$108,000

Remember how I mentioned in my inaugural post that a blog completely dedicated to the causes I support isn’t my aim? Well, for today, I’m doing just that.

Last weekend I learned that the generous people of our church, Hope Community, raised $108,000 dollars for ministry efforts in Uganda including Watoto Childcare Ministries, an organization dedicated to helping orphans and women who have been affected by war and disease.

I love my church. We are a group, albeit a very large group, of regular people. No celebrities unless you count the local radio shock jock. Our motley crew of regular Joe’s managed to raise a significant amount money in 2 weeks for people we have never met and very few of us will ever get to meet.

Last Sunday night I watched the season finale of Celebrity Apprentice. I can’t say that it is a favorite show of mine but I have watched most of the season because Sunday night TV is a bit lackluster and we are among the very few households in America that doesn’t have a DVR.

The season finale featured Arsenio Hall and Clay Aiken competing for title of “Celebrity Apprentice” and $250,000 for their charity. Both celebrities were tasked with organizing a fundraising event, including a variety show of sorts. The funds raised by each event would go to each celeb’s charity—Arsenio’s charity was the Magic Johnson Foundation, which is dedicated to providing health education to urban youth; Clay’s charity was the National Inclusion Project, which provides recreational programs to children with disabilities.

Arsenio and Clay, along with their celebrity team members, solicited fellow celebs for donations. The list of donors included heavy hitters like Chris Rock, Jimmy Kimmel, Eddie Murphy, Marco Andretti, George Lopez, and Jay Leno who donated to Arsenio's team, and Kelly Clarkson and Orel Hershiser who donated to Clay's team. Arsenio raised $167,100. Clay raised nearly twice as much with $301,500. Both impressive totals generated in only 48 hours. I’m certain the charities will greatly benefit from the money.

After the show was over it hit me—Arsenio’s total was only $59,000 more than what our church raised for Uganda. How can that be? Arsenio, though kind of a B-lister, is a celeb with some serious connections to some serious dough. The 2011 average earnings of 5 of the 6 celebs who donated to Arsenio's cause (I wasn't able to find data on Marco) is $19.3 million¹. Arsenio's total is only 0.86% of that. Not even 1%! This shocked me. These celebs have so much yet gave so little. Why? I know the answer, though. It is not their responsibility to give just because they have it—though imagine what an impact that would make on our world.

In comparison, the average household income of Raleigh, Cary, Holy Springs, and Apex, NC (the communities most of our church attendees live in) is $91,254². The total our church raised for Uganda, $108,000, is 118% of the area's average household income! This too, shocked me. Why did this group of John and Jane Q. Publics step forward in such a big way?

I can't answer for the general population of our church but I can answer for my husband and me. We do it because we are called to do it. We do it because we ache for those less fortunate. We also do it because it brings joy to our hearts to help others. We know that if we wait for the rich and famous to fill the gap it just won't happen. We need to step up and do what we can to make life better for at least one other person.

Don't get me wrong, what Arsenio and Clay managed to raise for their charities is awesome. The Magic Johnson Foundation and the National Inclusion Project are very worthwhile organizations. My point to all this is to get you to move, especially if you aren't moving already. We simply can't assume that the wealthiest 10% are going to make it happen.

“But I don’t have the funds right now, Mandy.” That’s ok. Neither do we. We give what we can but we also volunteer our time in other areas. Sometimes actions speak louder than bank accounts. Volunteering is also a great way to show our kids compassion towards those in need. We have packed and delivered meals to the homeless through Brown Bag Ministry and this fall we are participating in the Be the Match Foundation’s 5K and Tot Trot races to raise funds and awareness for bone marrow donation.

You don’t have to support the organizations I support but you should have at least one cause you believe in. My faith plays a huge role in the causes I support. But even if you aren’t a Christian, if you have a heartbeat you should ache when you see someone in pain, hungry, lonely, or sad. They don’t have to be in a different country or even a different area code. Look around you. I promise you will find someone who desperately needs help.

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1 www.therichest.org/celebnetworth

2 www.money.cnn.com

This First One is a Doozy!

I have had the urge to blog for about 10 years but always struggled with what to blog about. I’ve heard “write what you know.” The problem is I know a lot about me but not much about anything else. Nonetheless, the possibilities are just as endless as they are predictable.

Family and Marriage

My husband is my hero. He is an amazing father and even more amazing husband and friend. But we really have no idea how we make our marriage work other than we leave it in God’s hands and we laugh a lot. I simply adore my kids. You know that feeling you get when you think of someone and it makes your heart dance and your arms ache to hold them? That’s how I feel about my kids always. (Okay, almost always.) Not only have they made me a better person, but they are really cool people. Again, I have no idea how they have turned out the way they have but I praise God for it daily. Seriously though, who really wants to read a blog solely about my family and marriage other than a handful of family members and friends?

