Fred Hollows Foundation

Week 33: Fred Hollow Foundation

This week, we are giving to the Fred Hollows Foundation. The Fred Hollows Foundation is working towards a world where no person is unnecessarily blind. They believe that everyone, rich or poor, has the right to high quality and affordable eye care.
 

“I believe that the basic attribute of mankind is to look after each other.”
— Fred Hollows

The Fred Hollows Foundation began in Australia when Hollows began working with Aboriginal patients, instituting community health clinics and focusing on eye health, specifically blinding trachoma. They now work in more than 25 countries and have restored sight to over two million people worldwide.

They trains doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, distribute antibiotics, raise money for equipment and medical facilities and perform eye operations.

“When I’ve seen an opportunity I haven’t sat down and called a committee meeting, We’ve gone and done it.”
— Fred Hollows

Fred Hollows is an inspiration to me. He was a man who saw a problem, and worked like hell to solve it. According to the foundation, “Fred’s work continues very much in the way it started: by just getting on with it.”

Just $25 can completely restore someone’s sight.
Here’s to getting on with it,
Jodi

BlinkNow

Week 32: BlinkNow

This week, I want to introduce you to Maggie Doyne and BlinkNow. I first heard about Maggie from the Do Lectures and her story left my jaw on the floor. BlinkNow blossomed “from a teenager with a backpack to a successful foundation and beacon of hope for the children and women of Kopila Valley”. At 29 years old, Maggie was already the mother of 51 children in Nepal.

Watch her tell her story here, I promise it is worth your while.

The BlinkNow Foundation’s mission is to provide an education and a loving, caring home for orphaned, impoverished and at-risk children. They also provide community outreach to reduce poverty, empower women, improve health, and encourage sustainability and social justice.

“If we all had the attitude that we can do anything, that we can be anything, if we follow our dreams and our hearts…we can change the world.”
— Maggie Doyne

They place a huge emphasis on working together with our local community, conducting programs and providing scholarships for girls and socially vulnerable young women. BlinkNow offers vocational training skills to develop self-sufficiency including sewing, cooking, gardening, husbandry, computer skills, business and entrepreneurial skills.

I am looking forward to the documentary about Maggie and BlinkNow, called Love Letters for My Children.

Whenever I think of Maggie, I am inspired to work harder, to love harder, and to give more of my soul to the important work of this world. I hug Ollie a little tighter, and I write more love letters. I hope this story touches you as it has me. I am honored to support BlinkNow this week.

Here’s to more love letters,
Jodi

National Parks

Week 31: National Parks

This week, we are honoring America’s stunning National Parks. The National Parks Foundation protects America’s natural treasures and ensure they are preserved and that they belong to us all. Enjoy the video below, a tribute to Yosemite, which was made by the amazing Colin Delehanty.

“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”
— John Muir

The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve and protect our natural and cultural resources "for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations."

The National Park Foundation protects America’s special places, connects people to nature and inspires the next generation of park stewards through innovative and collaborative projects. They work to save what matters most.

“Never in its 200 years has this nation needed the National Park System more. It stands as a collective memory of where we have been, what sacrifices we have made to get here, and who we mean to be. By investing in the preservation, interpretation, and restoration of these symbolic places, we offer hope and optimism to each generation of Americans.”
— David Barna, National Park Service Chief of Public Affair

Keeping these spaces pristine and wild is so important. I am so excited to support this goal.

This week, how about making a plan to visit your nearest park?
The mountains are calling and I must go.

Have a wild week,
Jodi