She-ro Brings Mammography Screenings to the Uninsured, the Forgotten

Rachael Ray Brings Thanksgiving to Wilmington, OH

From ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT:
Rachael Ray heads to Wilmington, Ohio, to come to the aid of a local soup kitchen with a few celebrity friends.

Accompanying Rachael on the trip to ensure the community has a special Thanksgiving celebration are Nick Lachey, Carter Oosterhouse and Kahi Lee, who are adopting the local soup kitchen. They will be surprising them with a complete kitchen and pantry renovation along with a promise to stock their shelves for the year ahead.

The show will also help the community come together for a Thanksgiving feast filled with surprises at Roberts Convention Centre. Rachael knows times are tough for this town and for many others across the country, but the show is looking forward to sharing the blessings of the season and reminding the town of Wilmington that everyone has a reason to be thankful.

Like many towns in America, Wilmington is suffering a severe economic downturn. The DHL shipping center was the town's largest employer, but shut down in January 2009, leaving thousands unemployed with little hope of finding another job in the area. With no options left, hungry residents are turning to the town's only soup kitchen for help.

The special one-hour episode of "Rachael Ray" airs on November 25. Please check local listings at www.rachaelrayshow.com.

Literacy Freeze You Campaign

The Center for Literacy in Philadelphia is leaving a powerful imprint on the city. The organization held its first literacy flash mob called The Literacy Freeze. More than 400 volunteers met at the Municipal Services Plaza for the event. They were joined by a solid mission - to bring attention to the impact of low literacy by standing completely frozen - in one place - for two minutes. UNESCO reports that one in five adults is not literate and 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. A big shout out to Philly's Center for Literacy and its efforts to raise awareness on the empowering role of literacy in our day-to-day lives. Check out the video to learn more.

A No Judgement Spin to Dating - In the Dark

New Imprint-TV Story: Love & the Recession

Imprint-TV spoke with love experts of every kind who all say the tough economy has people wanting to find love. People are re-thinking the importance of material goods without having someone to share them with. A story just in time for the holidays.

Donated Cell Phones Keep Soliders Connect

Brittany and Robbie Berquist were just pre-teens in 2005 when they read about an Army reservist who faced a $7,600 bill for making calls home from Iraq. They thought everyone should be able to call home without going bankrupt so they founded Cell Phones for Soldiers, a nonprofit organization that recycles unwanted cell phones and purchases prepaid calling cards for soldiers. In the last 5 years, they've handed out more than 400,000 calling cards, totaling over one million dollars worth of donated mobile phones.

You can print a free shipping label at the link below & send in your old cell phone http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com./shippingLabel_generic.html

Cell Phones for Soldiers sends 25,000 phone cards overseas every month. The organization also accepts Blackberries, chargers and batteries.

The group has received heartwarming letters from soldiers around the globe, expressing their appreciation for the calling cards and their pride in the young people who took it upon themselves to solve this problem.

Story above from: The Huffington Post @ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/cell-phones-for-soldiers_n_364541.html

NFL Player's Show of Support

Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Cribbs does a kind deed for a high school football player who lost his dad.The Pro Bowler traveled to Berea, OH to walk onto the field on senior night with Michael Drake, a senior receiver at Stow High School and the son of one of his former college coaches. He lost his father, Mike, in 2005 to lymphoma. He had assumed he'd be accompanied by his mother and sister for senior night introductions and was stunned when he saw Cribbs arrive minutes before the game.

Full Story Below:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Josh-Cribbs-walks-with-late-coach-s-son-on-his-s?urn=nfl,202608

Josh Cribbs walks with late coach's son on his senior night

By Chris Chase
In a dismal year for the Cleveland Browns, wide receiver/returner Josh Cribbs has proved to be one of the only bright spots. Last month he showed he's equally good off the field.
The Pro Bowler traveled to Berea, OH to walk onto the field on senior night with the son of one of his former college coaches. Michael Drake, a senior receiver at Stow High School, lost his father, Mike, in 2005 to lymphoma. He had assumed he'd be accompanied by his mother and sister for senior night introductions and was stunned when he saw Cribbs arrive minutes before the game.
''I looked, then looked away, then said, 'Why are you here?''' Michael recalled. ''I was shocked.''
A receiver, cornerback and holder for extra points, Michael said Cribbs offered advice before his final game.
''He said, 'Play your heart out. This is it. Give it your all. Don't ever stop on any play. Keep pushing,''' Michael said. ''I almost felt worried. I didn't want to look bad for him.''
Michael's late father recruited Cribbs to play at Kent State and served as a father figure to the Washington, D.C. native during his time at Kent. Mike Drake was the offensive coordinator for the Golden Flashes during Cribbs's freshman and sophomore seasons. Cribbs played quarterback in college and credits Drake for helping him drive home the fundamentals that he still uses today. So, when the idea of returning for senior night was pitched to Cribbs this summer, he didn't hesitate.
It's a small gesture, but it says a lot about the character of Cribbs. He apparently didn't feel the need to talk about it publicly; this happened Oct. 30 and, as far as I can tell, yesterday's report in the Akron Beacon Journal is the first it's been mentioned. Similarly, Drake's mother is quoted in the piece as saying that Cribbs took great pains to underplay his presence at the game for fear of taking away the spotlight from Michael and the other seniors. This shows a humility that other professional football players could sometimes stand to emulate.
Cribbs is back on the field Monday night when the Browns host the Baltimore Ravens.
Related: Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns

“Non Sum Qualis Eram” - Elite Education Offered at High Security Prison

“Non Sum Qualis Eram - I am not what I once was.”
Here's an interesting story from The New York Times. It's a story about redemption and giving people another chance at life - even if it means a life spent behind bars. It's an experiment of sorts between Weslyan University & a Connecticut prison. What kind of an imprint can education leave on hardened criminals? Read the article to learn more.

