Proof Positivity: What do NFL’s Larry Izzo and Ron Burton have in common?

NFL special teams captain Larry Izzo has just received the Ron Burton community service award for 2008. Patriots Chairman and CEO presented Izzo with the award. He has held three karaoke events, called “Larryoke”, to raise money for military charities such as Massachusetts Soldiers Legacy Fund, Home for Our Troops, the Fallen Patriot Fund, Fisher House Boston, Operation Ensuring Christmas and the Pat Tillman Foundation. His three Larryoke events, featuring Larry and his teammates belting out karaoke tunes, have raised a total of $600,000. During the 2005 off season, Izzo traveled to the Middle East for a week to officially open the Pat Tillman USO Center, located at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. He also visited Kuwait, Qatar, Afghanistan and Iraq, meeting thousands of soldiers during “The USO and NFL Salute the Troops Tour”. Izzo has also done volunteer work with Cause, a non-profit organization that benefits military personnel while they recover in military hospitals, and he has visited injured military personnel at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.” In 2007 he served food in a kids cafe and served and prepare meals for the Boston homeless. Larry Izzo states, ” It’s truly an honor to receive this award and to be associated with Ron Burton. The work that I do in the community pales in comparison to what he was able to do in his lifetime. But it’s an honor. I thank the organization for giving me this award and I thank my teammates for supporting the work that we do with the military. It’s about the troops. Any time we’ve had the Larryoke event, it’s been about the troops and supporting them and their families because they’re the ones that need it the most. I’m just happy to be in a position where I can put an event together that brings attention to the sacrifices they’re making and raise a little money while having a little fun.”

Here is a little video treat to get a good giggle from this is Larryoke. It is hilarious. If you’re going to make yourself look silly may as well do it for charity. What a great idea for fundraising.

I couldn’t resist I had to place the video it was so funny. Anyhow, I commend Larry Izzo. I love when celebrities use their status for something good. I think it makes them more human and if they aren’t used to what it’s like to be in certain situations it’s a little bit of a reality check.

Proof Positivity: A Few Links to Pass Along

Timethief has two awesome sites. One Cool Site: WordPress Blogging tips Pretty self- explanatory. Even if you have a blog that isn’t WordPress there are still some good tips that you can scoop up from the site. This Time This Space is her personal blog. As I was saying she has given me a whole bunch of links for this site that I haven’t gotten to yet so that is what I am getting ready to do.
Childhoodspeech.com is a site that helps conquer learning languages.
There is a lot we can learn from children at Dumb Little Man
I really want to play around on scrapbook blog when I get some time.
Learn a little about editorial cartoons.
If you want to change the world check out The Great American Think Out
If you want to see what an Aussie mommy does you want to look for Kidzarama
These are all great site take a peak. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.

Proof Positivity: Copywrite Infringement

I think this site is being infringed Do not subscribe to it’s feed or comment. My security warning goes up when I try to do this. My own feed won’t load up I think this will be a case for google.
If you would like to speak to the true author of Proof Positivity go to http://proofpositivity.blogspot.com as I am sure this is on the feed site.

Proof Positivity: Do You Believe In Magic?

Gerry McCambridge wins the Merlin Award In Las Vegas August 25th. This in the world of magic is equivalent to the Oscars. Some of the previous winners have been Criss Angel, Siegfried & Roy, and David Copperfield. He began his career at the age of eight when he receive a magic kit as a gift.

A few things to look for

I need to complete nominations for brilliant weblog, provide a link list given through a friend in which I will be adding her name to the authors list, a September 11th post, and Blogger’s Unite is in November. With the Christmas season creeping up on us already I hope to have a month of understanding for each other as individuals.

