Fighting Illiteracy One Book at a Time

    I keep seeing these charming itty bitty libraries in my neighborhood, where you can take a book or give one in return. Some are plain serviceable boxes somewhat like a birdhouse for books and some are very ornate, not unlike something you might find in the upscale section of the Shire. The organization Little Free Library (LittleFreeLibrary.org) describes their mission this way: 

    It’s a “take a book, return a book” gathering place where neighbors share their favorite literature and stories. In its most basic form, a Little Free Library is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share. You can, too!

You Don’t Have to Adopt to Make an Impact

    Adopting an animal is a serious commitment. For those who aren’t able to adopt, but still want to make a difference in the life of an abandoned animal, fostering is an excellent alternative. There are many foster programs that give at-and-dog-lovers the chance to provide interim housing for displaced pets who have yet to find their forever home. Many of these foster programs cover food and medical expenses, meaning all you have to worry about is giving your furry guest a safe and loving place to stay. And who knows? You might just fall in love.

A Major Gender Justice Superhero

    Staffed entirely by transgender folks, the TGI Justice Project (tgip.org) has been dedicated to supporting transgender people both inside and outside of prison since 2003 Devoted to forging “a culture of resistance and resilience to strengthen us for the fight against imprisonment, police violence, racism, poverty, and societal pressures,” TGIP answers prison letters from transgender, gender non-conforming, and intersex prisoners. It also provides resources, funding, and support to low-income transgender women of color who are in prison, formaly incarcerated, or targeted by the police, and their families. 

    Helmed by Executive Director Miss major, the legendary transgender rights advocate who has been an activist since before the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the TGI Justice Project describes itself as seeking to “create a world rooted in self-determination, freedom of expression, and gender justice.”

From Growing Up Homeless to Helping the Homeless

    NFL player James Jones knows it’s better to give than to receive. “Being homeless made me a better man,” says James Jones, wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders since 2014. “And while I wouldn’t wish anyone to go through that, I wouldn’t change anything as far as how I grew up.” Having slept in shelters and on park benches for the first 15 years of his life, Jones’ success as an athlete defies stereotypes about homelessness and poverty. 

    He has taken his challenging experiences to heart. Since being drafted to the NFL in 2007, he has volunteered for many community organizations, and in 2008, started his own with his wife, Tamika. The Love Jones 4 Kids foundation (lovejones4kids.com) provides funding for school supplies, football camps, and pep talks to underprivileged children, many of them living in the same conditions that Jones did growing up. 

    “People are used to hearing about a homeless person or kid and don’t think it’s possible to be a professional football player. But down on your luck doesn’t mean down and out.” Touchdown!

Knitting the World Back Together with a Lot of Love

    Volunteer was never a word in her vocabulary. Not that Lee Grant didn’t know what it meant, but it wasn’t something she would ever think about doing. Feeling unloved as a child left her self-centred, angry, and needy. As far as Lee was concerned, the world owed her. But it was hard to get to know the world, as small as hers was. Sheltered and sequestered in a small coastal community in rural New England, she knew little about the daily lives of regular people with regular families, but enough to know that hers wasn’t like theirs. “Bad things happened in my house,” she said, “and I never understood why, because I was afraid to ask.” 

    Throughout her teen and young adult years, Lee used drugs and alcohol to transport herself, begging attention from anyone and everyone. Chemicals seemed to work in the short haul, but eventually they led to more destructive behaviors: setting fires, shoplifting, drunk driving, punching through plate glass windows. Cutting helped drain her pent up self-loathing and relieved her. Sutures and butterfly bandages briefly put her back together, but after so many years and so many scars, self-mutilation wasn’t working. After three weeks in an institution for attempted suicide, she was ready to try something different. 

    One day, out of the blue, Lee was invited into a knit shop filled with happy, loving people and found a passion and joy she never knew before. “I made things with my hands and felt good about myself. I entered an afghan in the county fair and won a blue ribbon. I joined AA and stopped drinking. I found a community of creative people who accepted me and my knitting and that, along with sober living, brought the attention I craved. But still...something was missing,”she said. She noticed she felt best when she shared her knowledge of knitting and making other people happy brought a new kind of satisfaction.

    On a whim, Lee volunteered to teach knitting classes to kids for the local Santa Rosa chapter of Catholic Charities (CatholicCharities.org). She wanted to find out if knitting would make a difference to them like it did for her. She wanted to give them something they could turn to when life got too scary, or complicated, or boring...something they could turn to for comfort or fun. She gave them sticks and string and direction. She gave them an opportunity to feel accomplished and proud. She gave them a piece of herself and found out what she’d been missing. 

    Lee began to care about other people. “I taught families at a homeless shelter to knit. I taught a group of foster teens. I crocheted for battered women and premature babies. I knitted warm hats for cold-headed cancer patients I would never get to know. 

    “All of this giving changes me. I feel good inside. No longer hollow and self-centered, I feel something akin to love. For others. For myself. For who I am. For what I do.” Lee is not just any knitter; she is tremendously gifted and tremendously generous. She is the author of several books, including Love in Every Stitch, and is a sought-after pattern designer. Go to her Facebook page, “Knitting and Healing With Lee Grant,” or you can find her at a shelter with a lot of bright, beautiful skeins of yarn and a bunch of happy kids, doing what she does best. 

    I asked Lee to sum up how it was that she came to “be a good in the world.” 

    “I blame it on volunteering,” she said.

It Takes a Village and You

In early 2010, in the small village of Nshupu, Tanzania, nine malnourished orphans were sleeping on a cement floor without even a blanket or sufficient food. Four years later, these children have a lovely new permanent home, are attending school, and have welcomed six more orphans to their family. Their home also serves as a village community center that hosts, among other things, a weekly women’s empowerment group that has created a savings and loan program for impoverished single mothers and widows. There is also a kindergarten program that serves 70 village children annually, including feeding them regular meals. All these endeavors are shepherded by PreciousProject.org, which explains on their website, “Though lack of education is a leading cause of poverty, Tanzanian schools are not free. Attendance even at the primary school level requires the ability to pay for school uniforms, meals, materials, equipment, fees, and other expenses. As a result, there are children who are unable to even receive a primary education. Our goal is to help break the cycle of poverty by providing educational opportunities for orphans and other high-risk children.”

Pass Along Self-Esteem

    Donate “once in a lifetime” clothing such as old bridesmaid dresses or even your wedding dresses. Many people cannot afford formalwear for special events and if we are done wearing them, why keep them? Keep your own memories alive through pictures, and pass the dress or suit along to make someone feel happy and special for their big moment. 

    Author and all-around-good-person Lara Starr offered this tip: “I’m a huge fan of Image for Success and the work they do in San Rafael, California. Image for Success provides men and women who are transitioning to work with two-week professional and casual wardrobes so they can embark on their new lives feeling like a million bucks! Clothes and how we present ourselves can have a huge impact on our self esteem. Giving these folks the time, attention, and resources to look and feel their best means the world. And the thrift shop Image for Success runs is one of my favorite places to shop. The staff and volunteers always make shopping fun! Their tidy shop with well-chosen, quality items is a great place to score designer finds on the cheap!” Visit the website at imageforsuccess.org.