Former Bank Robber Finds Road to Redemption

RON WORD
The Associated Press

(AP) — JACKSONVILLE, Florida - A slug from a .357-caliber Magnum ended Ken Cooper's 13-year career as a bank robber and started him on the path toward redemption and a network of five prison ministries.

Cooper describes the moment when he encountered a sheriff's deputy as he walked out of his last score in 1982.

"As if in slow motion, fire flashed from the shooter's pistol. The plate glass exploded into fragments, coming at me like glistening darts. A slug slammed into my chest, knocking me backward. Shards of glass pierced and sliced my skin. Fire burned in my chest. Someone screamed, the sound bouncing around my mind like an echo. Everything faded to black," Cooper wrote in his book, "Held Hostage: A Serial Bank Robber's Road to Redemption."


Cooper details his double life as a respectable husband, father and "gentleman bank robber" and the punishment for his crimes: Spending a few years in "The Rock," Florida's toughest prison, known for its murders, rapes and suicides.

But before he got there, he says he found Christ in a county jail while awaiting sentencing. He wrote that his conversion occurred after he fell to his knees and prayed, "Jesus, I'm a horrible sinner; please come into my heart and change me. I've made a terrible mess of my life-and the lives of others."

After being released from prison about four years later, Cooper co-founded five prison ministries, which have sponsored more than 2,000 men coming out of prisons.

They are Prisoners of Christ and 20/20 World Vision, Ken Cooper Prison Ministry, in Jacksonville; House of Hope in Gainesville and Mercy House in Tallahassee.

The ministries provide inmates with a place to stay and help with their adjustment to life outside the bars. They teach classes on overcoming addiction at Lawtey Correctional Institution, one of the state's four faith and character-based based prisons. There are also seven facilities with faith-based/self-improvement dorms. Together, they can house 4,855 inmates.

The faith-based prisons are an effort to reduce the number of people returning to prison by offering character-based programming for prisoners.

"A hundred times a year, my wife and I conduct worship services and discipleship classes in prisons where we share the good news that God will save and deliver 'a wretch like me' through Jesus Christ," Cooper said.

He's donating 1,000 copies of his book, published by Chosen Books, to Florida's 67 prisons in hopes of helping current inmates.

"Ken Cooper is the real deal. He is a prison success story who holds out hope for inmates who want to make changes and family members of inmates who hope change is possible," said Chaplain Alex S. Taylor, the head chaplain for the Florida Department of Corrections.

Now a mild-mannered 72-year-old grandfather of six and great grandfather of nine, Cooper began holding up banks for the thrill it provided.

"Pulling holdups is about that adrenaline rush-staring down death. It's not in me to hurt people, and it's really not about the money," Cooper said, adding he averaged about $8,800 per bank.

His "banking job" ended when he was shot July 26, 1982, by a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy who was responding to an alarm at the Exchange Bank in Tampa.

Cooper remembers his terror of the possibility of being raped and assaulted when he entered jail. He was sentenced to 99 years but under Florida's laws at the time, he only served a fraction of it.

"They lurked like vultures eyeing roadkill," Cooper wrote. "In my fear I grimaced but continued to pump myself up. I will not show weakness. God is with me. I'm not afraid."

He was later transferred to the Rock, a notorious walled fortress inside Union Correctional Institution in Raiford. Cooper said he learned his lesson.

Throughout his ordeals, Cooper said he turned to two books: the Bible and a book by Dr. Robert H. Schuller, when dealing with angry inmates and tense situations.

He said he told a parole examiner: "Well, two years of hard time at the Rock convinced me that prison is not the place for me, and I'm determined to never do anything again to get myself locked up. I won't even spit on the sidewalk, much less look at a bank."

When he was released from prison, Cooper worked as a newspaper reporter before beginning his ministry.

"I believe God released me at His chosen time, however, so I could fulfill His plan for my life. To express my deep gratitude and devotion, I am serving a life sentence as a prisoner of Jesus Christ," Cooper wrote.

Holocaust Survivors Reunite with American Liberators from WWII - ABC News

Holocaust Survivors Reunite with American Liberators from WWII - ABC News

Violinist Re-Emerges From Tragedy - Giving Back & Pursuing Dreams

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By the age of 10 Rachel Barton Pine was playing for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. But a tragic accident almost shot her dreams of playing the violin for good. After 40 surgeries she has re-emerged from her near-death experience and she's not letting anyone stop her from pursuing her dreams which includes a music program for underprivileged kids and taking classical music overseas to Haiti and Ghana. Pine's supporters say she's taken the "stuffiness" out of classical music and made it appealing for the masses.

