I am so grateful at how nice the peeps have been at the start of this blog project, which is only reflecting the goodness of the folks about whom I am writing, swearsies. But such kind Facebook posts and shares of my first effort remind me of the actress Ruth Gordon and what she said upon accepting her Best Supporting Actress Oscar at age 72: "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is." The film for which she won was, appropos of nothing, "Rosemary's Baby". But I digress, which God knows could have been an alternate name for this blog.
Ruth and her Oscar
Speaking of goodness in this context, I refer to the post left on Facebook by my pal Popi Rod Gereda in reaction to my maiden blogosphere voyage:
"Any thoughts for those of us that have everything money can buy - but still need to do the gift thing? Perhaps a non-profit that does good peace and justice work?"
In the spirit of continuing to shine a little light during this holiday season on my friends who do amazing work, I had been thinking along these lines already. So I thought I would offer three examples of organizations I support - because they do great work and because I have a personal connection with them through some awesome members of the Rosie Nation. I have been on both the giving and receiving end of donations made in my name to nonprofits for special occasions, and like I need to tell you, this makes me feel even warmer than any pair of Ugg boots ever could.
In what I consider to be the true spirit of the holidays, please take a moment and think of at least one friend or family member you could honor by donating to an awesome nonprofit organization which would resonate with them (and if you can't think a cause for that person, feel free to support one of these groups). Trust me, it will be the perfect gift for the person who has everything.
1. It would be churlish of me not to tell you about the organization which introduced me to Popi Rod Gereda in the first place: the Peace and Justice Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Actually, the person who introduced to the Center is my best friend since kindergarten, Dr. Margarita Rose, another peaceful warrior in that old school Dorothy Day/takin' it to the streets/ walking the talk advocacy mold. In the 20+ years Margarita has lived up there and the Peace Center has been a part of my consciousness, I have come to love this crowd of folks and the work they do in manifesting kindness in their community, whether that's in their neighborhood, northeastern PA, or the big blue ball on which we all live. One of their great ideas - a summer "Peace Camp" for kids. May I suggest liking them on Facebook for a frequent shot of uplift: here is one of the recent posts that Rod offered:
2. When I was a little kid growing up in the ancestral family homeland - Broomall, PA - I spent literally hundreds of the happiest hours of my childhood at the Marple Public Library. As I look back, it was one of the most formative influences in my life - I ask you, how else would a eccentric kid who would go to the library to read Ms. and Ebony magazines in the 70s grow up to be the kind of 51 year old sprite I am today? I still love libraries, and the Lower Merion Library System, which serves the area where I now live, holds a special place in my heart. At the beginning of a period of unemployment a few years back- when I had no Internet connection at home for my job search, not very much money, and a bunch of time on my hands - the Ardmore and Ludington Libraries gave me computer time, an inviting place to go with librarians who were a hoot, and more biographies of mid 20th century artists than I knew what to do with. And it was all free, a concept which still humbles me. In addition, don't get me started on the influence of going to the kids' Storyime in my Broomall library all those years ago: let's just say you all have Mrs. Whartneby to blame.
3. My association with Ready, Willing & Able (RWA) has a typical Rosie origin story: I was asked to get involved by a great guy named Mark Atwood, who I met years ago when he interviewed for a job for which I was hiring....and he didn't get. But somewhere in the process, we clicked and stayed in touch, and then fast forward four years and he is working at RWA. His intense passion,and that of his colleague Jocelyn Arnold, got me on board with what they do: "helping homeless adults graduate into lives of self-sufficiency by attaining full-time work, securing independent housing, and maintaining sobriety". If you live in New York or Philly, you might know them as the "men in blue" who work in the community on development and maintenance projects. I feel so lucky to have come into the RWA world and to be able help them in my small way to provide the most precious things you can offer another person: acceptance, safety, opportunity.
