My husband called his Dad later in the day to see how he was faring. We were happy to hear that one of Dad’s neighbors came over with a snowblower and cleared his sidewalk and driveway.  At the age of 79 and suffering from emphysema, clearing snow from a corner property is not what Dad should be doing on his own.

Dad’s neighborly “snow angel” reminded me that being of service doesn’t have to be through a non-profit organization,  or a community group, or any other coordinated effort.  Each of us can be of service to our fellow human being, if we open our eyes to see the need and open our hearts to fill it.

Here are simple ways we can all be snow angels.

Shovel a neigbor’s sidewalk, clear their steps, chip away any ice build-up.  If you have children, make it a family affair.  Think of the important lessons you will teach them kindness and compassion through your actions and enthusiasm.

If you are going to the grocery store, check if your neighbor needs anything. While you are talking to them, ask if their heat is working and if they have hot water, especially if your neighbor is elderly or in poor health.  Leave your phone number with them, just in case.

If you see someone struggling to push a shoppping cart through a slushy parking lot, give them a hand.  When you are done shopping, or perhaps when leaving work at the end of the day, you might have to brush or scrape your windshield before driving.  Take a moment to do the same for the car next to you.  It only takes two minutes to make someone’s day.

Imagine the possibilities if there were more snow angels, like my father-in-law’s neighbor.

A safe place to learn and grow…

Ongoing relationships with caring, adult professionals…

Life-enhancing programs and character development experiences…

Hope and opportunity.

For many of us, the above describes a happy home.  Children need a safe place to learn and grow.  They need ongoing relationships with caring adults.  They need experiences to enhance their quality of life and develop their personal character, the need hope and opportunity.  I would dare say not only do they need these things, but children deserve these things.

For many children, the only way they have these exeriences is through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).  The core beliefs listed above support the organization’s mission:

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

This week’s Sunday Service opportunity is to help the BGCA make their mission a reality.  Volunteers, donations, and general community support is critical.  You can help.

Nearly four thousand clubs provide a safe place for over four million children, 43% of whom are between the ages of six and ten years old.  The population is diverse; Caucasian – 36%, African-American – 28%, Hispanic/Latino – 23%.  The BGCA website shares these remarkable statistics about kids in crisis: across America, three out of ten high school students will not graduate, yet 90% of BGCA members do.  From 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., juvenile crime sharply increases as 15.1 million kids are left unsupervised, but clubs are open every day after school, providing a safe and productive environment for kids.

BGCA provides help with homework, a safe place to play, leadership development, community involvement, and mentoring.  Children learn about health, fitness, the arts, life skills and programs customiuzed for specific community needs.

How can you get involved?  Click HERE to donate to a local club, to the national organization, or to support community partners. To find a club near you, click HERE and enter your zip code. Stop and visit, ask how you can volunteer.  Stay informed and share news about BGCA; follow them on Twitter, ‘like’ them on Facebook, or sign up for their newsletter.  And, of course, donations are needed and welcome.  Click HERE for a variety of ways that you can financially support the work of Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Imagine the possibilities you can open up for these children!

For this new year’s week, I challenge you to develop some stop, start, continue resolutions for yourself.  Complete the three sentences below.  Write down your answers.  Save them in a file, tuck them in a drawer, add them to your calendar at the end of the quarter.  Then, on some selected date, review your progress toward achieving them.  Good luck!

I resolve to STOP:

I resolve to START:

I resolve to CONTINUE:

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

Take twelve fine, full-grown months; see that these are thoroughly free from old memories of bitterness, rancor and hate, cleanse them completely from every clinging spite; pick off all specks of pettiness and littleness; in short, see that these months are freed from all the past—have them fresh and clean as when they first came from the great storehouse of Time.

Cut these months into thirty or thirty-one equal parts. Do not attempt to make up the whole batch at one time (so many persons spoil the entire lot this way) but prepare one day at a time.

Into each day put equal parts of faith, patience, courage, work (some people omit this ingredient and so spoil the flavor of the rest), hope, fidelity, liberality, kindness, rest (leaving this out is like leaving the oil out of the salad dressing— don’t do it), prayer, meditation, and one well-selected resolution.

Put in about one teaspoonful of good spirits, a dash of fun, a pinch of folly, a sprinkling of play, and a heaping cupful of good humor.