Copy & paste link into your browser: From the NY Times: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/college-ivy-sprouts-at-a-connecticut-prison/#more-101173

New Nike Collection All About Giving Back - From the Heart & Sole

From the Spokesman-Review:

The six young artists made the most of their walkable canvases -- vibrant designs and bright colors befitting a limited-edition line.

But the designers behind the Nike shoe collection being released today are patients whose creations will raise money for Doernbecher Children's Hospital. On Friday, the company presented a showing at its headquarters near Beaverton.

It was a both a joyful and heart-wrenching occasion. Michael Doherty, Nike's global creative director and founder of the Doernbecher Freestyle program, which has raised about $2 million for the Portland hospital, stood with the children in a room packed with dozens of company designers and managers. He proudly called it "one of the best programs at Nike."


Then it was time for Anna Finley, an 11-year-old from Salem, to talk about the brightly colored shoe she'd designed, the Air Max Zenyth.

"This shoe is based on hope and happiness," the blond girl with Hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a kidney disease, told the crowd. As she spoke of her dream to become a gymnast, she began to weep, prompting Doherty to rush to her side and put an arm around her.

"These are some brave people here," he said.

$290,000 raised at auction

The six shoes were unveiled Sept. 19 at a $100-a-head cocktail party and auction at Wieden+Kennedy's headquarters in Portland's Pearl District. About $290,000 was raised that night.

This year's shoes, which run from $88 to $165 a pair, will go on sale today at the 12 Nike stores in the United States and online at Nike.com. Retail sales of last year's line netted $458,900 for the hospital.

The designers are nominated each January by child therapists and other staff at Doernbecher. In the spring, the children head to the Nike campus where they meet their design mentors, brainstorm ideas and begin sketching designs.

"Just to be able to be in this complex was very cool," Anna said before Friday's event.

Designers love the program

Nike designers say they love the program. Matt Holmes, the design director who supervises 18 teams at the sporting apparel maker, says working with Anna was the single best experience of his 12 years at Nike.

This year's collection includes a blue high-top covered with brightly colored basketballs, the Nike Skinny Dunk High. "Basketball is my life," explained designer Makayla Hansen, a 12-year-old from Elgin with Alagille syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the liver.

For the Air Force I Low, 11-year-old Bradley Bowlby of Stevenson, Wash., emphasized stitching to represent both those on a baseball and the ones on his chest following heart surgery. The elk in the design speaks to his love of hunting, the spoon and fork to his dream of becoming a chef.

"We think this program is great," said Mike MacRae, communications manager for the Doernbecher Foundation. "Not only does it raise a lot of money, but it's a lot of fun for the kids."

Healing the wounds of segregation and coming together across racial lines to make friends

A one-of-a-kind 50th high school gathering. The classes of 1959, once segregated by race as well as gender, sat down together for the first time in history.

CNN has the story:



Macon, Georgia (CNN) -- Bettye Webb-Hayes won't ever forget the day her son posed a question that stopped her in her tracks.

"Mom," the fourth-grader asked, "am I white?"

It was a question she had never asked her own parents. It was something you didn't talk about in the days of the segregated South -- especially when your mom was white and your father was a mix of African-American and Native American. She went to the black schools of Macon, Georgia. Now, her son was asking probing questions.

"Why would you ask me that?" she said.

"Because everybody at school calls me a honky," said the young Cordell, a light-skinned African-American.

Twenty-seven years have passed since that conversation. Bettye and her son recently traveled back to Macon to face something that's been omnipresent their whole lives: the coming together of white and black.

They returned for a one-of-a-kind 50th high school gathering. The classes of 1959, once segregated by race as well as gender, sat down together for the first time in history.

Ruby Dean Dupree Mayes arrived two hours early for the festivities. She didn't sleep the night before.

"It's like waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. I'm so excited," said Mayes, who drove more than 330 miles from Tennessee to attend.

Mayes went to Ballard-Hudson High, the city's black high school, whose most famous students include singers Otis Redding and Little Richard. She came this day "to celebrate and commemorate."

"I could not pass this event up," she said. "I never dreamed of this moment -- just the realization of knowing that we had come together, at last."

As the 1959 graduates arrived, they welcomed one another. Many first greeted people of their own race. Some hadn't seen particular classmates in the 50 years since they earned their diplomas. Gradually, they began mixing and mingling.

There was a commonality -- a need to come together for their children, their grandchildren and the generations to follow. Discuss the past, while moving forward in the present.

Separated now by 'personal choice'

It sometimes takes a son to see things in a new light.

The idea for the meeting began four years ago, when a son told his father: "Dad, think about how many friends you missed getting to know."

Those were the words of Wyatt Johnson, a public school teacher in Santa Cruz, California. He and his father, Tom Johnson, were enjoying a father-son trip to Macon in 2005 to rediscover their roots.

