However, tomorrow is actually his birthday (his 280th, if you’re counting!).  Below are some quotes attributed to our first President; certainly, they are also applicable to the workplace:

It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.

I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad company.

Nothing can be more hurtful to the service, than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.

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.

If you’re a history buff, you may be familiar with Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia and Lincoln’s Presidential Library in Springfield, IL.  Both of these magnificent historical treasures are run by non-profit organizations.  They receive no government funding, relying instead on visitors and other supporters who generously donate to support their work.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation supports the educational and cultural programming of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; fosters Lincoln scholarship through the acquisition and publication of documentary materials relating to Lincoln and his era; and promotes a greater appreciation of history through exhibits, conferences, publications, online services, and other activities designed to promote historical literacy.

To support the Lincoln Library and Museum through a gift of any amount or a Foundation membership starting at just $70 annual, click HERE.  If you would like to plan a visit to the library and museum, click HERE for information.

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association mission… is to  preserve, restore and manage the  estate of George Washington to the highest standards and to educate  visitors and people throughout the world about the life and legacies of  George Washington, so that his examples of character and leadership will  continue to inform and inspire future generations.

You can donate to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, Museum and Gardens in many ways.  Click HERE for a membership starting at just $50, to make a simple donation, or arrange for planned giving.  To plan a visit to Mount Vernon, click HERE for information.

At the very least, remember that tomorrow is more than great sales, a day off school or cl0sed government offices.  If you have children in your life, click HERE for George Washington’s World for Kids or HERE for great resources to help make learning about Lincoln fun, too.

For charities relating to other U.S. Presidents, click HERE for a great list and links offered by the Charity Navigator blog.

Stop Online Piracy Act.*

I don’t know enough about it, yet. I do know that bloggers are one population that could be seriously impacted.

You may have noticed yesterday that many tech websites were either blacked out or carried links to information about SOPA. The photo above is what wordpress.com (hosts this blog) looked like.

This post, however, is not just about SOPA.

Today, I am thankful to live in a society that allows, encourages, and embraces protest.

There are many countries around the world that would not tolerate such a protest. People are jailed everyday because they marched against a proposed government action. There are societies that would not allow the sharing of information about the potential impact of a new law. There are places, not too far away, where the government controls not only the law, but the dissemination of information about the law. In some places still today, disagreeing with the government is justification for that body to kill its own citizens.

The internet may have gone dark yesterday, but many were enlightened because of it. How great is that?

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*Interested in learning more about SOPA before it goes back before Congress next week? Click HERE to read the actual text of the bill as registered with the Library of Congress.

For additional opinions… THIS link will take you to an Op-Ed piece from Mashable; one man’s opinion on the dangers of SOPA. CNNMoney explains the pros and cons in THIS article, even though their parent company, Time Warner, supports the bill. Although nearly everyone agrees that content rights need to be protected, it is the possibilities of going too far that many are worried about. in THIS November NY Times editorial, the newspaper explains.

This moving book is about the horrific, oppressive treatment that women and girls endure in many parts of our world.  There are stories about young girls being forced into prostitution or being sold into slavery; girls and women being denied basic human rights, horror stories of genital cutting, and the unbalanced mortality rates among women.

However, there are also stories of hope.  Evidence is provided to support the investment in educating girls.  There are success stories about women whose business ventures are funded by microloans.  There are many women who fought their oppressors, saved their own lives and created a new future for their children.

The oppression and exploitation of girls doesn’t just happen in the far corners of the world.  It occurs right here in the United States, too.  A 2001 University of Pennsylvania study estimated that 325,000 children in the U.S. were actively or at risk of being sexually exploited.  Another study, done in 2006, showed that approximately 3.5% of adolescents exchanged sex or drugs for money; that’s over 421,ooo teens, according the the U.S. Census data.  The exploitation of children and women is not just an “other countries” issue.

Gracehaven

One of the organizations trying to combat this oppression is Gracehaven.  In a perfect alignment of the stars, Gracehaven happens to be one of the charities raising funds through the Columbus Marathon, which my son-in-law is running in this morning.  According to the Run For Gracehaven information page,

Gracehaven is a faith-based non-profit organization started in 2008 for the expressed purpose of providing shelter, security, and rehabilitation to girls under the age of 18 who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation in central Ohio.

Gracehaven is a long-term rehabilitation facility allowing girls to stay as needed until they reach the age of 18. We will then help them transition to the next step in their life. While at Gracehaven, the girls will be able to earn their GED, as well as receive counseling and treatment for the horrible trauma and exploitation they have been forced to endure.

Gracehaven is in the process of purchasing a house situated on 10 acres in an undisclosed location in NW Ohio. Once renovated, the house will be large enough to hold up to 10 girls at a time.

What can you do?

I highly recommend reading Half The Sky. It is a call to action; please answer the call.

Share this list of ways to fight human trafficking.

Protect your daughters while raising them to be strong and independent women.

And, if you would like to financially support the work of Gracehaven, click here for a variety of ways you can do so.

Today, however, is not a usual day. 