Vaccinations

There is a reason that we no longer have polio in our country. Jonas Salk used himself as a guinea pig to test the vaccine. I know a lot of parents are against it but I think vaccines are important. “The CDC Thursday announced a series of measles outbreaks between January and April 25 that resulted in 64 measles cases in the United States — the highest number reported in the same time period since 2001.” We need to make sure we tromp out the diseases that can be prevented.

http://proofpositivity.blogspot.com

Proof Positivity: Senator Edward Kennedy

Senator Edward Kennedy states during a video introduced during the Democratic National Convention August 25, 2008 “I grew up in a family who wanted to achieve in the sense of wanting to make a difference in people’s lives.” During a speech in Washington DC for the City Year convention CYZYGY ” City Year has given the opportunity for the best of our young people to serve in the community.” Alan Khazei co-founder of City Year says about Edward Kennedy “He committed right away to introduce new legislation take new programs like City Year to scale to make it possible for young people all over our country to serve our country.”

This is what is called a starfish. I know very funny video it’s clearly not a girl.
” While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.
He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”
To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

A starfish is when you make a difference in the life of someone else. Every day I kept a journal of the things I did for other people. It help to give me self confidence. You need to believe in yourself before you can go any further in life. I had a starfish of a lady with mental retardation. She would constantly pull her shoes off and place them on the table. By the end of a year and my telling her to please leave your shoes on she started to keep them on her feet. She had a little more self control than she had previously.

My site, on Fridays, would get together have a little skit then do community service the other half of the day. This is what Senator Kennedy is supporting. Young people serving the community. My experience was far more educational than any college could have been. City Year is where the idea for Proof Positivity first happened. Proof Positivity would not exist without City Year.

http://proofpositivity.blogspot.com

Proof Positivity: Hurricane Katrina

August 25th, 2005 Katrina hit I recall the poverty stricken not having a home or a way to evacuate. I recall how the officials for Louisiana were not prepared for an event of such a high magnitude. Loved ones dead on the streets, misplaced animals, looting, and violence. FEMA didn’t work fast enough to get the people of New Orleans assistance.

There is light in the darkness. Believe it or not some good did come out of Hurricane Katrina.
Do you remember when they rescued the animals looking for their owners, Brad Pitt working w to give the poverty stricken energy efficient homes, across America people were taking in the Katrina homeless.

A few sites to look in to
The Pink Project
The New Orleans 100
Friends of New Orleans
Katrina’s Angels
Katrina deceased victims list

http://proofpositivity.blogspot.com

Proof Positivity: My Email

I am going to expose you to some of my email. Some people must be wondering if I’m “real.” This is my proof that I believe in community service wholeheartedly. As a former City Year corps member I receive email from City Year and this one is important to City Year and Americorps as an organization.

Dear City Year alumni,

As a City Year alum, you are a leader who has already demonstrated your commitment to service and a cause larger than yourself. Your leadership is needed once again, as it is a critical time for our country and the national service movement. City Year was founded 20 years ago with the vision that one day the most commonly asked question of a young adult will be, “Where will you do your service year?”. It is our hope that the next president of the United States and Congress will help bring us dramatically closer to that day, and you can help. City Year, along with Be the Change, Civic Enterprises, and Points of Light Institute, is a lead organizer of the Service Nation Summit and Day of Action. Service Nation is a year-long campaign to promote a major expansion of service opportunities in America. The Service Nation campaign kicks off with a national summit September11-12, in New York City. On the evening of September 11 there will be a Presidential Forum on Service, televised by CNN and moderated by TIME magazine’s Managing Editor Rick Stengel. Senator John McCain has agreed to attend, and we are hoping Senator Obama will agree to attend as well. The following day, 500 of our nation’s leaders will convene to discuss ways in which service can be expanded to solve major problems facing our country: helping children in high poverty schools stay on track to graduate, helping to protect and reclaim our rivers and environment, and serving on the front lines when disasters like hurricanes Katrina and Rita strike. On Saturday, September 27, Service Nation will convene a national Day of Action, with hundreds of events across America celebrating the power and potential of citizen service. The goal of the National Day of Action is for thousands of Americans to express their support for a dramatic expansion of service by organizing events throughout the day service events, advocacy and educational events. Gatherings small and large are important and will move our cause forward. I encourage you to continue your leadership role in the service movement by planning a Day of Action event and registering it online on the Service Nation website. You remember what it was like to transform an abandoned lot into a community garden, or replace graffiti with a mural, or join others to rally in support of opportunities to serve. Share the experience with others by convening your own event on September 27. You can also get started a day early by participating in City Year’s 20th anniversary Opening Day taking place across the country, including our newest site in Miami on Friday, September26. Meet this year’s corps members, witness their pledge of service and then join them in service.You can read all about Service Nation and the Day of Action athttp://www.servicenation.org/ , as well as the recently published article in TIME magazine. (You can access here:http://alumni.cityyear.org/site/DocServer/08_07_28_TimeServiceAgendaLowRes.pdf?docID=1401 )As a first step, you can take our service poll at:http://www.bethechangeinc.org/servicenation/take_action/poll/cy and submit a question to be asked at the September 11 Presidential Forum on Service. (Tickets to the forum will be given to the individuals who submit the best questions.)It is exciting that both major party presidential candidates strongly support service, and both have been inspired by City Year corps members. Senator McCain and Senator Obama have each proposed growing AmeriCorps to 250,000 members annually from 75,000 today. However,their support alone will not bring about a major expansion of service in America. It takes all of us as committed citizens to take a stand and demonstrate that the American people want our country to be a nation of service.I hope that you are as excited by the potential for Service Nation as I am, and that you will join us in this bold campaign. City Year alumni are leaders for life and getting involved in Service Nation is an important way for you to share your leadership and share dedication with others.