Tom Johnson is the former head of CNN and was once the publisher of the Los Angeles Times. He's traveled the world and left his own mark along the way. Yet despite all his accomplishments, there was something he'd never done: reach out to the African-Americans of Macon from 1959, the ones he never knew because of segregation.

An idea was born. He wrote to graduates of the black school, Ballard-Hudson; the white girls' school, Miller; and the white boys' school, Lanier. "We all have deep personal memories of our high school experiences that will remain with us forever," he wrote. "We had lived in a separate black and white world in Macon. ... It is a different world today. We no longer are separated, except by personal choice."

One white graduate responded with hate mail, a reminder that racism still exists.

But on a day in early October, more than 200 people gathered at a Goodwill banquet hall. There was no shouting, none of the in-your-face name-calling seen in recent health care town hall meetings across the country.

Here, there were tears, hugs and handshakes. Often, talk of grandkids took center stage at the 16 roundtables. They talked about race and the segregated past that prevented such closeness a half-century ago.

"You'd think we'd have grown up together," said Alice Bailey, a Ballard-Hudson grad.

"We still have a gift, and that's a gift of time," Johnson said. "Blacks and whites together, we can do something to make the world better."

They took out notepads. They scribbled ways to take action. They began making a to-do list of 59 things for the Classes of 1959. Their goals range from building a home for Habitat to Humanity to writing letters to service men and women from Macon serving in war. They'd love to persuade the one who sent the hate mail to attend the next gathering.

They also want to set an example for the elders of other Southern cities. "I'm glad we've left the past behind," said Michael Cass, the 1959 class president of Lanier.

The daughter of one those in attendance stood and took the microphone. "Today, you have inspired me so much," she said.

Many in the crowd reached for tissues.

Linda Carstarphen Gugin said her whole life had been leading to this moment. "It was the most amazing thing," she said. "It was just like almost immediate bonding between people."

As the class president of Miller, she'd carried guilt for the last 50 years for not speaking out against segregation.

"I have tears about this," she said, crying.

For Bettye Webb-Hayes and her son, the gathering underscored why the question "Mom, am I white" could be asked in one era and not another.

Listening to his mother and her childhood friends, Cordell said, he was struck by how segregation was "was so transparent to them at the time they were living through it. It was a way of life, so they didn't acknowledge its existence."

"I find it interesting how human nature teaches you to accept things that are -- and some people question the reality, and other people don't."

His mother did test the reality of segregation on one occasion. Bettye and her sister went into a Woolworth's department store in Macon. They sat at a counter for food.

The white waitress looked at them skeptically. She couldn't tell whether they were white or black. She grabbed a black cook for his input. "Those are the Webb girls," he said.

The two were kicked out.

Webb-Hayes giggles about the story. She's proud she tried to break the rules. "I think she really would've served us if she thought she could have gotten away with it."

Watch Bettye tell story of her dad and 'stupid' Elvis

It was in 1963 when Webb-Hayes realized just how wrong the segregated South was. She marched in Washington, D.C., with Martin Luther King Jr. that year. "It was almost like you were listening to God speak in person."

Years later, Bettye -- the girl who was sent away from the Woolworth's counter -- would eat Thanksgiving dinner with President Jimmy Carter. Webb-Hayes was the music teacher for Amy Carter, the president's daughter.

Her motto throughout life: "Just do the very best you can."

She calls the gathering of the segregated schools "unbelievable." If it's the last trip of her life, Webb-Hayes, 68, feels her life's journey is now complete.

"I was glad to meet new friends today."

A special thanks to Bright Blue Sky Productions for its help on this report.

Boss Gives Employee the Gift of Life

Rob Fenstermaker likes helping people, he learned from the best, his boss Brian Deangelis.

Store manager in Allentown, Pennsylvania Brian gave the gife of life to his Rob after he donated his kidney to him. CNN reports in the video below.

Steelers' Ward Brings Hope to Biracial Youth in S. Korea

From The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/sports/football/09ward.html?_r=1

By JOHN BRANCH

PITTSBURGH — Steelers receiver Hines Ward surrounded himself with old friends at the dinner table on a recent Saturday night. The bond was as obvious as the look on everyone’s faces — half Korean, half something else. The shared experience was far more than skin deep.

There was a boy who was bullied into depression and tried to commit suicide. There was a girl ordered by a teacher to keep her hair pulled back tight, to straighten the natural curls she inherited from her black father. There was another too intimidated by her taunting classmates to board the bus, choosing instead the humiliating and lonely walk to school. There were the boys who were beaten regularly and teased mercilessly. There were college-age girls who broke into tears when telling their stories of growing up biracial in South Korea.

But when they looked around the table, they saw familiarity. And a future.

“It is so special that no one is staring at me, and no one is asking me about my hair,” Lisa So, 20, said. “It gives me hope.”

The eight boys and girls, between 16 and 21, were visiting Ward from South Korea, where people of mixed races are considered everything from a curiosity to an abomination. What starts with teasing from childhood peers often turns to widespread ostracism and discrimination. It eventually leads to higher dropout, poverty and suicide rates.


“It’s a great culture,” said Ward, who was born in Seoul to a Korean mother and an African-American soldier father, and was raised mainly in Georgia by his mother. “I love everything about it. But there’s a dark side to that culture. And me, I’m just trying to shed a light on that dark side and make Korea a better place than it already is.”

The plight of biracial children in South Korea was largely ignored until 2006, when Ward was the most valuable player of Super Bowl XL. Koreans were quick to make the link to his Korean heritage.