To somehow add to the conversation on this tenth anniversary of the 9/11/01 attack on the U.S., I thought I would share a few quotes from Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile. Ms. Brazile was a keynote speaker at the 4th annual Ohio Diversity and Leadership Conference, which I was privileged to attend this past week.  In keep with the conference theme, she spoke passionately about the value that diversity brings to a society.

On this anniversary of an attack rooted in hatred and intolerance, let’s not respond in kind.  Instead of investing energy in revenge, bitterness and divisiveness, our challenge as a peace-seeking country is to overcome with love and inclusion. 

We are a diverse country. Embrace it. Don’t run from it. Don’t be afraid of it.

Diversity is about winning. Winning for the future. For people to be rewarded for who they are and what they bring to a society.

Every one of you should work for the common good. Why you? Because no one is better. Why now? Because tomorrow won’t come soon enough.

-Donna Brazile, September 9, 2011

This week, most Americans will spend at least a few moments reflecting on the tragic events of September 11, 2001.  The four attacks by al-Qaeda on the U.S. that morning in Manhattan, NY (2), Washington D.C., and near Shanksville, PA, changed our lives and our world in countless ways.

The most important thing we can do is never forget.

It is appropriate to reflect and share our own feelings. We must share unbiased facts with our children.  In our own corner of the world, we can work towards tolerance of those not like us, peace between communities, and dialogue to resolve conflict. An environment of ignorance, hatred and intolerance creates a fertile ground for the type of radical behavior we saw on 9/11/01.  Of course, it is so much more complex than that; economic and political conditions, historical contributors, religion perverted away from love toward hatred, and the like. 

We can support the memorialization of the events of that day, especially the innocents who lost their lives and those who served in rescue and support roles, through numerous organizations.  Below is information and links to the primary national memorials for each of the three sites of the attack. 

The 9/11 Memorial mission includes remembering the thousands of people killed by the attacks on the World Trade Center on both Feb. 6, 1993 and Sept. 11, 2001, respecting the grounds as sacred and  to:

Recognize the endurance of those who survived, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the compassion of all who supported us in our darkest hours.

In addition, the Memorial Museum on site will also honor those lost, those who survived, and those who risked their lives to help others.

Demonstrating the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national, and international levels, the Museum will attest to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity and affirm an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life.

There are many ways to support the 9/11 Memorial.  Click HERE to learn more.

United Flight 93 was brought down in an empty field by its heroic passengers who overtook the terrorists on board, saving potentially thousands more from injury and death on September 11.  Those men and women sacrificed themselves so the plane could not be used as a weapon against our country.

The Flight 93 National Memorial will honor the people who died that day in the empty field, recount the factual events of that day, and also provide:

…a place where future generations can come to learn about how the actions of a few people can make a profound and lasting difference.

If you would like to support the ongoing development of the Flight 93 National Memorial, click HERE to read how.

To remember those lost when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, a memorial space for reflection has been created within sight of that event.  The National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial:

…is a place of solace and healing and a reminder to future generations to renew their faith and commitment to the values that citizens of a free world share.

If you would like to contribute to the maintenance of the Pentagon Memorial, click HERE for more information.

You should always take the time to research the mission and financial health of any organization you consider donating to.  Charity Navigator is the best place to start. 

This week, take a moment to reflect on the events of that day, and the spirit of America as we rallied together rooted in compassion and patriotism.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, – - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The next section is a lengthy list detailing the abuses of power by the Kind of England. You can read them all here.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Followed by 56 signatures of representatives to Congress from the thirteen original colonies.

Instead, to honor and celebrate Independence Day, I invite you to share your story about what this holiday means to you.  And, as much as I would love comments here, instead, email your thoughts to  whywecelebrate@gmail.com.  My daughter, Heather, explained on the inaugural post at www.whywecelebrate.com:

Consider these numbers:

43.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide

26 million refugees and internally displaced people receive help from
the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

17 million refugee and internally displaced children under the age of 18

6,000+ UNHCR staff open doors daily for these refugees in 128 countries

You can help. 

The Blue Key Campaign is raising awareness of the work done by the UNHCR to open doors every day for people around the world who are displaced through no fault of their own.  The goal is for 6000 Americans to get a blue key by World Refugee Day on June 20.

When you get a blue key, you are letting the refugees know that they are not invisible, that someone cares about their circumstances and wants to open doors to a new future.  You also acknowledge the work of the UNHCR staff that their work matters and you support them.

You can get a blue key for just $5.  Making a difference is as easy as giving up one fancy cup of coffee.  If you want to give even more, donations are welcome.

Help spread the word, too.

If you are on Twitter, join the tweetathon on Monday and help raise awareness about the UNHCR, The Blue Key Campaign, and World Refugee Day.  Follow @UNRefugeeAgency on Twitter and the #BlueKey hashtag.

If you’re a blogger, consider clicking the links above to do a little research and commit a post of your own to this topic.

Will you join me in making a difference?

Today’s newslink is to a very interesting reflection by Harvard Professor Bill George about why leaders sometimes lose their way.  Recent current events have provided numerous examples that he touches on as he discusses the dark-side of leadership, the need for self-development and values-centered leadership.  Click HERE to read the full article, posted June 6 online for Harvard Business School’s “Working Knowledge” newsletter.

Newslink: Leadership features articles about the development and practice of leadership skills in today’s business world.