The Imprint-TV blog is for people who often tune out and turn off their nightly news simply because they find it depressing. However, there are stories everywhere that can break through the flood of debilitating and dehumanizing news and focus on positive people who are changing society without any thought of reward or praise. We created this blog to challenge Imprint-TV viewers – encouraging them to find their own ways to leave a positive imprint on their communities and the world.
Tonight will be 2010's biggest and brightest full moon! A Native American monkier, also calls this "wolf moon," stating that hungry wolves used to howl at the moon on cold winter nights. The shape of the moon will be an ellipse, causing it to reach the closest point to Earth, therefore making it more brilliant than others to come. According to http://www.spaceweather.com/, tonight's moon will be about 14 percent wider and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons of the year. Be sure to see if you can spot the man on the moon! Story from http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100129/sc_space/biggestandbrightestfullmoonof2010tonight
Sailors among a boat in Warsaw, Poland got an unexpected surprise when they saw a dog floating on a block of ice more than 100 miles up a river, headed towards the Baltic Sea. As the crew got closer, they saw the dog trying not to fall into the icy waters. Crew members aboard the Baltica, rescued the poor dog and are now in the process of finding its owner, or possibly, a new home. See the entire story and video at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35098616/ns/world_news-wonderful_world/
Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, these four courageous teens experience tough circumstances in their own lives everyday. However, they made the unselfish decision and committment to feed local families in need through an organization called buildOn. Check out this amazing story! http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35058256#35058256
Jobs can sometimes be hard to come by in today’s economic recession. But don’t worry we’ve got some tips to help you stay on the employer’s radar.
1. Temporary Staffing In research done by the American Staffing Association, studies show that temporary hires increase as the economy rebounds from a recession. The American Staffing Association’s website www.americanstaffing.net, has a database of over 15,000 staffing firms to be searched by location or specialty. Be sure to apply to several different firms. Seasonal jobs are available as well, especially during the holidays.
2. Healthcare There is always a constant need for doctors, nurses, home health aides, pharmacists, etc. Companies like CVS and Walgreens say they are hiring for pharmacy positions nationwide. If you don’t have medical training, places like Career Stop One, Workforce One, or CareerOneStop.org have information about places that offer training in several areas of healthcare.
3. Federal Law Enforcement There is a forecast of 50,000 new federal jobs from positions for the Transportation Security Administration, to special agents in the Secret Service. USAJobs.gov is a website that breaks down the process of applying to federal positions.
4. Try a start-up company. According to the Commerce Department, 64 percent of all new jobs in the past 15 years have been created by small businesses. These companies may offer interesting positions, but it can be difficult to find these names initially. However, website Startuphire.com adds about 4,000 new jobs a month to the site.
5. Be Aware of Steep Competition Starwood hotels had 10,000 applicants apply for only 300 positions in their newest Washington D.C. location. These numbers may be alarming but don’t let them stop you from applying. This is an incentive to stay sharp at all times. Complete story found at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/JobClub/tips-find-job-january/story?id=9650636&page=2
The future looks a bit brighter two young Haitian earthquake victims. Bettenia and Dieunette, last names unknown, were among 53 children rescued from the earthquake rubble of their group home in Port-au-Prince. The girls now share a home with their new adoptive parents, Kristin and Scott Heaton of Omaha, Nebraska. After the family’s biological daughter Victoria learned of the country’s poverty-stricken areas, she encouraged her parents to help. The Heatons first met Dieunette in Haiti when she was 6-months-old and the family volunteered to sponsor her for a brain surgery in 2008. The young girl first entered the orphanage when a hurricane swept through her home town, leaving her mother unable to care for her. Kristin Heaton visited Haiti every three months over the last several years to check on Bettania and Dieunette and take supplies to their orphanage. The Heatons had been in the delayed process of adopting both girls over the past three years, but on January 18th, the United States decided to loosen its Visa requirements on Haitian children, left parentless, in near-final stages of adoption. This affected 900 children awaiting adoption. “We can’t think of anything we’d rather do than raise these children and make a difference,” Kristin Heaton said. Bettenia and Dieunette are still getting used to their new home. Since Dieunette speaks little English, they plan to home school the girls until they are ready to interact with their peers. In the meantime, Kristin says their goal is to, “just spoil them rotten.” For the full article, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/us/26orphans.html?ref=us.
Anya was neglected, and finally abandoned. Most of the two years of her life was spent locked in a garage. When humans approached, the large, gentle Leonberger-golden retriever mix cowered in fear.
Stewart Thorpe spent 30 of his 55 years on Boston’s streets, bundled in depression. He used to sleep in subways and on sidewalks. When Pine Street workers eventually reached out to him, he was too fearful to look them in the eyes.
These two homeless creatures - man and dog, both shadows in life - are finding that they have a lot in common - a history of abandonment, trauma, and distrust.
Over the past year, something remarkable has happened to Thorpe and Anya and a handful of other homeless men and dogs in a Pine Street transitional home.