That spring, Ward and his mother, Young He Ward, visited South Korea for the first time since Ward was a baby nearly 30 years earlier. They were mobbed by television cameras and gawking fans. They were honored by the South Korean president.

“I got more love there than I did in the States,” Ward said.

Ward was only starting to understand the underlying hypocrisy. Biracial children in South Korea recognized it instantly.

“They liked someone because he is famous,” So said. “If you are not famous, they are very cold. So I was happy, but also bitter.”

It represented, however, a slow turn toward tolerance.

“Nobody thought this problem was so serious in Korea,” said Jin Roy Ryu, the chairman of a multinational metals company, Poongsan Corp., and of the South Korean branch of Pennsylvania-based Pearl S. Buck International, which has provided social services to biracial children in South Korea since 1965.

“We’re a closed society, and no one really talked about it,” Ryu said. “But Hines came, and it really brought the issue to the center.”

When Ward visited the Pearl S. Buck office in South Korea, he found the stories heartbreaking — and familiar.

He was a year old when his family moved to the United States. His parents split, and Ward spent his early years with his father. In second grade, Ward moved in with his mother, who spoke little English and worked low-paying jobs. She still works in a school cafeteria; Ward said he had little contact with his father.

“It was hard for me to find my identity,” Ward said. “The black kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I had a Korean mom. The white kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was black. The Korean kids didn’t want to hang out with me because I was black. It was hard to find friends growing up. And then once I got involved in sports, color didn’t matter.”

But there is no such relief valve for most of the estimated 19,000 biracial children in South Korea. The fast-growing majority of them are Kosians, with a parent from a different Asian country.

The number of Amerasians — those generally with white or black American fathers, often from the military — is slowly shrinking. But their mere appearance leads to harsher discrimination, officials said.

“Korea is traditionally a single blood,” said Wondo Koh, a Korean who met up with the group in Pittsburgh while doing business. “We Koreans are not comfortable with this mixed-blood situation. We have become familiar now, but we did not know how to cope.”

Ward and Pearl S. Buck International have taken eight Amerasian children to Pittsburgh during each of the last four football seasons. They stay with host families, people who have adopted South Korean children through Pearl S. Buck. They share stories about their experiences, a bit of therapy for children who usually do not know other biracial people back home.

Ward’s message: never be ashamed; embrace the opportunity to be part of two cultures.

Ward met the contingent at the airport. The next day, he treated them to several hours of arcade fun at Dave & Buster’s. Ryu and Ward hosted dinner for the group at a Korean restaurant.

Gifts were exchanged. Two boys did a tae kwon do exhibition. Two girls sang. All of them read essays written as part of the application for the trip. Several cried.

Earlier that day, Min Hyeok Han, 16, sat at the dining room table at the home of Ryan Little and Mary Kate Kelley, parents of two young boys they adopted from South Korea. Like most of this year’s group, Han was making a repeat trip to Pittsburgh.

“Here, they would just be the popular kids,” Kelley said. “It’s hard to imagine what they go through in Korea.”

Han is funny and smart, with a hipster’s bent and a maturity beyond his years. Korean strangers, he said, often think he is American — a common conclusion that he and the others rarely correct, simply to avoid an uncomfortable episode as a biracial South Korean.

Han lives with his grandparents and a great-grandmother. His mother lives nearby, but he knows nothing of his father, a white American soldier. Cousins shun him, he said, especially those from the countryside.

He said he was physically bullied by classmates once or twice a week, and verbally harassed daily — often with derogatory terms reserved for mixed-breed dogs. Sometimes, the barbs were aimed at his mother. When Han sat down for lunch with other children, he said, they frequently moved to another table. He has been beaten on the street by much older children quick to notice that he was a “half-blood.”

Han said he was ashamed to admit that he tried to overdose on his grandparents’ medications and had cut his wrists.

Things have changed the last three years. Han met Ward in 2006. When classmates saw pictures of the two together, Han was suddenly treated differently. Most antagonism ended. Some peers even find his biracial heritage “cool,” he said.

“I can see Korea is changing every year,” he said. “It’s slowly changing.”

On Oct. 25, before the Steelers played the Minnesota Vikings, the group stood on the sideline at Heinz Field. They were bedecked in Ward’s No. 86 jersey and other Steelers gear. Ward came over for high-fives and hugs.

From the end-zone stands, sitting with their host families, they waved Terrible Towels and cheered the Steelers to victory. The next day, they left Pittsburgh for a week of sightseeing in Philadelphia, Washington and New York with Pearl S. Buck officials. Then most returned to South Korea, carrying with them a booster shot of confidence.

They are part of a generation caught between yesterday’s racism and tomorrow’s acceptance. But as they sat around a dinner table in Pittsburgh, their vastly different faces did not seem unusual at all. What they had in common were their smiles.

Journals Lift Spirits of Soldiers Overseas

Watch the Story from ABC News: Flight Attendant Serves Up Drinks, Journals for Soldiers - ABC News

Delta flight attendant Robin Schmidt is on a mission to make sure soldiers sent overseas are not forgotten. For the past 5 years, Schmidt has asked her domestic Delta passengers to fill out journals for the troops - thanking them for putting their lives on the line for others. The response she receives from soldiers is immense helping the soldiers realize their work is not in vain. Schmidt said her efforts are not meant to be a political statement, rather she wants to make sure the men and women who volunteered to serve the US get the support they need.

