There is Always Time to Change the World
It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?– Henry David Thoreau
It was last year at this time when I wrote “The World is Busy”. Running from one school function to another while continuing to maintain normalcy in the rest of our lives can most certainly create a challenge for the best of us. But I am a witness to the fact that there is always time to change the world—whether you are a single mom, working mom, single dad, working dad, student, twenty-something, thirty-something, or eleven. Whoever you are and whatever your circumstances there is something you can do to make a difference.
This past weekend, right in the middle of the end of school marathon, I hosted a (RED)Rush event as part of being a volunteer Congressional District Leader for The ONE Campaign to raise money for The Global Fund and support for programs that are making a huge impact in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The week prior was spent preparing for and pulling off an incredible 5th grade social for 130 students, so what better way to wind down than a Saturday morning with a favorite drink from Starbucks and at the same time being a voice for the beginning of the end of AIDS. There are 1,000 babies born every day with HIV and, get this, we can see that number be ZERO—yes ZERO!!! I did not have to pull legs or make harassing phone calls; everyone came because they wanted to. Some even initiated conversations with others waiting in line for their coffee inviting them to join. The point is we were getting together on Saturday anyway (the customers in line were there anyway) and it took only a minute to check in on Foursquare, and a minute to write a letter to Congressman McIntyre. Since June 1 these “check ins” have already raised $186,000 for The Global Fund—taking ONE minute is saving lives….how cool is that??
This is a movement and the busy world is not keeping people from taking action. We are making the end of AIDS a reality. I remember being a nursing student in the early 90s when the AIDS epidemic was a death sentence. To know that we are now at the point of having NO baby born with HIV by 2015…………we HAVE to make time for that!
Coming Alive 