Anya is finding out what it means to be cared for in a loving home, while Thorpe and 10 other men are discovering what it means to live again.
“I’ve committed myself to doing something again,’’ Thorpe said. “I’m thinking of something other than me.’’
Anya is the latest of six dogs once considered unadoptable who have had a foster stint at Pine Street’s Stapleton House, a four-story South End dwelling for men entrenched in homelessness.
The program tries to get men housed first, before addressing their medical, long-term housing, and emotional needs. The men, in their 50s through 70s, learn basic life skills such as sharing common space, caring for themselves, and looking people in the eye.
Barbara Davidson, who heads the effort, has spent years helping the homeless who struggle with paranoia and other psychiatric issues. The men she helps do not cause trouble, but they do not want help and do not talk about their lives - which makes assisting them difficult.
A year ago, she was working with a paranoid man who was refusing treatment. But he loved dogs. To put him at ease, Davidson and her client began volunteering at the nearby animal shelter. Soon he wanted a dog for himself.
“I told him that we could bring in dogs that, like everyone else here, don’t have homes, and work with them just like we do the humans,’’ Davidson said.
Dogs are the ultimate ice breakers. They teach the men to build trust and open up about their hidden lives, so the staff of five can get the humans the help they need. The dogs learn to accept love and temper their aggression. On their daily walks, the dogs are conversation starters with strangers.
These may be small feats in the annals of daily life, but for men and dogs who have spent much of their lives in the grip of homelessness, these encounters are giant leaps to newfound independence.
Amy Marder, a veterinarian with the Animal Rescue League who is not connected with the effort, said both dog and man are connecting and helping each other through their shared histories of isolation.
“It’s also saying to the homeless men that it is OK to get help,’’ she said.
So far, it is working. Five of the dogs have been adopted to homes across the state, and six men are getting the treatment they long shunned. One has his own apartment, and at least four are on their way to getting their own home.
“A lot of people are very secretive about their lives and histories, but if you talk through the dog, you begin to know the person,’’ Davidson said.
The bond between dogs and humans has long been documented, with studies showing how canines reduce stress, boost happiness, and brighten one’s outlook, said Katenna Jones, an animal behaviorist at the American Humane Association’s office in Rhode Island.
Across the country, specialists have been providing dogs to inmates and parolees as well as to children and elders who have difficulty coping with grief or loneliness. Pairing dogs with the homeless is new, though, she said.
“These relationships are mutually successful for the humans and the dogs,’’ Jones said. “The contact is nonjudgmental. . . . It’s something that you can’t necessarily get with another person, especially people with social anxieties and phobias and people who have a hard time interacting with others.’’
Different breeds have stayed at Stapleton House, most of them from All Dog Rescue, a Natick-based volunteer group that places abandoned dogs in foster homes.
Brady, a mixed breed with heartworm and depression, was the first dog at the house. Now he’s living pretty in a new adoptive home, Davidson said.
Spike Lee, a miniature poodle mix, had a bad attitude. “He was the meanest little street dog ever,’’ Davidson said. But the men calmed him down.
Then there was King, a cocker spaniel found wandering the streets with part of a backyard chain around his neck.
Something about King evoked a childhood memory for William S. Collins, 56, an Army veteran.
Collins doesn’t say much - but the homeless man has undergone a dramatic turnaround. When he came to the transitional house, he was severely depressed and hardly spoke, said Jacqueline Swanson, a case manager there.
It was a slow process, but the staff helped Collins get the right medication to treat his depression. Months later, he completed a janitorial training program and is on the waiting list for a job and an apartment.
“He stuck with it, he followed through, he didn’t give up,’’ Swanson said.
Collins didn’t give up on King, either. The dog reminded him of the German shepherd he had when he was teenager.
There have been other success stories, too. A man in his 70s finally began talking about his life after two years at the house, revealing that he had been an electrician for a big company. With the staff’s help, he is now awaiting his first Social Security check.
In the past few weeks, the men have been fostering Anya, who follows them around or finds one of them to curl up next to - her soft, brown eyes melting their hearts.
She has some aggression issues with other dogs, but the men are helping her with that.
Her new best friend is Michael O’Brien, who has a history of roaming from shelter to shelter. O’Brien, 61, thought some of the other dogs were too depressed or too yappy.
But Anya, he said, is just right for him.
“I like her the best,’’ he said. “I didn’t know about having a dog before. . . . She’s just good company.’’
Charlie Simpson waves during his five mile cycle ride around South Park, west London, Sunday Jan. 24, 2010. A young British schoolboy has raised nearly 100,000 pounds ($160,000) for Haiti's relief effort. Seven-year-old Charlie Simpson was so upset by the devastating images of Haiti's deadly earthquake that he asked his mother if she could help him set up a sponsored bicycle ride around his local park in west London. Charlie originally hoped to raise 500 pounds ($800) for UNICEF's Haiti appeal with Sunday's 5-mile bike ride but his Internet page was flooded with donations.
Full Article @ link: http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2010/01/25/uk_7_year_old_raises_tens_of_thousands_for_haiti/
