Every year Africa faces severe floods. Each year the people of Africa lose their homes, livestock and loved ones to these devastating floods. They are left with little access to food, medical supplies and due to the lost of crops, with little hope of getting back on their feet. The floods in 2009 affected more than 900,000 people and was described the worst in 150 years.

Yes the Rhode Island flood was a disaster. But every year the floods in Africa affect hundreds of thousands.

In poor vulnerable communities such disasters affect a higher amount of people. Watch this video and see why we need to help fight poverty and prevent disasters. You don’t have to work in the nonprofit sector to help. Donate or help spread the word to others who can.

As told in this video “Poverty puts people in harms way. Invest in building the strength of poor communities around the world. Invest now; don’t wait until the next disaster strikes.”

Max Lucado Fearless: Imagine your Life Without Fear

Chapter 2: Fear of not mattering

Ah, there it is. There is the question. The Amazon River out of which a thousand fears flow: do we matter? We fear we don’t. We fear nothingness, insignificance. We fear evaporation. We fear that in the last tabulation we make no contribution to the final sum. We fear coming and going and no one knowing.

It’s time to deal with the fear of not mattering. Take this one seriously. The fear that you are one big zero will become a self-fulfilling prophecy that will ruin your life. It works like this.

Your slugging away at a menial job that pays poorly and saps your energy. The salary covers the bills but nothing more. Your God-given abilities languish like unwatered roses. But then you read a job opening that capitalizes on your skills, maximizes your abilities. So in a moment of uncharacteristic courage, you submit your application. The employer invites you in for an interview. That’s when the mentality of the Tribe of the Too Smalls returns. “I’ll never impress them,” you moan. “I’ll never get this job.” A mouse in a lions’ den has better odds of success. You flop miserably and descend yet another level into the basement of self-defeat.

Fear of insignificance creates the result it dreads, arrives at the destination it tries to avoid, facilitates the scenario it disdains. If you pass your days mumbling, “Ill never make a difference; I’m not worth anything,” guess what? You will be sentencing yourself to a life of gloom without parole.

Fear!

As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” While Roosevelt was referring to America’s economy, I am addressing those people that sometimes let fear paralyze them.  Fear is like a leech that sucks every ounce of confidence out of you and prevents you from taking the next step. It keeps you in this box full of reasons why you shouldn’t go for it.

Every time you try to make a big change in your life fear brings its friends…anxiety, stress, worry, and indecision. You have to be really careful and reject those feelings that will try to stomp on your confidence and cripple you in a stage of indecision.

Every time I try to step into a new venture fear tries to creep in and bring a bag of imperfections. For far too long I have had some ideas about addressing some of the problems that are affecting the youth from my community. The anxiety wasn’t even letting me get past the research stage.

While it is normal to have those feelings of anxiety, it is up to you to overcome them and not let them corner you into a stage of indecision. Overcoming fear is one of the most important things in life. If you don’t, you will find yourself in a stage of “what if”, because you where too afraid to take risk and go after your goals and dreams.

Run as fast as you can from fear… it’s a scary thing

It drives me crazy when an organization lists a bunch of skills and experiences needed for a position but is unwilling to consider unpaid work experience. What does the wage have to do with it? I have gained more experience from unpaid nonprofit work than I ever did from “paid” nonprofit work.

You go down the skills list and meet all requirements or maybe even exceed it, only to find out that it has to be “paid” experience. What?

Of course this does not apply to every organization out there. There are those that see the significance of unpaid nonprofit work and consider it when making their hiring decision.

It is very impressive to work at a great position in the nonprofit industry, but it’s even more impressive to accomplish things when you weren’t getting paid for it. I really think that nothing else screams more passion or commitment than that.

Work experience, whether paid or unpaid offers you the chance to build your skills and gain awareness of the area you are interested in. If you are unemployed, use this time wisely to get to the heart-core of your passion. Find your interest and give it your all. Find what motivates you and go out there and do it. I am motivated by my desire to live a passionate and meaningful life and by my aspiration to see at-risk youth succeed.

Photo Credit

“I move from house to house about every three or four weeks because my parents and relatives aren’t able to take care of me all the time. When I was a kid my aunt was stabbed and killed upstairs while I was downstairs in the basement. Sometimes my brother and I would get really hungry because my mom would forget to feed us while she was doing drugs.”

This is just one of the many heartbreaking stories told by the kids at Colorado UpLift. Colorado Uplift helps at-risk youth surpass similar situations by building long-term mentoring relationships with them from 4^th grade through college and providing several programs.

Christie Ziegler who works at Colorado Uplift says “Our kids are graduating at 90%, compared to 52% average rate in the schools our kids attend, and 82% are enrolling in post-secondary institutions.”

No one can speak better about the change they are making than the kids themselves. Here is what some of them are saying about Uplift:

“I used to go to Castro Elementary in the 5th grade. UpLift came to my school and I used to think of them as role-models. Now that I’m in high school, I think of myself as one.”

