Sangha of Auspicious Companions

August 21, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Homeless Kid Wows Korea

At three years old, he was handed off to an orphanage. At five years old, he was living on the streets. At twenty-two years old, he’s persevered and pursued his love for the arts, amazing the world with his heartfelt performance on this video of Korea’s Got Talent. Meet Choi Sung-Bong, a person who embodies the idea of never giving up. { read more }

Be The Change

Write down your dreams and goals and the initial steps to achieve them today, and never give up.

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August 20, 2011

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Whiz Kids: 5 Amazing Young Inventors

15-year old Chester Greenwood wanted to ice skate in the winters of Maine, so he invented ear mufflers. Also at the age of 15, Louis Braille in France invented what became the standard language for blind people all over the world. Philo Farnsworth, a 14-year-old electronics prodigy, came up with the concept of a television, and mentored by his chemistry teacher, developed it some years later. And then, at a mere 12 years old, Margaret Knight developed a safety mechanism for cotton mill power looms that immediately started saving countless workers from injury or death. Here are the stories of four young inventors who have already made their mark on the world, and a bonus one who hopes to in the years to come. { read more }

Be The Change

Invent something. “Creativity is about having the courage to invent our lives,” says author Nina Wise in this short passage. { more }

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August 19, 2011

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The Age of Social Transformation

The most significant social transformation in the last century is the shift, in dominance, of the industrial to knowledge based worker, according to the father of modern management, the late Peter Drucker. Regardless of numbers or power, knowledge workers will uniquely define the emerging knowledge society. This classic, in-depth Atlantic Monthly article by him is a survey of the epoch that began early last century, and an analysis of its manifestations. Drucker asserts that through the social sector a modern developed society can again create a responsible citizenry where individuals, especially knowledge workers, are given a space in which they can make a difference in society and recreate community. His conclusion: “If the twentieth century was one of social transformations, the twenty-first century needs to be one of social and political innovations.” { read more }

Be The Change

Innovate with how you make a difference in society, with how you help recreate community.

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August 18, 2011

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What Makes Extreme Do-Gooders Tick?

“From protecting our natural environment to improving our children’s education to combating global poverty and disease, we’ve come to rely on extreme do-gooders to tackle the world’s toughest problems. Few of them will make as much as they could in the private sector. They may lose a relationship with a loved one to their work, or miss their kids’ big moments. All of which raises the obvious: Why? What makes these people tick, and how do they sustain a lifetime of commitment to a change that might take generations to see?” This Christian Science Monitor article delves deeper into these intriguing questions. { read more }

Be The Change

Stop for a moment to consider the question of what makes you “tick”.

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August 17, 2011

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Her Heart Was Bigger Than This Room

It is a tragic story, but one that touches and inspires. For her 9th birthday, instead of getting presents for her, Rachel Beckwith asked loved ones to donate to charity:water, a nonprofit bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. Her goal was $300, enough to give 15 children access to clean water, but she only got to $220. A month later, tragedy struck, when her family’s car was involved in her 13-car traffic accident. Rachel was critically injured. That’s when word spread, and contributions started pouring in. Most of them in $9 increments, the totals kept increasing, but unfortunately, Rachel passed on. The contributions kept flowing in, though, with over a million dollars donated. “Her heart was bigger than this room. She always gave whatever she had and would continue to give more,” her father said. { read more }

Be The Change

Support someone who is giving purely, regardless of the size of their gift.

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August 16, 2011

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Sacred Giving and Receiving

Giving has long been a central part of American Indian cultures. It may be a means of giving thanks, of bringing the people together, of gaining honor, of distributing material goods so that all may survive, or of teaching. Giving away things informally is also common in American Indian communities in times of good fortune. And yet, in much of the twentieth century, American Indian giveaway practices have often been viewed as a threat by government officials. In the last few decades, however, great strides have been made to return attention on the value of giving thanks. Many in this culture consider it a deep practice, where the giver is not calling attention to himself or herself, but to the spiritual power behind it all; thus both giving and receiving remain sacred. This Parabola Magazine article explores this powerful tradition. { read more }

Be The Change

Tune in to your gifts today. Look for something it might bring you joy to give away.

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August 15, 2011

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The Horse Whisperer

“Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see,” says Buck Brannaman, a cowboy who travels around the U.S. helping horses with “people problems.” The documentary film, Buck, follows Brannaman from an abused childhood to an incredibly successful relationship with horses. In the film, the animal-human relationship becomes a metaphor for facing the daily challenges of life. { read more }

Be The Change

Reflect on the animals you’ve known in your life, and what they’ve taught you.

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August 14, 2011

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Raising Kids to be Less Stuff-Centered

“Too often, we turn to acquiring stuff to meet our emotional, social, recreational and other needs. This consumer-mania isn’t good for our resource-stressed planet, isn’t good for our family budgets and ultimately doesn’t work. We have more stuff than previous generations could have dreamed of, but we also have less leisure time, fewer friends and spend less time with our kids.” Annie Leonard, author of the book, “The Story of Stuff,” offers tips from her own experience in parenting, as well as from thousands of other parents. She offers suggestions on developing family traditions around creative time together; creating communities with similar, character-based values; nurturing kids’ non-product-based identities; sharing stuff with local communities; and helping kids cultivate a resistance to the constant barrage of commercial messages. { read more }

Be The Change

Donate or share stuff that you don’t really need.

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August 13, 2011

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Seeds for Self-Reliance

The practice of saving seeds has been a cornerstone of farming traditions and has allowed agriculture to become a way of life. But the introduction of high yielding seed varieties and pervasive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has eroded the diversity of indigenous seeds. The GREEN foundation in India recognized that women are crucial to seed conservation efforts there. By setting up community-managed seed banks, they have been working with small and marginalized women farmers to promote conservation of indigenous seeds, agro-biodiversity and ecological farming practices. And the seed, a symbol of fertility, perpetuity, and sustenance in India, is now also becoming a symbol of self reliance. { read more }

Be The Change

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is home to nearly half a million specimens from around the world and the most well-known example of a practice called “seed banking.” { more }

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