Yours in service

Michael Brown

CEO and Co-Founder City Year,

Inc.287 Columbus Avenue Boston, MA 02116

Americorps

I cannot say enough about serving your community. I think everyone should at least have one positive experience.

http://proofpositivity.blogspot.com

Proof Positivity: Just letting you all know

My computer has crashed and I won’t be online for about 3 weeks because the whole thing is fried. So, for entrecard users I will approve you when we get every thing up and running again. Sorry for the inconvience of not having Monday-Friday good news.

Proof Positivity: Day of Forgiveness

Today is a day of forgiveness. Forgive yourself, forgive someone else. This man forgave his sons killer. Sometimes forgiveness is the key to healing. Have a look at the previous post then think can I truly forgive

Prooof Positivity Blogging For Blood Cancer

The main forms of blood cancer are lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma. These cancers are formed either in the bone marrow or the lymphatic tissues of the body. In 2003, it was estimated that about 106,200 Americans will be diagnosed with one of the blood cancers and about 57,500 will die from the disease. No one knows what causes blood cancer.

If you have been newly diagnosed you’ll want to know all you can here are a few resources
The Leukemia & Lymhoma Society
MedicineNet.com
Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

Where to make a donation for research

Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation
Lymphoma Research Foundation
gateway for cancer research

Proof Positivity: A Few Things

First, I’d like to apologize. I typically have posts Monday through Friday but my keyboard isn’t happy and I’m beating the thing up to get it to do what I want it to do. Secondly, this blog has been awarded the Brillante Weblog Premio Yeah! So, I will be doing the rest of my end of the awarding In the next few days I hope.

Proof Positivity: I’m Staying Positive

Attitude is everything. When I wake up in the morning I expect my day to begin and end wonderfully. That doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen but I try to see the good in every thing. I lived in a home where domestic violence was a “normal” every day thing. I knew it wasn’t normal and I knew only I can make it a positive or negative thing. I am always aware of how I treat my own children and I talk about it the way I do to maybe help someone in the same situation. Only you can control the outcome of your life. If you have been abused so what. Don’t let that be the controlling factor in your life unless you are going to do something with the knowledge you obtained from it. Abuse isn’t right but it is a learning experience. It’s ok to be angry and it’s not your fault so, learn to accept it. I think growing up as I did gave me more sympathy for others. I can’t watch an injustice without getting angry but that doesn’t mean use violence. To me that means I have to write more about it or volunteer somewhere because my thoughts or ideas may help another. Helping someone else keeps me positive as well. It’s hard for me to be negative and pessimistic. I don’t understand the attitude or why anyone would want to be that way. There are things that are wrong with the world but there are so many things that are right with the world.

Sites that talk about staying positive:
How To Stay Positive
Life With Confidence
eHow
How I stay Positive in a Pessimistic world

Domestic violence help:
MASV
Women against violence
Mother’s against violence
Youth Voices against violence
Unifem
Men Stopping Violence