Finding Joy In Tough Times

(Health.com) -- These days it can feel like the age of anxiety is winning over the pursuit of happiness. An uncertain economy and the swine flu are just the tip of our worry iceberg.

In fact, scientists say women are wired to worry -- at least more so than men. In a recent Health magazine poll, 54 percent of women said they worry more than their spouse, with only 12 percent claiming their partner worries more than they do. That's thanks, in part, to the hormonal roller-coaster women ride month to month and through the years.

"The highs and lows can make women prone to feeling everything from anxious to depressed," says Jerilyn Ross, a licensed independent clinical social worker, president and CEO of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, and author of One Less Thing to Worry About.

And while men tend to be linear problem solvers, "Women are more in touch with their emotions, and worry is an emotion," points out Dr. Judith Orloff, a psychiatrist and author of Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life. Still, experts say that with some practice we all can learn to be a little less worried and a whole lot happier.

Here's your recipe for a more joyful life. Read on and say, "So long, dark side."

1. Find your joy

One of the keys to finding happiness in tough times is "simply being aware of what is happening right now, without wishing it were different," says James Baraz, a meditation instructor and founding teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. That may require a little less multi�tasking and worrying and more stopping to smell the roses, says Lori Hilt, an anxiety specialist at the University of Wisconsin.

"When we get caught up in cycles of brooding and worrying, our minds are stuck in the past or the future," she says. "Get out of the cycle by focusing on the present, noticing the cool breeze on your skin, the taste and texture of a bite of food."

Health.com: 9 secrets to boost your energy

"When I'm blue, I'll mix up a fruity drink, insert one of those festive straws -- umbrella open, of course -- and pretend I'm at a party. It's impossible not to feel happy when your drink has a pretty paper umbrella! -- Diana Estill, 55, Murphy, Texas

2. Lighten up

Looking for joy means looking for reasons to smile. Happily, just the act of smiling makes you happy! Even a forced grin tells your brain, "My mouth muscles are moving up, so I must be happy," and leads to a release of happiness-inducing endorphins, psychologist Sybil Keane says.

"Because of the threat of layoffs, my job is stressful. I cope -- people think I'm nuts -- by watching those funny cat videos on YouTube. It's a nightly ritual that always cheers me up!"-- Termeh Mazhari, 25, Great Neck, New York

3. Get moving

Physical activity is a power�ful ally to greater well-being and joy. "Exercise, yoga, or any kind of regular movement helps get you out of your head," Baraz says. "In addition to being a healthy activity, it triggers endorphins that have a profound effect on lifting your spirits. It makes you come alive."

Health.com: A new prescription for happiness

"I row myself into a better mood. Being out on the water, I forget about all the day-to-day things that cause worry and focus more on what I can do every day that will make a difference." -- Linda Jackson, 51, San Francisco, California

4. Look for a joy buddy

It's harder to be happy when you're isolated. That's why Baraz suggests that you find a partner in your pursuit of happiness, what he calls a "joy buddy." Having someone rooting for your well-being and reminding you to look for the good in your life is a very effective way to stay on track, he says. That buddy can be a friend you trade positive text messages with every day or a joy group you meet with once a month.

Surrounding yourself with other happy people can hike your odds of being upbeat by 9 percent, studies show. But steer clear of complainers: Downer friends bring you, well, down, says change expert Ariane de Bonvoisin, author of The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Making Any Change Easier, and founder of First30Days.com.

"Heading to the park with my dog, Scoobie, is my favorite cure, no matter what's weighing on me. It's impossible to worry when I'm surrounded by dogs running and tumbling over one another -- there's something about the innocent joy of their play that relaxes me." -- Carol Huang, 43, New York City

5. Practice being happy

Most people discover that happiness isn't related to objects or experiences, though those things can give us fleeting pleasure, says Baraz, whose book Awakening Joy will be out in January. "Studies show that happiness comes with certain states of mind and heart, such as generosity, kindness, or gratitude," he says. Getting there may take practice, but the more you consciously focus on the feeling of joy -- whether it comes from giving a compliment or laughing out loud with your kids --the more deeply that feeling will register and the happier you'll be.

"Digging in the soil makes me happy. It helps me feel as if I have control over something. And the pride I feel when I look at my garden makes me feel successful. The connection with nature brings me into the now." -- Angie Mattson, 36, Charlotte, North Carolina

Health.com: 10 ways to go from tired to terrific

6. Do a song or dance (really)

If an apple a day keeps the doc away, Baraz would say a song does, too. He believes that singing is one of the surest roads to finding joy.

"It's hard to stay in a funk if you're singing regularly," he says, and research bears him out: University of Manchester researchers discovered that an organ in the inner ear (that responds to singing sounds) is connected to a part of the brain that registers pleasure. So singing, alone in the car or in a crowd at church (and even if you're very, very bad at it), makes you happier. If singing isn't your thing, Baraz says, paint, dance, or write.

"When I was in the minuses in my bank account, I was beside myself with worry. So in the middle of changing my clothes, I would dance, nude. The movement helped move the worry right out of me, and the nude part worked symbolically for setting me free." -- Elisabeth Manning, 39, Marin County, California

7. Be very still

Regularly taking a little quiet time -- meditating or perhaps sipping a warm cup of tea -- helps you appreciate the moment and your life, Baraz says. "Being still reminds you that life isn't about racing as fast as you can to get to the end of your to-do list."