Food

I’ve been living gluten free (GF) for 2 years and have found a way to comfortably live GF in a gluten-filled world. I really enjoy cooking for my family and hosting dinner guests. I challenge myself to try at least one new recipe a week. Consequently, my repertoire in the kitchen has grown significantly and I’m more than happy to share. However, I have never created an original recipe. As a writer who has been blatantly plagiarized, I am very sensitive to giving credit where credit is due. So my GF blog would end up just being a directory of other people’s recipes with links to the original authors’ blogs.

Work

I enjoy my job but it isn’t my life. I work with great people in an amazing environment. But what I do for a living can seem rather mundane to those outside the industry. My official title is Marketing Coordinator. I work directly with engineers, planners, landscape architects, and environmental scientists in preparing proposals, statements of qualifications, and presentations. I know, sounds riveting! Aside from presenting a compelling argument for the Oxford comma, the blog would be rather dry. I find participating in discussions within different LinkedIn member groups is a better avenue for this.

Exercise

Hahahaha! That’s funny.

Causes

Causes are important and I encourage everyone to be passionate about helping someone or something deserving. However, I get burned out on the constant promotion of causes and I imagine many others do too. I have become numb to the barrage of pleas—both legitimate and phony—I receive daily via email, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest. I think it is great that someone is passionate about Cause X, but I simply don’t share in their enthusiasm for that particular cause. There a few causes that I support because I feel they are worthwhile, truly do good, and evoke emotion in me personally. I understand if they don’t move you the same way they do me. I am happy to share if you want to listen but I don’t really want to devote a blog to campaigning for my causes.

Beauty and Fashion

Let me put it this way—Coco Chanel sounds more like an ice cream flavor to me than haute couture. About a year ago I received a small bag of clothes from a friend who had lost weight and subsequently, shrunk out of them. Her literal loss was my gain! In the bag was a pair of jeans. I never heard of the brand before but tried them on—they fit beautifully! I have never had a pair of jeans that didn’t gap at the back when I sat down, didn’t slide down my hips as I move, and were the perfect length. I have worn these jeans at least once a week ever since I received them and I usually wash them every 2-3 wearings. Not long ago I was wearing the jeans and a friend of mine commented “Those fit your great. What brand are they?” I replied “Six or Seven or some number.” Her jaw hit the floor. “SEVENS!?! Those are expensive.” “What do you mean,” I asked. “Like $80?” She just shook her head. It turns out that they sell for at least twice that. I also was scolded when I told her how often I wash them. I guess you’re supposed to treat them like a bridal gown and preserve them between wearings. So as you can see I am fashionably challenged and should never, ever write a blog about anything fashion related.

Humor

I think I'm hilarious! I suspect that I am more annoying than hilarious to others. I also am usually dripping with cynicism. Some people tell me that is my style of humor. The truth is that I use humor to make up for my insecurities. Not a day goes by that I don’t have at least a dozen sarcastic thoughts—half of which usually escape my lips. Partner that with the fact that a sarcastic tone is hard to convey in writing and you get a confusing, if not offensive, blog.

Travel

I would love to blog about travel. One major flaw—we don’t travel. It is so expensive and we live far from family so any traveling we do is on the cheap, infrequent, and usually to the Midwest. It drives my husband and me crazy because we are true wanderlusters. We daydream and chat about the far off places we would visit. Some destinations offer rich history, art, and culture. Other destinations offer an opportunity to help those in need. Our marriage began in Paris and recently we both have had a strong desire to return. Unfortunately, that itch won’t be scratched for a while nor will a trip anywhere beyond 4 hours from Raleigh.

Crafting

The word “crafting” used to bother me. As a seamstress, I considered my hobby to be far more refined than that of a mere craft. Crafts were for church bazaars and usually featured angels made out of tea-dyed doilies and ceramic geese dressed like humans. But now I embrace “crafting” wholeheartedly. Etsy and Pinterest are due much of the credit. I love to sew. It’s therapeutic for me. As my mother quilted into one of her first art quilts “it’s cheaper than a shrink.” But I’m afraid that if I devote a blog entirely to crafting I will end up losing it’s therapeutic benefits and start to feel the pressure of creating something new and different for every post. Besides, I already have an Etsy shop featuring some of my projects (here comes the shameless plug) at www.micahandmandy.com. I likely will have a show-and-tell project to share occasionally, though.

So what’s this blog going to be about? All of it and more! Call me noncommittal but I’m going to write about what is occupying my mind when I sit down to write—as random, passionate, long-winded, or brief as it may be. Of course, if you have any ideas for a blog post then send them my way. I like a good challenge!

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