Coaxing High School Drop Outs to Go Back To School

The Boston school district is trying something different to cut its dropout rate, which last year was double the state average, as it has been for years, with 40 percent of students in the class of 2008 failing to graduate.

School officials have begun a concerted effort, which they hope will become a national model, to reach out to the thousands of students who disappeared. They opened a small office with an overworked staff at a community center in Roxbury and have been reenrolling hundreds of dropouts.

Much of the hard work of trying to lure students back into the system falls on Marvin Moore and Emmanuel Allen, both former dropouts who went to college, earned degrees, and now call themselves “dropout outreach specialists.’’ They have been reaching out to dropouts for the past three years as employees of the Boston Private Industry Council, a public-private partnership between the city’s schools and employer community that has sought to blunt the dropout rate.

But this year the school gave Moore and Allen the help they have needed to get the job done. They now have a budget of about $325,000 and a full-time staff that includes a guidance councilor, a teacher, a truancy specialist, and a director, each of whom has played a role in trying to find students, examine their academic record, counsel them, place them in the appropriate school or program, and follow up with them to make sure they stick with it.

Here from the dedicated counselors and the at-risk students themselves in this candid video form the Boston Globe:



Full Story @ link : http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2009/09/18/coaxing_dropouts_back_in/

This Week's CNN Hero: Rabi Iqbal

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Toward the end of her marriage, Rabia Iqbal said she feared for her life.

Iqbal, a native New Yorker, had a strict Muslim upbringing. Her parents immigrated to the United States from the tribal areas of Pakistan and when she was 16, they arranged her marriage to a 38-year-old man. She claims her husband turned violent during their 10 years of marriage.

When she finally left him, she did not know where to turn. Going home wasn't an option, she said.

"My parents ... made clear that they would disown me," Iqbal said. "My father even said ... 'You're lucky you live in America because if you lived back home, you would have been dead by now.' "

She was hiding out in her office at work when a friend put her in touch with Robina Niaz, whose organization, Turning Point for Women and Families, helps female Muslim abuse victims.

"It was such a relief ... to speak about things that ... I thought no one would understand," said Iqbal, who has received counseling from Niaz for more than two years and calls Niaz her "savior."

"Robina understood the cultural nuances ... the religious issues," Iqbal said. VideoWatch Iqbal tell her story »

A devout Muslim, Niaz stresses that there is no evidence that domestic violence is more common among Muslim families.

"Abuse happens everywhere," said Niaz. "It cuts across barriers of race, religion, culture."

But, she said, Muslims are often reluctant to confront the issue.

"There's a lot of denial," she said. "It makes it much harder for the victims of abuse to speak out."

When Niaz launched her organization in 2004, it was the first resource of its kind in New York City. Today, her one-woman campaign has expanded into a multifaceted endeavor that is raising awareness about family violence and providing direct services to women in need.

Niaz said she firmly believes that domestic violence goes against Islamic teachings, and considers it her religious duty to try to stop abuse from happening.

"Quran condemns abusive behavior of women," she said, noting that the prophet Mohammed was never known to have abused women. "Allah says, 'Stand up against injustice and bear witness, even if it's against your own kin. So if I see injustice being done to women and children, I have to speak up. It's my duty."

Niaz's mission began after a difficult period in her own life. Born and raised in Pakistan, she had earned a master's degree in psychology and had a successful career in international affairs and marketing when she moved to the United States to marry in 1990.

"It was a disastrous marriage," she said.

As Niaz struggled to navigate the American legal system during her divorce, she said she appreciated how lucky she was to speak English and have an education. She realized that many immigrant women without those advantages might be more likely to stay in marriages because they didn't know how to make the system work for them.

"If this is how difficult it is for me, then what must other immigrant women go through?" she remembered thinking.

After volunteering with South Asian victims of domestic violence, Niaz, who speaks five languages, got a job using those skills to advocate for immigrant women affected by family violence.

But Niaz's focus changed on September 11, 2001. "I was no longer a Pakistani-American ... I looked at myself as a Muslim."

Niaz said the backlash many Muslims experienced after the terror attacks made abuse victims more afraid to seek help; they feared being shunned for bringing negative attention to their community. VideoWatch Niaz explain the effects of 9/11 on abused Muslim women »

"Women who were caught in abusive marriages were trapped even more," recalled Niaz.