"Whenever I start turning over all of my worries in my head -- bills, car, kid, marriage, everything -- I wash dishes. I may not be able to control how much my mortgage payment is, but I can wash the dishes. Once I focus on the present, everything else seems to just fall away." -- Jen Matlack, 39, Bethel, Connecticut

Don't let $$ worries steal your joy

Worrying about money sure can drain the joy out of life. But instead of just lamenting, do something about it, says financial expert Jean Chatzky, author of The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times, who blogs at JeanChatzky.com. "The people who assert control over finances are significantly happier than the ones who don't," she says.

Health.com: Signs you might be clinically depressed

For instance, worrying about the stock market, something you can't control, is useless, she says. Instead, go to the retirement calculator at ChooseToSave.org and crunch your numbers. "Then say, 'All right, what if I saved this much more? What if I work a little longer?'" she says. If you can't figure out what to do, hire a certified financial advisor, Chatzky advises. "Just have them do an annual assessment, as you would a checkup with your doctor."

Kimberly Holland contributed to this report.

'Medicinal ice cream' to help fight cancer

Here's a sweet treat for you on Friday. We already know ice cream tastes good but it but now it will be good for you. Researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand are working to create a "medical dessert" which has shown encouraging signs in combating the side-effects of chemotherapy in cancer sufferers. The ice cream, called ReCharge, is using active ingredients from dairy products to relieve diarrhoea, anaemia and lack of appetite in people undergoing chemotherapy.

Read the full story here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/6457341/Medicinal-ice-cream-to-help-fight-cancer.html

Black Cowboys Teach Inner City Kids Horsemanship, History

Kids from rough areas in New York City have found a home away from home on a 25-acre ranch in Queens, CNN reported Tuesday.

Since 1994, the Federation of Black Cowboys have been teaching inner city kids horsemanship and history to keep them away from gangs and drugs.



CNN reports that thousands of kids have been introduced to the stables since 1998, and a small number return for longer mentorships. Members of the federation, who go by nicknames like "Ma" and "Little Red", work first and foremost to make their aspiring junior wranglers feel safe. They also teach kids about "the forgotten black West" and the role that black cowboys had in shaping America's history.

But the cowboys need some help, CNN reported. The nonprofit survives on donations, and with few current contributors, the stables are falling into disrepair and the federation's museum is presently a dilapidated trailer containing a hodgepodge of memorabilia and artifacts.

Story from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/black-cowboys-teach-inner_n_344607.html

Man With Lymphoma Determined to See America - By Horse & Buggy

From the Spokesman-Review:
PRIEST RIVER, Idaho – There is a man passing through the Inland Northwest right now who can tell you for a fact you are moving too fast.

He’s traveled 7,000 miles in a covered wagon with a team of horses during the past three years, relying on the kindnesses of strangers and a few friends to keep him going.

His speed: 3 mph.

He and his animals have endured torturous heat and biting cold and were nearly knocked to pieces in Nebraska by a commercial truck carrying a steel tower.

Lee Crafton keeps going, he said, because the journey has become his life. He will tell you he’s on his way to Alaska by way of Seattle and San Francisco, but there’s no real destination.

“I’m just going across America to visit with people,” he said Wednesday after spending the night in a vacant lot along U.S. Highway 2 in Priest River.

He and his team should reach Mead on Friday afternoon. He plans to continue moving west from Spokane on U.S. Highway 2, crossing the Cascades at Stevens Pass.

“I’m not here to raise money,” he said. “I’m not here to raise your social consciousness.”

The journey began in 2006 when Crafton left a life of horse logging and ranching near Flathead Lake, Mont., with almost nothing to show for 27 years of work, he said.

He had been diagnosed with lymphoma, but didn’t want to endure conventional medical treatment. He wanted to see America. He says he’s feeling fine.



He hitched his Suffolk Punch draft horses to a homemade wagon on tire wheels and set out for the East Coast. His initial goal was to visit a childhood sweetheart in New England.

Along the way, he’s gained friends, a lot of publicity and a steady stream of donations to keep going. He moves with an innate trust. “The bottom line is this is a trip of faith,” he said.

The horses – Max, Tom, Fey and Baby – come from a breed known for its willingness to work. They are “incredibly quiet and mellow,” he said. The horses are not shod, but instead wear a type of horse boot.

Crafton averages 100 miles a week.

The horses have been spooked twice: once when encountering a buffalo statue in New York and another time by a dinosaur sculpture in Montana.

His covered wagon is equipped with a battery for power.

He sleeps in a loft and has a woodstove for heat. His dog, Katie, keeps him company. He stays in touch by cell phone, a laptop computer and a Web site.

Crafton, 48, prefers to be known as Lee the Horselogger as the sign on his rear wagon shows. He can be found online at www.leehorse logger.com.

Living life at a horse’s pace has its own satisfaction, Crafton said.

“In this age of communication, we do not know how to communicate, and that’s what this trip is about …  This country is huge, and we move way too fast,” he said.

“You have no idea what you are missing.”

Floating Doctors - Crew Brings Healing While Keeping it Green

(CNN) -- The dream started inside a gray canvas backpack.

When American medical student Benjamin LaBrot traveled to Tanzania in 2005, he hauled antiseptics, insulin syringes, VapoRub, gauze, ibuprofen and other supplies in his pack. At a Masai village, he treated wounds, parasitic infections, sores and other ailments until his once-bulging backpack was depleted.