“As I move forward, I will continue to grow, but more importantly I will strive to help others grow the way my UpLift mentors have helped me. I will continue to lead, break down barriers, and pull others up with me.”

I would love to hear of any youth organization making a change in your area. Please share.

You cannot make such a big proposal without discussing the reasons behind it in details with the parents and the community. This will only lead to furious parents with hundreds of questions and the phone lines of the school department flooded. Instead, you should withhold from making public any big decision affecting hundreds of students, their parents and the community without offering an analysis of the decision. The school department should also get feedback from parent leaders before making the proposal public. You want the parents to accept and support the decision. Offer more information ahead of time.

Maybe the proposal is beneficial, but with the lack of information I am finding it hard to understand how. I am finding it difficult to comprehend how is this going to benefit these kids. Are they not the most important factor here? I can just imagine the worried faces of the teachers from these schools.

There are so many nonprofits making a change in the lives of youth that deserve recognition. Every so often I will feature a nonprofit that is committed to making a lasting change in the lives of at-risk youth.

This week I’d like to acknowledge Year Up. Year Up is a one-year, intensive training program that provides urban youth adults 18-24 with a combination of skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate internship.

Year Up graduated its ninth class of Providence, RI on Friday, January 29^th. With sites in Rhode Island, Atlanta, Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Washington D.C, Year Up is making an enormous impact in the lives of youth.

“I have traveled a long way, from a person who lacked confidence, to a person who knows she has something of value to offer. From a person who did not know what she wanted in life to a person who is directed toward success and is willing to work hard to get it.” –Talainya Thames Year Up Class of 2002.

Do you know a nonprofit helping youth in your area that deserves recognition?

I logged into my blog again, and again, and again and attempted to write. I got nothing. There I was, unimaginative. Then that little light bulb of bright ideas turns on unexpectedly. The reason for my lack of inspiration is the blog itself. I am unhappy with the design template and some of the old post. Given that the blog theme is free, I shouldn’t complain. But I did, and I am. I would like a cleaner, simpler, a bit more personal theme. Can I afford one? Maybe in the future. For now, I came up with a design and have a friend of a friend who might be able to work something out. Let’s hope that works out.

Now I am all excited about the idea of having a better theme, but what about the old content? Should I start fresh? I could. But I chose to keep all previous post. How else will I see the growth I have done since I started blogging. Why can’t I learn from my blogging mistakes and hope my viewers do as well. Maybe I should have figured it all out from the beginning and branded my blog more efficiently. But I was unsure of the brand. I was switching sectors and trying to figure this whole transition thing out. So please, give me some credit. Well I give myself credit. I am still in the ring, boxing gloves still on tight, and my old blog post are a reminder of every blow that laid me down and wanted to make me quit. The fighter still remains.

Here are some that understand the importance of social media

@PlanUSA

@RIHospital

@RIFoodBank

@RIBloodCenter

@Provlib

The Rhode Island Foundation is not on twitter but does a wonderful job at incorporating social media using their Facebook page. They also share some great social media tools to get you started.

With the right social media strategy more people will understand, value and support your mission. Stop hiding the great things you do and get out there and share it with the online world.

I hope to see smaller local nonprofits using social media soon.

It is December 29^th and a friend in the air force is leaving to Greenland early the next morning. After teaching a youth class a few of us decide to head to Dave & Busters for his last night here.

I found it odd that the person who’s car I was in asked me if we could take my car. He never does this. I thought going all the way to my house just to pick up my car was a waste of time but didn’t mind. The roads where slippery and he said that his brakes where not working well. While my car warms up I recklessly search for my glasses. Since I didn’t find my glasses and can barely see at night the same friend who suggested we take my car drove. What happened next surprised me even more. He put his seat belt on. (Nothing weird about this right?) Actually it is. He never puts his seat belt on. While on the way to pick up a few friends someone in a van decides to take a left turn right in front of us. Luckily my brakes work wonders but the driver hit the brakes so hard that it made that annoying sound and all you could see was smoke and the inches between the two cars.

It was at that moment that I understood the phrase “I saw my life flash right before my eyes.” I tried to use the excuse of my friend screaming hysterically in the back seat to laugh it off. This didn’t stop the million thoughts going through my head. Everything came together. This was the reason why my friend strangely suggested we take my car, and why he decided to finally put on his seatbelt. It was definitely the reason why I couldn’t find my glasses, because if it was me on the wheel I would have panicked so much that just maybe we wouldn’t have made it to D&B that night.

This event was a lovely reminder of how great God is. That as cliché as it sounds I do have to live everyday as if it where my last. That I have to want to achieve my dreams so much that everyday I do what it takes to accomplish them, because tomorrow is really not promised.

The first day of 2010 is almost over and I have my life to be thankful for. What do you have to be thankful for in 2010?