In 2004, Niaz used her savings to start Turning Point for Women and Families. Today, her work focuses on three main areas: providing direct services to abused women, raising awareness through outreach, and educating young women -- an effort she hopes will empower future generations to speak out against abuse.

Crisis intervention services are a critical element of Niaz's efforts. Through weekly counseling sessions, she and her team provide emotional support to the women while helping them with practical issues, such as finding homeless shelters, matrimonial lawyers, filing police reports or assisting with immigration issues.

Niaz has helped more than 200 Muslim women. While most of Turning Point's clients are immigrants, the group helps women from every background.

While Niaz has support from many people in New York's Muslim community, she acknowledges that not everyone appreciates her efforts. She keeps her office address confidential and takes precautions to ensure her safety.

"There have been threats ... but that comes with this work," she said. "I know that God is protecting me because I'm doing the right thing."

NYC Trainer Helps Women Shape Body & Mind

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Gates Foundation On New Mission To Bring Banking to the Poor

From the Associated Press:
SEATTLE - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, best known for its work combating malaria, AIDS and other diseases, announced an effort this week to bring banking, including savings accounts, to the poor.

It may be hard to understand how savings is even an issue for the people who live on less than $2 a day, said Bob Christen, who directs the Gates Foundation's financial services initiative. However, access to a safe place to store money is a top priority of poor people around the world, he said.

That's why the world's richest charitable foundation announced a $35 million grant to help facilitate agent banking services already being developed in Africa, Asia and South and Central America.

Christen said the Gates grant will provide assistance to numerous organizations through the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, whose efforts are historic in the world of banking, and will help people climb out of poverty, save for their children's education, build their businesses and plan for the future.

The ideas for bringing savings accounts, insurance and other financial services to the poor include transferring money by way of mobile phones and setting up banking kiosks in markets and post offices.

The Gates Foundation has invested a total of $350 million so far in other financial services for the poor, including micro-credit, which involves small loans for poor entrepreneurs.

Saving money
Christen says savings accounts are a more basic need of many people. An estimated 2.5 billion people — more than half the world's adult population — do not have access to savings accounts and other financial services.

People are forced to buy and pawn jewelry or make other poor investments to keep their money safe.

Foundation research identified this as an area that is not getting investment dollars and turned its attention in this direction.

"It became very obvious that the single service that is least developed that most people need is savings," Christen said. "People really want to be able to save in a safer place."

The Gates Foundation is providing an infusion of cash to facilitate the sharing of ideas among the innovators and to make sure the new systems offer a wide range of financial services.

Alfred Hannig, executive director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, said banking innovation is happening in developing countries without the foundation's help, but the money will help speed implementation.

The alliance has a goal of reaching 50 million of the world's "unbanked" by 2012.

Paperless transactions
In a phone call from Nairobi, Kenya, where the alliance was hosting a meeting for representatives of 42 countries, Hannig said that plans are being made for a delegation from Kenya to go to Brazil to learn about that country's efforts to bring banking services to small villages along the Amazon River.

"People were waiting for this," said Hannig, who works for the German Technical Corporation and is based in Thailand. "This was very timely. They have been waiting for such a mechanism for such a long time."

Hannig said 60 percent of the money from the Gates Foundation will be redistributed in smaller grants to groups like the delegation from Kenya to Brazil, and the Bank of Thailand, which wants to measure banking access around the world through a survey.

He predicted that the ideas percolating in Africa, Asia and South and Central America will leap-frog existing systems in Europe and the United States.

For example, banking in industrialized nations is paper-based — people still use checks and cash for most of their financial transactions. The new technologies being tried out in the southern continents will lead to a paperless, cashless system.

A First - Black Woman Named Top Drill Sgt. in Army

From the Associated Press:

The U.S. Army has named Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa L. King, an African American, the first woman commandant of the drill sergeant school at Fort Jackson, S.C.

King, 47, one of 12 children and the daughter of a sharecropper from the Fort Bragg, N.C., area, has been in the Army for 29 years, The New York Times reports. Last year the Army consolidated several drill schools into a single campus, “meaning Sergeant Major King, with her staff of 78 instructors, will oversee drill sergeant training for the entire Army,” according to the Times. King is among just 8 percent of the active-duty Army’s highest-ranking enlisted soldiers — sergeants major and command sergeants major — who are women. About 13 percent of Army personnel are female, according to the Times.

