not only because it is the right thing to do but because I believe that these changes can contribute to the social and economic transformations that are required in order to have the world we want -- a more just, equitable and united world, a world of freedom and equality for all.

Mariela Castro Espín is a member of the Cuban parliament, the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education (El Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual, or CENESEX), and a member of the United Nations High-Level Task Force for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). She is the daughter of current Cuban president Raúl Castro and the niece of former president Fidel Castro.

Jeremy Lockett got the surprise of a lifetime when he went to cash in his winning lottery ticket.

Lockett, of Malden, Mass., went to the Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters on Jan. 7 to collect the $50,000 he thought he had won, ABC News reported. To his delight, he learned that he'd purchased a $20 "Lifetime Spectacular" ticket and had actually won $50,000 every year for life.

Lockett and his family "went nuts," a lottery spokeswoman told Boston.com.

lottery winner

The winning ticket was purchased at Stop N Gas Inc. in Dorchester, Mass., according to the outlet. The store will receive a $10,000 commission on the sale.

Lockett decided to take the cash option, according to MassLottery.com. He received a one-time payment of $650,000, minus taxes.

The site reported that he plans to pay off small debts and make some investments.

At least 11 oil spills have crippled parts of Trinidad and Tobago, coating miles of beach with crude as the state-owned energy company scrambles to control what's being called one of the country's worst environmental disasters.

Petrotrin, Trinidad's state-owned oil company, first responded to an oil spill near La Brea on Dec. 17, according to a report from the Trinidad Guardian. Over the past month, the company has confirmed at least 11 spills and was slapped with a $3.1 million fine from the country's Environmental Management Authority last week, which the company's president, Khalid Hassanali, called "harsh."

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trinidad1

Here's where it gets weird.

The pipeline responsible for the first of the leaks at Petrotrin's Point-a-Pierre facility, which resulted in an initial spill of more than 7,000 barrels, may not have undergone any inspections for the past 17 years, according to a confidential report commissioned by the company and obtained by the Trinidad Guardian. Of the other 10 leaks, Petrotrin has accused saboteurs of causing at least 2 while releasing a series of media releases praising what they describe as "significant progress" during clean-up efforts, saying the beaches would be clean one to two weeks after the spill.

Petrotrin did not return requests for comment in time for publication.

However, local officials have accused the company of trying to downplay the extent and size of the spill, according to the Trinidad Express. Two former energy ministers also came forward earlier this month, saying Petrotrin did know about the state of its aging infrastructure after a government audit was ordered in 2010.

"There was no question of sabotage, it was all a question of bad operations on the part of Petrotrin," MP Paula Gopee-Scoon said. “It was a cover-up from day one.”

Petrotrin has since used the controversial dispersant Corexit 9500 to control the spill, used in record quantities by BP during 2010's Gulf oil spill. Many scientists have said the chemical becomes far more toxic than oil alone when the two are mixed, harming marine life, but Petrotrin's president has defended the use of the dispersant, saying "all the chemicals we are using are approved chemicals and we are using them in the approved manner."

trinidad3

Petrotrin's chairman denied the occurrence of any more spills in the region this week and insisted claims that oil had spread to neighboring Venezuela were false. But government officials have demanded the Minister of Energy commission an independent investigation into the cause of the spill "by people who don’t have anything to protect and no rear end to cover."

Trinidad's energy department approved a new national oil spill contingency plan in January 2013.

Take a look at more photos below:

You may not be able to actually travel through time, but this video will get you pretty close.

86 years ago, filmmaker Claude-Friese Greene released "The Open Road," a famous collection of films he took on an early color film camera.

Then, at the beginning of last year, London-based director Simon Smith followed Greene's route through London on his way to making his own version of "The Open Road." After collecting a series of shots from the same places Greene did, Smith laid the two films side-by-side for an incredible look at two far apart generations.

While the people of London and the vehicles they drive look quite different, the video also sheds light on some continuity in the city.

Many shots, aside from the quality of film or the placement of a stoplight, look eerily similar.

A frightening dashcam video has captured just how dangerous it can be to text while driving.

According to police, 23-year-old Michael Woody had been texting and driving around Fort Myers, Fla., in the wee hours of Saturday morning when he careened off the road and crashed into a tree, flipping his car over in the process.

"This person had no control. [He] went from driving in the left lane to crashing in seconds," police spokesman Lt. Victor Medico told CBS affiliate WINK-TV, adding that the incident was "very scary."

NBC affiliate WFLA.com reports that Woody was not seriously hurt in the crash, which was captured by the dashboard camera of a police car that had been following the young man's swerving car.