And, I would add…mix well and share generously.  Happy new year!

I took this photo last night after midnight mass at St. Mary Church, Columbus, Ohio. 

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

One of the harder things to measure and impact is a person’s attitude, yet it can be one of the most important things that contribute to a favorable reaction.  You may have heard this story before, but it is a favorite illustration about positive attitude:

Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential.

The first salesman reported back, “There is no potential here – nobody wears shoes.”

The second salesman reported back, “There is massive potential here – nobody wears shoes.”

Both salesmen saw the exact same thing.  Nobody wears shoes.  Yet, one salesman viewed that circumstance as an overwhelming challenge to success while the other saw it as a clear opportunity.  Their attitude toward the situation made all the difference.

How do you look at challenges that face you?  What attitude do your team members observe in you?

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.

A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities. -Eda J. LeShan

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. -Anon (thinkexist.com)

Babies are always more trouble than you thought – and more wonderful. -Charles Osgood

And…just because he’s a boy…

Boys are found everywhere — on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket. -Alan Marshall Beck

Have you had the joy of being fully present to a newborn recently?  Add a comment and share your experience!

It’s hard to believe that it’s November already! There are only sixty days left in the year. Seventeen of those days fall on the weekend. Subtract Thanksgiving and we are left with just forty two work days remaining in 2011.

How will you make the best of those remaining days? Worrying and fretting about where the time is going? Or, buckling down and getting the most out of them?

Have you reached your 2011 goals, yet? What about your personal development; have you explored something new? You know what they say; if you aren’t growing… What about your co-workers; any team goals that haven’t been met, yet? How are your peer relationships coming?

Time is short. Make the most of it.

Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and hopefully, motivational. I hope you find some meaning in them.

I remember when I was a kid, each year there was an effort through the schools to encourage us to “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.” We were given small cardboard boxes to collect loose change as we collected chocolate bars and lollipops.  We were reminded of children around the world who not only might never enjoy candy treats, but might not even have a meal that day.

If you aren’t familiar with UNICEF, it started in the ’40s as a fundraiser to help children abroad who were dealing with the after-effects of World War II.  It wasn’t just about raising money, though.  It was also raising awareness of how children around the world were suffering, and a call to action to stop that suffering.  In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared Halloween to be National UNICEF Day; that designation continues today.  Read more about the organization’s history HERE.

I was happy to learn recently that this program lives on.  It’s good for children to understand that other children around the world are living under difficult conditions.  It’s good for children to know that they can take action to help.  It’s good for children to see the generosity and compassion of the adults they interact with.  Even if you can only put a quarter in the box, to the child you will simply be a giver.

How can you get your kids involved? Download a canister wrap or pick up a box at your local CROCS store so your children can collect donations while they collect candy.  Host a UNICEF fundfraiser costume party for your neighborhood.  You can even Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF online, by creating an online fundraising page.  Help your children and neighbors understand what their donations will buy and what a different their efforts can make.

And, if a child happens to comes to your house next weekend saying, “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!,” please give generously.

Before donating to any organization, research how your dollars will be spent.  Charity Navigator is a well-respected resource for you, and assigned a four star rating to the United States Fund for UNICEF.

Today, I am thankful that I stumbled across Ben’s blog post.  For one year now, I have been enriched by fulfilling my commitment to write this weekly post.  Giving focused attention and consideration to the many things I have to be thankful for always makes my week better.  I have become more aware of signs, books, and articles about gratitude.  I have shared with others the difference that living in gratitude has made for me and now they have taken up the Thank you Thursday idea in their own way.

My most recent gratitude find is a wonderful little book by M.J Ryan, “Attitudes of Gratitude, How to Give and Receive Joy Every Day of Your Life.”  After an introduction about the joy of gratitude, the book is divided into three key parts: The Gifts of Gratitude, The Attitudes of Gratitude, and The Practices of Gratitude.  It’s a collection of wonderful ideas, short stories and reminders of how to give and receive gratitude.  It’s one of those great books that I can pick up, read a short chapter or two, be refreshed and carry on with renewed inspiration.

What about you? How do you stay fully present in gratitude? What would be possible if all the world were intentional in thankfulness?

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. -William Arthur Ward

Will you join the gratitude movement?