Willie Shelley, a retired command sergeant major who supervised King in three postings, said he promoted her over the objections of his commander into a position at Fort Bragg that had been held only by men. “Turns out she was about the best first sergeant they ever had,” Shelley told the Times. “It would not surprise me that she could become the first female sergeant major of the Army.”

10 Ways to Enjoy Doing Absolutely NOTHING!

REAL SIMPLE Magazine got it right with this article. Every now and then it's absolutely necessary to make time to do nothing. Here are 10 great ways to enjoying doing something we should all make time for more often - nothing at all. Enjoy and let us know how it goes!

By Tom Hodgkinson

(REAL SIMPLE) -- One morning, nearly 20 years ago, I was lying in bed. It was late. I was supposed to be working, but I seemed glued to the mattress. I hated myself for my laziness.

And then, by chance, I picked up a collection of writings by Dr. Samuel Johnson, the 18th-century wit and the compiler of the first comprehensive English dictionary.

In the book were excerpts from a weekly column he had written called "The Idler," in which the great man celebrated idleness as an aspiration, writing in 1758, "Every man is, or hopes to be, an Idler."

This was an epiphany for me. Idleness, it seemed, was not bad. It was noble. It was excessive busyness that caused all the problems!

So I got out of bed and started a magazine called 'The Idler," in order to remind people of the forgotten, simple pleasures of doing nothing. I even wrote books about it. And, yes, you could say that idleness became my life's work. So, based on all those years of tough-going research, here are my top tips for people who find it difficult to just be.

1. Banish the guilt. We are all told that we should be terribly busy, so we can't laze around without that nagging feeling that we need to be getting stuff done. I rejected my guilt upon learning that Europeans in the Middle Ages felt no shame for lolling about. Their favorite philosopher, Aristotle, had praised the contemplative life, and the monks spent a lot of time just praying and chanting. Guilt for doing nothing is artificially imposed on us by a Calvinistic and Puritanical culture that wants us to work hard. When you understand that it hasn't always been this way, it becomes easier to shake it off. Real Simple: How to worry less

2. Choose the right role models. Most of the great musicians and poets were idlers. So feed yourself a diet of John Lennon, Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, and the like. Carrying a slim volume of verse in your purse or pocket can be therapeutic -- something from Keats, who wrote of "evenings steep'd in honied indolence," or Wordsworth, of course. (What could be more idle than wandering lonely as a cloud?) It's delightful to read a few lines while you're on a bus or a train, then stare out the window and ponder their meaning.

3. Sketch a flower. If you are new to idling and feel compelled to be purposefully occupied, sketching a flower at the kitchen table can be an excellent way to bring some divine contemplation into your life. The act of drawing makes you observe the bloom in a way you never have before. All anxieties fly away as you lose yourself in close study. And at the end of it you have a pretty little sketch. Real Simple: 34 low-cost, make-you-smile ideas

4. Go bumbling. Bumbling is a nice word that means "wandering around without purpose." It was indulged in by the poets of 19th-century Paris. They called themselves flâneurs and were said to have taken tortoises around on leads, which gives you an idea of the tempo of their rambles. Children are good bumblers. Try making a deliberate effort to slow down your walking pace. You'll find yourself coming alive, and you'll enjoy simply soaking in the day.

5. Play the ukulele. The ukulele is the sound of not working. My wife hates it for that very reason: The twang of those strings means that I am not doing something useful around the house. I keep my ukulele in the kitchen and play it at odd moments, like while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil.

6. Bring back Sundays. Many religions still observe a Sabbath, whether it's Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. And for a long time secular society embraced Sundays as a day of rest, too. But now Sundays are as busy and stress-filled as any other day.

Having a day of rest was a very practical idea: We were excused from all labor and devoted ourselves to pleasure and family. Take that ancient wisdom to heart and declare at least one day of the week as a do-nothing day. Don't clean the house or do the laundry; don't get in the car. Stay home and eat chocolate and drink wine. Be kind to yourself.

7. Lie in a field. Doing nothing is profoundly healing -- to yourself and to the planet. It is precisely our restless activity that has caused the environmental crisis. So do some good by taking a break from "doing" and go and lie on your back in a field. Listen to the birds and smell the grass. Real Simple: 10 guilt-free strategies for saying no

8. Gaze at the clouds. Don't have a field nearby? Doing nothing can easily be dignified by calling it "cloud spotting." It gives a purpose to your dawdling. Go outside and look up at the ever-changing skies and spot the cirrus and the cumulonimbus.

