Monday 1/3/11

Happy New Years!  Hope you all heralded it in well, and that you all have some nice goals to actually work towards in this new year!  Anyways onto new inhumane actions that others have selflessly committed.

We are all very busy throughout the year and sometimes we forget some of the people who are key to our growth and development, our grade school teachers.  Russell E. Eppinger was a teacher, coach, principal, and assistant super attendant in the Middletown School District who lived by action and not on thought.  He was born and raised in Middletown and returned there to teach for his career and cared for his alma mater from the very first day he walked in the halls.  Russ was always optimistic to students and staff during his time at the school and did his best for the students.  He recently passed away, but lives on in the many students he touched.  His actions inspired many to follow his example, and many good people will emerge because of him.

There are a few privately run shelters for the homeless and downtrodden that provide the necessities for people who can reach them, but what about those who cant?  That is where the Bethesda Mission's Mobile Mission comes into play.  It is a van that is capable of going beyond the mission to reach out to the homeless.  Every week they go out to where the denizens congregate and provide them with fresh meals, clothings, and sleeping materials.  Once they even brought out an entire mattress to be delivered to a fortunate person.  What makes this more amazing is that this entire effort is coordinated by a few people who get paid a meager sum for their hard work.  Yet it is thanks to them that many of the area's homeless have a comfortable night and a hot meal, a luxury which is becoming increasingly difficult to find.

I'm sorry but this is all I could find for today.  I'd also like to apologize for not posting Friday.  I was busy with New Years festivities as I am sure all of your were.  I hope you have a year as good as mine!

Stay Kind and Generous,

Joshua Berrios

Wednesday 12/29/10

This is really difficult to find good stories, especially when you don't get the paper for half of the week.  Anyways, here it goes!

The Holiday season is all about giving, but it is really hard to give in these tough times.  This doesn't stop David Thrush from giving the gift of joy.  For 25 years he has been able to give a gift that is so rarely given for 25 years straight, even as he moved from house to house.  Every year during the Holiday season, he Sets his house up with a magnificent display of Christmas themed lights and inflatables, and holds an open house for the local children.  He even has a Santa Claus come in to his house, and has tables garnished with cookies, and delicious hot coco.  Even more, all the kids that visit him leave with a small gift in their hands.  For 25 years he's has given joy to kids by making his house look like the winter wonderland that all childhood dreams are filled with.  Go Dave!

In Wichita, Kansas there lives a man who has a heart full of generosity, a mind swelling with kindness, and a stomach that giggles like a bowl full of jelly.  Bob Rogers, a WWII vet who hit the beaches of Normandy and lived to tell the tell, now takes on the role of Santa in various locations in his city.  He dedicates himself to the role and has become one of the most animated Santa Clauses anyone has ever seen; he even puts a pillow under his suit that giggles "like a bowl full of jelly."  He does his acts free of charge and with great spirit.  He has such a distinct personality that he can connect with people of all ages, from toddlers who can barely walk to 90 year old people who have seen much in their lifetimes.  What makes this persona truly unique and dedicate? He's 86 years old with cancer and a pacemaker in his heart, he also has trouble hearing due to a shrapnel wound he received in D-Day.  He himself even states he isn't living on borrowed time, but is living on extended time.  Even when the future looks so grim, he happily dedicates his life to making and impact and bringing joy to others.  Bob rogers, you are truly a unique, one of a kind person who is making a great impact on the world. Go Bob!

Well thats all I can find sorry.  I do hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing these.  Please give me feedback and good stories Leroy13437@yahoo.com.  Keep reading, follow, comment, and maybe even do some good in your neck of the woods.  For I hope that these can bring inspiration and faith to a world so devoid of it!

Stay Kind and Generous,

Joshua Enrique Berrios

First Post!!!

Ok here it goes, the few good things that the news decided to report on.

Lower Dauphin's band program managed to collect 2,778 pairs of socks for the Bethesda Mission, a homeless shelter in Harrisburg, PA.  This was done across all ages, with high schoolers and elementary schooler both contributing socks, and even got people outside of the band program to participate.  YAY BAND!

In these tough times charities, like homeless shelters, are suffering dearly.  Many shelters here in central PA only admit single people making it very tough on families struggling together.  The Interfaith Shelter for Homeless Families is different however, it admits entire family units into the shelter, allowing them to live together.  Just this Christmas 45 people had the blessing of spending Christmas day together with the rest of their families.  This is incredibly tough burden on the shelter but is incredibly courageous seeing as it is one of the few shelters to do so in the mid state.  Here is their contact information if you wish to contact them: Christopher Meehan, Catholic Charities, 4800 Union Deposit Road, Harrisburg, PA, 17111-3710, 717-657-4804 ext. 285, cmeehan@hbgdiocese.org.

The troubles we experience when we lose something can not be compared to anything else.  That's exactly what one family went through after losing nearly everything they owned to a house fire.  They were absolutely devastated and were torn apart by the fact that their small child may not have received anything this Christmas.  The community reached out and helped this family, inundating their rental home with an overabundance of both gifts and necessities for the holiday season and life.  This family then went an extra mile and passed on the gifts that they didn't to other charitable causes in the community.  An act that is truly inhumane under any circumstances, especially in times of dire need like this family.

That's it folk.  How am I doing, I'd love to know.  If you have any feedback or a story that you think is worth being shared on my blog, feel free to email me at leroy13437@yahoo.com, or contact me through any other means you feel reasonable.

Stay Strong and Generous,

Josh

WTF am I doing?!?!

So, I got sick of hearing all the bad things that go on in the world, and I got an idea.  I'll collect stories of the actions that are actually inhumane, actions of generosity and kindness, and post them here on this blog.  If you know of any stories you'd like to see posted, send them to me and maybe they'll be posted.  I'll post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday hopefully, and maybe even some weekend posts as well.  Hopefully we can all be motivated a little by this and maybe even regain some faith that the world isn't as innately evil as we'd imagine it to be at first.