"When your backpack is empty and there are still people that have to be helped, it's extremely disappointing," he said, recalling a line of nearly 60 villagers left waiting around him.

LaBrot vowed to return someday.

Four years after running out of medication and feeling powerless, the 33-year-old doctor departs this week for a yearlong medical mission. Although he won't be going to Africa, he'll once again lug his trusty backpack. And this time, he'll take along 20,000 pounds of medical supplies.

LaBrot, head of a nonprofit group called the Floating Doctors, will be at helm of a 76-foot sailboat that will carry supplies and 15 crew members to 15 countries in Latin America and the Pacific islands.

The Floating Doctors' mission is to provide medical relief in developing countries in an environmentally friendly platform. It will not rely on airplanes, shipping supplies or ground transportation.

Gesturing to the towering white boat, LaBrot said, "This vessel serves as the housing for our crew, the storing of our medical equipment and supplies, the transport for our crew and our supplies, the base for our laboratory and equipment."

LaBrot envisions a lean, green, self-sufficient machine maneuvering through waterways in Haiti, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. The boat, the Southern Wind, will also visit the Pacific islands: the Tuamotu Archipelago, Tonga, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Melanesia, which the organization contacted in advance of the trip.


The Southern Wind can travel 250 miles a day and requires little fuel, depending on wind conditions.

"Delivering health care from a green platform is our way of demonstrating that it's not really a question of more resources but a question of utilizing the resources we have as efficiently as possible to try and improve the delivery of health care," LaBrot said.

LaBrot, soft-spoken with unkempt sandy hair, seems unfazed by the enormous project. Friends and family say he has mulled over the idea for years as he recruited medical school classmates, friends and his younger sister to join the Floating Doctors.

Long before he graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2006, he developed an interest in medical missions. As a boy, he watched as his father, Dr. George LaBrot, an internist in Santa Monica, California, departed for medical trips to Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and India.

His father fully supports his son's vision.

"All of these projects that are successful are overly idealistic," the elder LaBrot said. "The number one defense mechanism of highly successful people is cognitive dissonance. They just refuse to believe it won't work."

There will be no floating for him, though.

"I really do get seasick," he said.

The father plans to volunteer -- on land -- when he flies to Belize to meet up with the Floating Doctors.

"They really are my heroes," the elder LaBrot said of his children. "Because they know what's important at a rather young age."

The Southern Wind's first stop is Cap-Haïtien, the second largest city in Haiti, where the crew plans to connect with Dr. Ted Kaplan, a pediatrician from Orlando, Florida.

Kaplan formed a network of clinics and health organizations in Haiti. The partnership with Cap-Haïtien Health Network and the Floating Doctors was a natural fit, because Kaplan was trying to find a sailboat to transport supplies, he said.

Shipping in Haiti is expensive and often unreliable. Transporting supplies is challenging, because the road conditions are "completely horrendous," Kaplan said. "Many of the roads got to the point of bare rocks. It's quicker to get around the country by boat, especially with towns around the coast. They're hard to reach by car."

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80 percent of the population living under the poverty line.

Kaplan said many have diarrheal diseases, malaria, malnutrition and minor illnesses that become serious because of the lack of treatment. The Floating Doctors will help distribute millions of chewable tablets used to deworm children when they arrive in mid-November, he said.

The Southern Wind leaves November 1 from St. Augustine, Florida.

Earlier in the summer, the crew loaded thousands of pounds of anti-diarrheal drugs, antifungal medications and vitamins, which will go to needy patients. Many of the supplies were donated by Direct Relief International, an organization that provides medical aid.

Since April, a volunteer crew of mostly 20-somethings has repaired the aging sailboat. The Floating Doctors bought a recreational boat from a Florida couple and transformed it to a working medical vehicle.

Drenched in sweat and sunburned orange, the crew worked power saws and sanders during a simmering, humid day. They came from all walks of life -- the Army, college, nursing school or emergency medical technician training -- and ended up in Florida wearing flip-flops.

"We're about to sail around the world and do something incredible," said Jon Resnick, a 24-year-old crew member, who took a year off from nursing school. "This is something people don't even dream about doing. And even when they do dream it, don't have it in them to go ahead and do it."

LaBrot's younger sister, Sky LaBrot, 27, initially thought her older brother was "insane" when he started the Floating Doctors, she said. To give sisterly support, she quit a glitzy Hollywood job managing beverages for bars and restaurants, and joined the crew as the director of operations.

Her father used to tell her, "To be truly happy is to live a life of service."

"I used to roll my eyes until now," she said.

She no longer has time to blow dry her hair or wear makeup as she did in her L.A. days, because she has fiberglass to lay and an entire boat that needs to be fixed. Now tied to a bigger mission, she said: "I've never been happier."

Nicholas Wansten, a hulking former Army cavalry scout, jumped at the chance to join the Floating Doctors. He has EMT training and someday hopes to be a pediatrician.

"Most of us are 23 or 24, right around that age," said the boyish 27-year-old. "But we're young; we're able to work hard and make this happen. It's going to reshape the rest of all of our lives."

Not all of them have medical training, so crew members will participate only to the limits of their training, Benjamin LaBrot said.

At departure, LaBrot will be the only floating doctor, but plans have been made to connect with a dozen physicians throughout the trip, he said.

