mirror ball 14: a cause I care about

This month on the mirror ball you're invited to tell about a cause you care about. Maybe it's just a link to an organization that does work you believe in, or maybe you have a story to share.

That's it-- simple, but important.

Garris: Very sadly, my sweet mother died this week. Mom was an avid gardener and an avid reader, so, in response to the mirror ball project topic for the month, our family is asking that people plant a flower in their garden or plant the seeds of learning by contributing to the Imagination Library. Imagination Library is an organization that was founded by Dolly Parton and it sends a new book every month to thousands of children around the country. They can be reached at www.imaginationlibrary.com-- click "first time visitors" and then on the "station house" to find out how to make donations.

John: I was born with a cleft palate and cleft lip. Unlike many kids around the world, I was fortunate to have my cleft repaired early, and then to have the related orthodontic work, plastic surgery (to rebuild my nose) and even "touch up" work on my lip and palate performed and paid for by a state agency. Today I give each year to the Smile Train (http://www.smiletrain.org), which performs cleft repairs for needy kids around the world. The cost is minor by US standards but prohibitive for these kids' families. You've probably seen all the great before-and-after pictures in the Smile Train ads. It's such an easy and direct way to make a huge difference in a kid's life.

Clair: If you haven't seen the documentary Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hill, it's time. Three 8-year old boys murdered and the police make every mistake in the book. They need a scapegoat. Enter Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley. With not a scrap of motive or physical evidence these gents have spent over 6200 days in prison serving life sentences, Damien is on death row. Their story is the reason that I fear our society of religious fanaticism and ignorance. Watch the movie. Visit their website. Contribute. http://www.wm3.org/live/thewm3/index.php

Tanya: One of the most basic and necessary causes is "peace on earth". While there are many organizations that are aligned with this cause, I believe that most importantly it starts at home. In the words of Gandhi, "be the change you want to see in the world". It all begins with us, in our own hearts and homes, and can be achieved with the smallest of actions. We must be conscious of the energy we are sending out into the world...we have the power to heal, starting with our own thoughts, words, and actions. In order to experience peace, we must all "be" a place of peace.

Steve: I hate it when people have to live without safe homes or enough to eat. Here are two organizations that I think do great, important work:
Heifer International (www.heifer.org)
Medical Teams International (www.medicalteams.org). This is the organization through which I went to Mexico City for a short time last year. They do courageous and caring work all around the world.

Eve: Causes I care about. Too numerous, yet not numerous enough. I sometimes allow myself to be paralyzed by the enormity of the list, the sheer number of things that are not as I wish they were. I believe passionately that women should have freedom to choose whether or not to bear a child. I believe passionately that every devoted loving couple should have the right of marriage, regardless of the genders involved. I believe passionately that a terminally ill person should be able to choose to end their life surrounded by loved ones while they can still appreciate that gift. For those causes, I can vote, I can donate money, I can raise my voice.

Then there are other things, not causes necessarily, but things that I realize I am especially qualified to assist others with, and, like Amelia, who also posted here, I see this as a gift that I am duty bound to share, or pass forward, as it were. I lost both my parents while I was young, and, much to my surprise, got the most support from people who were otherwise extremely tangential in my life. I think it is that remove that can make full presence for the griever possible. I now find that I am able to be unusually supportive and present with people who are dealing with end of life issues with loved ones, or grieving recent loss. I try to do this even for people I barely know, or complete strangers, should an opportunity present itself.

Other than that, I can be really helpful with decorating stuff and choosing paint colors, but I'm still not as good as Steve, so it doesn't count- and it is certainly not a cause!

Amelia: I got sober really really young and somehow have managed to stay that way; but my involvement with sober people has become such a huge part of my life that I usually completely take it for granted. It is just how I live, and what I do, and what most of my friends do every day. However, I heard someone say the other day that "Anyone can feed the hungry, anyone can donate their time, but we are the only ones who have the ability to help others get recovery," and I reluctantly remembered that yes, I have been given a gift, and with that gift comes a serious responsibility- to pass it on. And I do care, I just forget that I am responsible. (It's funny how these mirrorballs come at the most opportune times). But I will do my best to remember, and to make the gift available to those that may be interested, like it was made available to me when I was interested all those years ago.