9. Take a nap. To indulge in a siesta after lunch is the most wonderful luxury: It softens tempers and guards against grumpiness. Yet our culture has decided that naps are for wimps. A nap is acceptable only if it is called a "power nap" -- a short doze that is supposed to return you to the office with more energy to kick some ass.

But you should nap, not for the profit of a corporation but for your own health. Research has shown that a daily snooze can reduce the risk of heart attack. And just knowing you're going to sleep after lunch seems to make the morning less stressful. If curling up in your office isn't an option, go somewhere quiet, like a church or a park bench, and close your eyes for even just five minutes.

10. Pretend to meditate. For us westerners, meditation is an accepted way of doing nothing. Tell everyone you're going to meditate, then go into your bedroom, shut the door, and stare out the window or read or lie down for half an hour. You have excused yourself from household tasks and can indulge in contemplation, reflection, and that underrated pleasure, thinking, without fear of disapproval.

Monopoly Board is not just for family fun - Hidden Maps in the Board Game Helped WWII Prisoners Escape

It's a story that will forever change the way you think of the phrase, "Get Out of Jail Free."

During World War II, as the number of British airmen held hostage behind enemy lines escalated, the country's secret service enlisted an unlikely partner in the ongoing war effort: The board game Monopoly.

It was the perfect accomplice.

Included in the items the German army allowed humanitarian groups to distribute in care packages to imprisoned soldiers, the game was too innocent to raise suspicion. But it was the ideal size for a top-secret escape kit that could help spring British POWs from German war camps.

The British secret service conspired with the U.K. manufacturer to stuff a compass, small metal tools, such as files, and, most importantly, a map, into cut-out compartments in the Monopoly board itself.

"It was ingenious," said Philip Orbanes, author of several books on Monopoly, including "The World's Most Famous Game and How it Got That Way." "The Monopoly box was big enough to not only hold the game but hide everything else they needed to get to POWs."

British historians say it was effective enough to help thousands of captured soldiers escape.

The amazing intrigue and secret history of this game can be read in full from ABC News at this link: http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/monopolys-hidden-maps-wwii-pows-escape/Story?id=8605905&page=1

Red Sox Baseball Team Helps to Launch a Program Helps Returning Veterans

The Boston Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital teamed up announce a $6 million program to treat the rising number of men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries and to encourage reluctant veterans to seek services.

The players hope to take a crucial role in trying to diminish the stigma many veterans feel about asking for help for a mental disorder.

Watch this at Boston.com

When scholars face threats, Robert Quinn finds them safer places to do their work

Robert Quinn saves scholars from danger. As founder and executive director of Scholars at Risk (SAR), Quinn and his small staff match scholars with a network of more than 200 universities and colleges in 26 countries. The goal? To find a place where academics can work free from threats to their physical, emotional, and professional safety.

Scholars at Risk focuses on two areas: First, it works to help individuals who face threats ranging from harassment to death. Ideally, SAR tries to help people remain safely in their own countries. If that can't happen, then SAR either matches them with a position as a professor or lecturer at a university or helps them enroll in a relevant academic program.

Recognizing the urgent need to help scholars find havens, Quinn began work on his project in 1999. With seed money from the MacArthur Foundation, he officially launched SAR as a nonprofit in 2000. Today SAR operates from offices at NYU. The university hosts the headquarters and has become active in bringing scholars such as to campus.

Read more about this story and this great organization Robert Quinn founded at the Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0914/p07s01-lign.html

Company hires former pickpockets to put money into people’s pockets

In an alarming new trend, Londoners are being targeted by gangs of former pickpockets, who are slipping 10s and 20s into the pockets of unsuspecting victims as deftly as they used to take them out. It’s all part of an initiative funded by a local broadband provider to let the perpetrators give back to society, while brightening people’s day in this not-so-sunny economy. It’s called putpocketing. [Excerpt verbatim from The.Examiner.com]

More Below:

Put-Pockets hit London

A sly new marketing campaign turns former pickpockets into "put-pockets" on the streets of London.

Big city tourists and locals alike are told to be weary of pickpockets. It can happen anywhere, on the street or the bus, even while waiting in line.

Thieves work solo or in teams, and they always have a strategy. "The guy on the right distracts her, the guy on the left slips a hand into her bag and snags her wallet. There it is."

A British broadband company called TalkTalk is reversing this age-old scam. They hired 20 former pickpockets and magicians to roam around London. Their goal? Slip cash ranging from five to 20 pounds into pockets and purses. A 20 pound note is the equivalent of 32 dollars.

Along with the money comes a card saying, "Another brighter idea from TalkTalk."

"The London police are OK with it. Nothing criminal whatsoever."

Not a single put-pocket has been smacked by someone mistaking them for a pickpocket. Put-pockets say it's far easier than pickpocketing.

Story at link: http://www.volunteertv.com/ettm/headlines/55721887.html

Love Letters to the City of Philadelphia

Former graffiti artist Steve Powers has created a series of rooftop murals that can be seen by commuters from elevated trains in West Philly. They're love notes with messages like "Your everafter is all I'm after." But Power says his "Love Letter" is for the entire city, not a specific person. He hopes the mural project will help heal the area which has been hit hard by drugs and violence.

Full story from the Philadelphia Inquirer below:

Artist brings power of love to Phila. streets

By Stephan Salisbury

Inquirer Culture Writer

Steve Powers, pouffy brown hair springing from the top of his head like a sheaf of wheat, is in his element: El trains rattling along Market Street in West Philly, horns honking below, broad brick walls rising and falling across the cityscape - canvases from the past, ready to be used again.
Back in the '80s, Powers - whose tag was ESPO - painted these same walls, these rooftops and gritty towers, carrying on a decades-long Philadelphia tradition of street art. And in the '90s, the city just as resolutely painted it all over.

But ESPO lives.

Powers, with a fluctuating tag team of street painters, is transforming a skein of Market Street rooftops into an episodic multi-block chain of garish love letters, a combination of street art, neighborhood homage, and true grit. He calls the piece Love Letter and it is nearly complete - as much as love can ever be complete.

Love Letter - done in conjunction with the Mural Arts Program and funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative - will eventually consist of roughly 50 "letters," or giant postcards or murals or whatever you choose to call them, stretching from 46th to 63d Streets on either side of the Market-Frankford El.

About three dozen are done. Several books and a film documenting it all are in the works.

What exactly is it?

At what seems to be its center, the 52d Street El stop, the love notes blare from ragged walls everywhere:

I got the butter. I got the bread. I got the milk. I got the blame.

This love is real so dinner is on me.

Meet me on 52d if only for 50 seconds.

"The only thing that everybody can invest in is love," Powers said yesterday, standing in a sign shop at Farragut and Market Streets. Part of the project involves training neighborhood residents in sign painting, and putting their skills to use refurbishing signage in a neighborhood battered by long-term economic trends and paralyzing El construction.

"Love's the only thing that's in every song on the radio," Powers continued. "It's the only common denominator we have. When we were at community meetings and we were talking to people, and people would begin to dispute whether it was relevant to the neighborhood or not, when it comes back to love, it's everybody's problem, black, white or Puerto Rican."

Powers, 41, grew up in Overbrook, and tagged and painted rooftops all along Market Street, one of the best-known graffiti strips on the East Coast. In the 1990s, he went from Philadelphia street to New York studio, publishing a short-lived magazine, making art, working on a sign project at Coney Island.

Last year, he won a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to Ireland, where he painted a love story on the walls of Belfast and Dublin.

Now he's back with his ESPO roots.

Riding the El or walking the street, he recalled, you could see a diary of urban life - if you could read it. That visual thread is made explicit in Love Letter, a series of bold if somewhat cryptic notes.

"Anybody can put themselves in the position of being the one being spoken to or the one doing the speaking," said Powers. "People can take the train or walk through the neighborhood and put themselves in the story. We're hoping that a few smart guys out there, a few smart ladies, take the cue and tell their significant other they did it for them. There'll be no evidence to the contrary."

James B. Jones, 38, a street artist himself, definitely wanted to participate in Powers' project.

"I was born and raised in West Philly," he said. "I remember all the walls. The El was like the major thoroughfare for graffiti. So it was a lot of graffiti out here. People used to take the El just to see it."

The Love Letter project, said Jones, has created a hum in the neighborhood.

"People are definitely excited about what's going on," he said. "Everybody's been talking about it. I live in the neighborhood. Last week, we were kind of shut down, but I was out there, and people know I'm an artist and I'm involved in the program and were asking me about it: 'When we gonna get this wall done?' 'When we gonna get that wall done?' "

One direct inspiration for Love Letter, said Powers, is Cornbread, the most famous of Philadelphia's early street writers. More than four decades ago, Cornbread covered walls with proclamations of his love for Cynthia.