Woody was reportedly cited for careless driving and texting while driving.

“Texting and driving is a serious epidemic. We hope [this video] is a wake-up call to those that text and drive," Medico told WINK-TV.

Cynthia Gouw's career is built on reinvention -- she went from model, to actress, to journalist, from an aspiring lawyer, to fearless advocate for Asian American culture, to compassionate community activist (www.cynthiagouw.com).

The first in her family born in the States, Cynthia recalls the legacy of her maternal great grandfather proudly. He started as a penniless "coolie," a Chinese immigrant working in Indonesia, who divided his three-penny daily earnings: one to live on, one to his mother and one in savings. Like so many men at that time, he hoped for an heir to his empire and fathered 22 children, out of which he had three sons.

Cynthia remembers that fact proudly -- for she has managed to outgrow and outdo such a legacy. In fact, because of it, she wanted to make a difference, to make a change.

After train delays and a slow cab, I was embarrassed to arrive at NFTE Philadelphia's gala after the program had started. As I listened to our MC, Cynthia, describe NFTE Philly's founding, I was struck by her Hollywood-like presence.

After all, Cynthia is one of our greatest advocates, along with her husband Doug Alexander, who is co-chairman of NFTE Philadelphia, and actually helped to get our program off the ground. He is also President of ICG, a fast growing, publicly traded cloud software company (his bio can be found here). Doug outlined aggressive plans along with his co-chairman, Steve Zarrilli, on how to continue to grow NFTE Philadelphia out of its start-up stage: Last year NFTE Philadelphia educated 1,500 students up from 700 the year before. Their goal is to get to 7,000 students per year by training 60 more teachers, and entering 10 new schools over the next two years.

The NFTE Philadelphia Executive Director, Sylvia McKinney.

"NFTE is a program with a lot of leverage," says Doug.

For $1,000 we can train a teacher. For $500, we can educate a student. Imagine that, for $500 we can teach a kid how to take educated risks to realize their dreams, versus the risk-taking they witness in their neighborhoods that can destroy their lives.

Steve Mariotti: Tell us about your experience in high school.

Cynthia Gouw: No matter how far you go in life, I think who you were in high school is often what shapes you the most -- a frightening prospect for those who know us! I went to El Cerrito High, just north of UC Berkeley.

I was pretty nerdy, very eager and always felt I had something to prove and for good or bad -- that hasn't changed much. The school was very socio-economically and racially diverse: a third black, a third white and a third Asian and Latino. There were many lessons about getting along with different people and cultures. I actually think some of my confidence as a journalist comes from that -- whether I am meeting Oprah, to the head of Hong Kong, to a murderer on death row -- they remind me of someone I knew back in high school!

SM: How did you become a journalist?

CG: Well, I had a good background: I minored in Asian American studies and majored in Political Science and International Relations. My parents were always very gracious by giving back to the community; and, they taught me that I had a responsibility as well. I thought I could use my pen as my sword by going to Law School -- but it wasn't what I expected, and the lure of Hollywood was too great. Before I became a journalist, I worked as a model and an actress.

SM: As an actress, how did you get started?

CG: I had been modeling since I was 16 -- and back then, there weren't many Asian Americans in the industry -- so in many ways, I got lucky. I started landing many commercials and won the Spokesmodel competition on the show Star Search. I was a huge Star Trek fan, and when Bill Shatner cast me as the Romulan Ambassador, Caithlin Dar in the movie Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier -- I thought I had died and gone to heaven -- or to Romulus! It was all great fun, so I had to really force myself to go back and finish Law School. But I am glad and proud I did.

SM: So, after modeling, acting and Law School, how did you begin your journalism career?

CG: I really wanted to marry my love of storytelling with being on camera. I started my TV news career at the very bottom -- as the farm reporter in Bakersfield, California -- and within three months, my agent landed me a job in Dallas -- a jump of 120 media markets! But I was way too green, and it really showed. Because of that, I learned a lot and I was determined not to make the same mistakes again. When I moved to Sacramento as an Anchor/Reporter, I dug into my reporting, and covered international news like the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China, and later I followed immigrants across the border from Mexico to the United States. I also reported on a brutal initiation ceremony into a girl gang -- a shocking glimpse into their world. I won three Emmy Awards for these stories. Then I went on to work as a reporter in TV news in San Francisco, and then later for the NPR station there, where I covered Asian American affairs and the politics and culture of the Pacific Rim.

SM: Why did you leave TV News journalism?

CG: I had covered about 100 murders in my career -- with not much time to cover the roots of the problem. One week, I had a homicide on Monday, then two kids in Richmond, California were killed on Wednesday; then on Friday a man killed himself, his wife and his three kids. That's when I decided it was time to move on. I switched to a job at San Francisco's NPR station, and really enjoyed the longer format reporting offered there.