When asked why the Floating Doctors decided to travel to foreign countries rather than the Mississippi Delta or other areas where Americans need medical attention, LaBrot said the urgency is much greater in places where "people die from diarrhea."

"Suffering is universal, and healing and medicine should also be universal," he said.

Black Cowboys Bring Hope & History to NYC Youth

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Boney D and Rabbit come from rough parts of Brooklyn, places that could be unfavorably compared to the Wild West.

You wouldn't expect that they'd escape their environments at a rugged 25-acre ranch in nearby Queens, riding horses and hanging out with cowboys.

"I've seen a guy get shot dead, point [blank] range, right in front of me -- dropped him, boom," D'vonte "Boney D" Jemmott, 15, said of the neighborhood where he grew up. "I've seen dudes get beat up, chased home, all sorts of things. I've seen all sorts of different drugs being ran around.

"If I wasn't down here," he said, "I'd probably be involved with things like that -- robbing people, probably hurting people -- because I've seen a lot of that stuff done around my way."

Jemmott's mother has been taking him to Cedar Lane Stables since he was a toddler. The Federation of Black Cowboys, founded in 1994, has called Cedar Lane home since 1998.

A white post-and-rail fence separates the property and its three dozen horses from the 18-wheelers, dump trucks and commuter traffic at the intersection of Linden Boulevard and Conduit Avenue.

A red, wooden sign at the stable's entrance advertises "reins & things" at Debbie's Western Boutique. Mallards and chubby white geese populate a murky creek on the north side of the property, and a wide wooden bridge takes you to the riding ring and stables, many of which have been converted from metal shipping containers.

"[The kids] love it, Texas in Queens. This is like an oasis in the middle of the city," said cowgirl Heather Bradley, whom the children call "Ma."

Paris "Rabbit" Parrish, 20, has ridden with the black cowboys since he was 8 years old. He remembers when he and his mother were driving on Linden Boulevard and first saw Jessie Lee "Captain" Wise, one of the federation's 11 founders, riding his horse.

"I was like, 'Mama, mama, look, it's a cowboy!' And I've always wanted to be a cowboy. I watched Westerns. So we pull over, and we talked to him, and he told me to come on down to the stable," Parrish said as he rode a thick black mare, Beauty, across the backside of the property. "Ever since I was at the stable, it's been like I was at home, paradise."



Like Jemmott, Parrish said his neighborhood is rife with gangs and narcotics -- he's witnessed drug transactions in front of the school near his house -- and he's confident he wouldn't be entering college soon without the guidance of the local cowpokes.

"I think I'd be probably in jail or with a gang somewhere because it was hard for me to stay out of trouble," he said.

Keeping youngsters away from gangs, guns and drugs is a top federation priority, said President Stencil "Doctor D" Stokes, a foreboding man who can crack a bullwhip with such prowess, it sounds like a shot from a small-caliber pistol.

Stokes would never use the whip on anyone, he assured, but it helps get the kids' attention.

"They see the Bloods. They see the Crips. All they see is violence," the school bus driver said, bullwhip in hand and Stetson tilted back. "They can come here at night without worrying about getting shot."

Though the federation has mentored a child who went on to become a veterinarian and another who is a New York mounted police officer, Stokes said he doesn't have unrealistic expectations of the children, because the primary goal is to keep them safe.

"Everybody cannot be an A student. We understand that, but if you're a C student, be a damned good C student," he said.

Education is a staple at the stables, according to Warren "Black Red" Small, who said that taking care of a horse is a lot like taking care of yourself.

Youngsters aren't allowed to ride until they first learn how to groom the animals, clean their hooves, saddle and bridle them and, yes, muck their stalls.

A retired peace officer for the state court system, Small said the federation also teaches children about "the forgotten black West" because it's important that kids know the role African-Americans played in taming the Wild West.

Buckaroos such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy too often dominate popular cowboy lore, Stokes added, explaining, "I'm not a racist man, but they wasn't the first."

The federation teaches youngsters about Bill Pickett, who invented steer wrestling, and the pugnacious "Stagecoach" Mary Fields, whose nickname was derived from her reliability in delivering mail across an ornery Montana frontier.

The stories help kids ascertain their own identities, Small said.

"History, for all people, is a necessary part of their evolution and their growing process," he said.

Also necessary, said the group's first female inductee, Kesha "Babygirl" Morse, is "working with kids to find a balance for them between the macho man stuff and being a gentleman."

Thousands of kids have come through the stables via various school programs and community functions since 1998, Small said. About 25 to 30 of those, such as Jemmott and Parrish, have moseyed back for mentoring.

Like any nonprofit, the federation survives off donations. Major corporations have donated to the cause, and co-founder Jessie Lee Wise has tapped his own excavating business to help with upkeep and construction at the stables.

But times are hard, said Eric "Little Red" Jackson, and the cowboys could sorely use a sponsor to continue their work. Several stables are in disrepair, and the federation's future museum is presently a dilapidated trailer containing photos, animal hides and a hodgepodge of memorabilia and artifacts.

Jemmott said he knows plenty of kids his age who also could use some work, peers wrapped up in drugs and violence who "have nothing going for them now."

"I'm glad I didn't get involved in any of that activity," he said. "Couple more years, if they're not incarcerated, they're going to be in the dirt. I want to prosper in life. I just don't want to be a statistic or a product of my environment."

A Safe Haven For Afghanistan's War Orphans

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy