Dare to Care
The following projects have been done or can be done. With a little bit of love, a pinch of care and a dash of dare, you have something magnificent.

Meals with Love
Mom sewed 30 quilts for people who died of AIDS who had no friends or family to honor them. She also started a program called "Meals with Love," that involved concerned mothers in the community to make nutritious meals including chicken soup, no doubt, for people with AIDS who were abandoned by their own mothers.

Broken Button Brigade
Genevieve, nearly ninety-years-old, handed me $25 and asked that I use it wisely for the poor. Living on social security, pennies counted, but she still stepped forward and looked after those without pennies. One day in rural India while caring for the poorest of the poor, I noticed self-conscious children clutching their shirts and pants closed while trying to maintain some semblance of dignity and modesty. Pants without zippers and sleeved shirts were sleeveless. The buttons were gone, too. So, I bought buttons, a needle and thread and I invited the community to sew buttons of every color, shape and motif onto the children’s rags until they were transformed into royal robes. The children were ecstatic. Their sensational smiles of gratitude as they stood tall and proud were indescribably delicious.

The Little Milkman
I remember the milkman who delivered bottles of fresh milk right to our doorstep. We would fight for the cream that came to the top. Mom would heat the milk up and add honey or chocolate and sometimes even marshmallows if we were well behaved. In the big snow storms the neighbors would share their milk with us and we would share our milk with them.
Most children around the world do not know the taste of milk because they are poor.
So, while in India, I bought milk, put it in a pitcher and stood on the street as dozens of street children lined up praying that there would be a few more drops in the jug for them, too. To their amazement, the jug was an unending fountain of fresh milk ... for that day.

Clipping Clefs and Tooth Fairies
Kabera, a nurse in Rwanda, smiled often forcing his upper lip downwards or placing his hand in front of his mouth. He was self-conscious about his missing front tooth. I must admit, the sensational radiant smiles of the African people with their white glistening teeth melt all adversity. Kabera’s smile was interrupted by an empty space. Knowing I was treading on sensitive territory, I ever so gently asked him about his tooth. Perhaps, he thought by concealing it with his upper lip or hand, people wouldn’t notice. By me bringing it to his attention meant it was no longer a secret. "Kabera, what happened to your tooth," I asked. "I was in an accident," he replied gently and shamed. "Why don’t you have it fixed," I inquired. "I do not have the money," he gently replied. "How much does a tooth cost?" "Eighty dollars." I didn’t need to think very long to know the right thing to do. I put eighty dollars into his hand and said, "Kabera, this is for a tooth. You cannot buy a bed with it, pay your bills or even get food. It is for a tooth, only a tooth. "OK," I said firmly? "Yes. Yes, thank you," he said stunned. He was too stunned to even smile at that point. He would soon have his smile back and while eighty dollars is one year’s salary in Rwanda, it is a mere pittance for a smile. How many lives will he touch with his sensational smile?

Shoe Shine Boys
Street children in Bombay have no chance. Begging for handouts on the streets keeps them dependent and incarcerated in poverty. The well-known adage "Teach them to fish instead of giving them fish," couldn’t be truer. So, I propose assembling shoeshine kits for the street children to have a sustainable income and a chance to stand on their own two feet and perhaps even purchase and polish their own shoes one day.

Tribal Art in India
Adavasi tribal people living in abject poverty in India are marginalized and ostracized from society. Their traditional ways are considered primitive and ignorant. Privilege does not come to them as it does to others. Education is part of that privilege. I would like to secure funds for the children’s education by selling their tribal art. The revenue received from the selling of their work will be reinvested into their lives, into themselves, into their futures. I want us to support marginalized people through their own creative talents

Need a Hug?
My name is Eli. I am 4 years old. My mommy tells me that I am a big boy, but I’m just a little boy. But I want to do good big things. I want to give people hugs. When I hug my mommy and my daddy they like that so I want to give people hugs and make them happy and then I can help make this world a better place for everyone.

First, I will go to the places where people are sick and give them my hugs and then to anyone who forgot how to smile. Maybe you want to help me?

Lions and Tigers and Beans, oh my!!!
HIV/AIDS is an abbreviation for an unabbreviated assault on the entire human race. The Human Deficiency Virus (HIV) is responsible for an Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) that progressively weakens a person’s immune system until he or she succumbs to opportunistic infections.

The devastation to the "Family of Man" has been unprecedented. As of 2004, over 70 million people worldwide were infected with HIV and among them over 30 million people died, among them 3.8 million children. Currently, there are 15 million children orphaned as a result of losing one or both parents to this disease. One new person is infected with HIV every 8 seconds and 13,000 people die daily from AIDS. It is estimated that in some areas, up to 80% of their entire populations are now infected. Over the next 8 years, worldwide there will be 100 million people with HIV. There are highly effective medications available now to manage HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, less than 5% of the people infected with HIV gain access to these medications.

Chunk of Change for Orphanages
One day in Rwanda, a woman dropped a child off on the concrete steps of a hospital. She didn’t want the child any longer and deposited him like a bag of beans then walked away. I spoke with his father to take his child and he said that he didn’t want him and walked away. I took care of this boy, Joseph, my little raisin, who over time had come to believe that I was his father. When I left the country, I brought him to an orphanage. One more time he dared to love only to be abandoned again. He died two days later. He was completely healthy. He died of a broken heart.