SM: What did you do when you moved to Philly?

CG: Well it took me 6 years to land a job in San Francisco -- so I wasn't planning on leaving! But then a mutual friend set me up on a blind date with my husband, Doug and I moved to Philadelphia to be with him. I think many Philadelphians feel they play second fiddle to New York and D.C., so I wanted to do a show that celebrated my newfound city. I developed SnapGlowTV -- a web based show focusing strictly on Philly beauty, fashion and lifestyle. I was named one of the region's up and coming women entrepreneurs and a top blogger. Currently, I am the national TV spokesperson for L'Oreal products -- focusing on Clarisonic Skin Care Systems.

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The former Miss Chinatown USA, Cynthia had three pieces of advice to share with young entrepreneurs:

Follow your talent, not your passion, and your talent will become your passion.

Embrace failure; it's your best teacher.

Network aggressively. Success almost always comes through the help of others, and by you helping others to succeed.

Special thanks to Lauren Bailey for assistance on this article.

The "Portraits of Boston" photo project aims to catch a moment in time -- a person’s expression, hopes and feelings in an unscripted instant.

When photographer Ivan Velinov snapped a shot of a homeless man on the street back in May, he captured the man’s gut-wrenching struggle in that moment, but the story behind the image comes with a lasting lesson.

The picture -- and the accompanying conversation the two shared -- recently surfaced on Imgur. Their talk involves the harsh realities of depression, suicide and alienation, yet also teaches us how the simplest act of compassion can help to ease indescribable pain.

Velinov gave HuffPost permission to repost the whole conversation below. Click over to Portraits of Boston to see the original post, as well as more photos of inspiring Bostonians.

"Hey man, take my picture!"

"I can’t do it. It’s too dark."

"Yeah, we need some light. Let’s go over there."

"Are you homeless?"

"Yes, I am."

"How long have you been homeless?"

"15 years. I’ve been in Boston 8 months. Before that I was in Washington, Virginia, New York, Philadelphia, Louisiana, Florida…"

"Why didn’t you stay in Florida? It’s so much warmer."

"I wanted to see my family. But they don’t want to see me. They don’t understand depression. They treat me like dirt. Homeless people treat me better than my family."

"And what happened 15 years ago? How did you end up on the streets?"

"I tried to burn myself twice. I had 30 surgeries. I was dead two times, but God brought me back. I don’t know why."

"And why did you do it?"

"I was depressed. Why you crying?"

"Because you are a beautiful person, and my family is really messed up, and I’ve been very depressed. I think I can understand you."

"Yes, I am a good person. And when you take people’s pictures, don’t disrespect them."

"No, man, I won’t. I like people. That’s why I take their pictures."

"And when you make your portfolio, don’t denigrate people. Let the pictures speak for themselves."

"I will. Are you safe on the streets?"

"Yes, I am…And now I have $8 to buy me some food."

"That’s all I have. Next time I see you, I will give you more."

"No, man. It ain’t all about money. Give me a hug. And next time you see me, give me a hug again. And thanks for taking my picture."

This Is What "Second Acts" Should Be About

The Power of R: Maya Thompson, Rebel With A Cause

The True Cost of Blind Patriotism: Despair and Veteran Suicide

Building a Foundation for Literacy

Veterans Groups Look To Replenish Ranks

Boston Firefighter Rescues Siberian Husky From Ice-Covered Bay (PHOTOS)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Signs Law Enabling Local Regulation Of Puppy Mills

Dangerously Uninformed: Getting News to the Unsheltered

Are We Being Taught to Be Afraid of African American Men?

Agnes 'Granny' Zhelesnik, America's Oldest Working Teacher, Turns 100 Years Old, Charms Our Socks Off

Many Worldwide Don't Have Access To Clean Water

A Med Student's Pretend Examination Saved This Man's Life

Keeping It Connected

Another New Year -- And One More Chance to Choose the World We Want

Jeremy Lockett Thought He Hit A $50,000 Jackpot, Discovers He Actually Won Money For Life

Trinidad Oil Spills Leave State-Owned Energy Company Scrambling To Clean Up (PHOTOS)

Stunning Side-By-Side Look At London In 1927 And 2013 (VIDEO)

Here's Why You Should NEVER Text While Driving (VIDEO)

NFTE Philadelphia's Advocate, Cynthia Gouw: Actress, Journalist, Model and Community Activist

Homeless Man's Heartbreaking Story Shows Everyone Deserves To Be Loved