"The best graffiti ever done, Cornbread was doing to impress a girl. All of these roofs and alleys, we're seeing like traces, trace elements of graffiti form the '60s," Powers said.

"We found a couple of pieces definitely from the Cornbread era. The thing with Cornbread is that when he was doing it for love, he was doing it to get this girl's attention - it was a totally pure, understandable human expression, millions of guys have gone through it . . . .

"Cornbread got famous. After that, kids weren't writing to be loved as much as they wanted to be known and get what they thought was respect or some kind of fame," Powers said. "But graffiti fame is the most ridiculous level of fame ever. You get no power, you don't get a good seat at a restaurant. It's like being a checkers champion or something."

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090910_Artist_brings_power_of_love_to_Phila__streets.html

Unwanted Pets Get a Second Chance

"Pilots N Paws" matches volunteer pilots with dogs in overcrowded shelters that need new homes. Many of the dogs face euthanasia if they don't find adoptive homes.
In the picture above, pilot Jim Cordes and his wife, Melanie Cordes, make their first "Pilots N Paws" transport, taking "Butch" from Allen County Airport in Lima, Ohio, to Tulip City Airport in Holland, Mich.

For more information on Pilots N Paws visit http://www.pilotsnpaws.org/.

Check out the very adorable and heart-warming video from ABC News at the hyperlink below:

Unwanted Pets Get Second Chance

Full Article from ABCNews.com:

Pilots N Paws Takes Off to Find Unwanted Dogs New Homes
Nonprofit Group Hopes to Provide New Homes to 5,000 Resued Dogs in One Week

By ERIC NOLL

Sept. 12, 2009—

Five thousand animals are literally going on the ride of their lives. A group of volunteer pilots today launched a sky-high goal of rescuing thousands of pets from shelters and flying them to safety -- in only one week.

Established in February 2008, the nonprofit group Pilots N Paws organizes volunteer pilots to rescue shelter animals from euthanasia by flying them to new homes. To date, Pilots N Paws estimates it has rescued more than 2,000 animals.

Pilots N Paws co-founder Debi Boies admits her goal is lofty but says a tremendous volunteer network will help accomplish its objectives. "Pilots have taken the week off from work and informed their families that they may be late for dinner," Boies says.

If animals are amputees, older, pregnant or have medical needs, flying is easier and safer. Boies says ground transportation is an option for rescues traveling short distances, but for new homes that are far away, "the journey is long and the animals need to change vehicles every hour. It's stressful for them," she says.

Flying animal rescue missions is not cheap. Volunteer pilot Steve Edwards says the average animal airlift will cost $2,500. "Between the fuel, maintenance and plane permits, it's expensive," Edwards says.

Flight schools such as the Empire Flight Academy in New York will help lessen the cost to pilots by volunteering the use of their planes for free. "It is absolutely worth it, though," Edwards says. "If you ask the dogs if it's worth it ... I think they'd say it is."

Edwards hopes other pilots will follow his example and sign up to save shelter animals from being put to sleep.

"As pilots, we have the ability to fly, and it's our duty to use it for good," he says.

Soles4Souls - Help Give A Child A Pair of Shoes

Between August 1 and September 18, Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Soles4Souls are teaming up to distribute 50,000 pairs of shoes to people all over the world. But they can't do alone and that's where you come in!

For as little as $5 (that’s the price of a venti frap, by the way) provides two pairs of shoes to a child in need.

Donate to this worthy cause and help meet the goal of 50,000 pairs by visiting http://www.50000shoes.com/stories.html

Hear more about this worthy cause by clicking on the video below:

'Silent Gina' Wows Crowds with Song

Autistic child Gina Marie Incadela was unable to speak for a long time, until she learned the National Anthem. Michelle Miller reports on Gina's incredible journey to singing stardom for CBS News.


Watch CBS Videos Online

This Week's Imprint Moment: Chloe Temtchine

Singer-songwriter Chloe Temtchine shares her music with New Yorkers by performing free concerts on the back of a pickup truck. Chloe's uncoventional concert style is all an effort to raise funds and awareness for World Wide Orphans, a cause to her heart. Hear more about the charity and her music by clicking on her "Imprint Moment."

Helping others is best way to survive rough times in Elkhart

The tough times have prompted neighbors and others who didn't interact much before to help one another, some African-American leaders in Elkhart, Indiana. Michael Walker, who lost his job at a fiberglass manufacturer late last year and continues to look for a new one, mows lawns for a few bucks when he gets the chance. If no one's paying, he'll do it for free for the elderly. He'll even help them with odd jobs.

Full article from The Grio.com below:

Visual Designs Hair Studio stylist Angela Hackworth, back, and client Barbara Hartwell laugh and talk as Hackworth works. The salon in Elkhart, Ind. is making do in the economic downturn and keeping a positive attitude. (Photo By Jennifer Shephard)


ELKHART -- As Elkhart's African-American community contends with the down economy, slivers of hope, faith and goodwill shine through, countering the tough times.

Michael Walker, who lost his job at a fiberglass manufacturer late last year and continues to look for a new one, mows lawns for a few bucks when he gets the chance. If no one's paying, he'll do it for free for the elderly. He'll even help them with odd jobs.

"Sometimes I do it just 'cause I'm kind-hearted and free-spirited," he said outside a friend's house at the Washington Gardens housing project.

The owners of Visual Designs Hair Studio let customers looking for work use the computer and other office equipment there.

"We're really trying to reach out and help the community also, especially the clients," said Denise Gary, one of the salon's co-owners.

More broadly, the tough times have prompted neighbors and others who didn't interact much before to carpool and help one another, some African-American leaders here say.

"People are talking whereas people before went their own separate ways," said Brent Curry, a member of the Elkhart City Council.

Likewise, attendance is up at some churches as those hit hardest look for a sense of community.

"People, they need hope," said Arvis Dawson, trustee at Agape Missionary Baptist Church and assistant to Mayor Dick Moore. "They need something."

Cyrus Sinclaire, who's helping out part-time at a convenience store as he searches for a job, regularly reminds himself that even if he doesn't have much, he's got something.

"What I do is count my blessings because I have my health, I have a roof over my head," he said. "I'm not starving."

Artcle above is at direct link: http://www.thegrio.com/2009/08/helping-others-is-best-way-to-survive-rough-times-in-elkhart.php

Years Later, Holocaust Survivor Meets Rescuer

In August 1939, Paddock was a 3-and-a-half-year-old living in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. A British stockbroker began arranging for trains to rescue children and bring them to England. Paddock's mother put her two girls on what would be the last train out.

"She said it was like dying," Paddock said.

Nicholas Winton would save 669 children on eight so-called Kindertransports.

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the rescue, a vintage train carrying two dozen survivors departed from Prague last week for a three-day journey. After a ferry ride, they arrived again in London where Winton, now 100 years old, greeted them.

Watch the incredible video of the reunion at link - http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/20780122/index.html

Awesome Non-Profit: WINE TO WATER

"Many of the wars of this [20th] century were about oil, but the wars of the next century will be about water." –Former World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin

Wine to Water is an incredible non-profit with a focus on providing fresh water to the needy around the world. Check out their site to learn more. You can even host your own Wine to Water event to raise money and awareness for this notable cause.

Wine to Water Link: http://winetowater.org

This Week's Imprint Moment: Jonathan Schirripa

This week's "Imprint Moment" is brought to you by Jonathan Schirripa, a volunteer fire fighter and emergency medical technician. Jonathan felt called to serve after 9/11 and now devotes his time to helping others. See how Jonathan is leaving his imprint.

Check out this non-profit Imprint-TV recently learned about. HelpingStepByStep is an organization founded by a 14-year-old boy on a mission to raise awareness of the number of homeless children in the U.S. today: 1.35 million. Learn more about the David Ashby's journey from Orlando, Florida, to Washington D.C., by foot, all in an effort to raise money & give a voice to homeless kids throughout the country - letting them know they have not been forgotten. HelpingStepByStep Link: helpingstepbystep.com/Welcome.html

53-Year-Old Rollergirl Ready to Rumble

Beth Hollis spends her 9-5 shift at the Akron-Summit County Library where she's worked for more than 25 years. But in the evenings you'll find her at a Rubber City Rollergirls practice match where she only answers to the name "MegaBeth" and where her teammates know not to cross her! The 53-year-old rollergirl has broken stereotypes and a few noses in the process. Hollis is proof that at any age, if you put your mind to it, anything is possible. Check out Beth's story on CNN - she talks about her realization that age is in fact just a number.
CNN Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/08/31/roller.derby.librarian/index.html