k8mante

Author Archives: k8mante

Week 43: Joan’s Joy: Turning Tragedy into Action: Keeping the Children of Tomorrow Safe

Posted on March 27, 2018 by k8mante One comment

Joan brownie outfit

April 19, 1973…. It’s Maundy Thursday. Seven-year old Joan Angela D’Alessandro is playing in her front yard after school when she sees her neighbor, Joseph McGowan, drive by on his way up to his home three houses away.

Eager to deliver her last boxes of Girl Scout cookies, Joan runs into the house and tells her mom she’s going to walk over to Mr. McGowan’s house to give him the 2 boxes of Thin Mint cookies he ordered.

Joan never came home.

Week 42: Quantum Physics and Hunger: Combating Poverty through Family-to-Family

Posted on March 20, 2018 by k8mante Leave a comment

quantum entanglement

Quantum physics contains a theory of entanglement, where two particles originating from a single source – for example, two electrons created from the energy of a collision – are created with a special kind of never-ending connection (communication) between them. Whatever happens to one of the particles instantaneously affects and changes the other (and vice versa).

What is amazing about this connection beyond its timelessness (instantly and forever) is that it is nonlocal, meaning no matter how far apart the particles travel from each other, even if they travel across the universe from each other, the connection never fades. They always mirror each other. They are forever intertwined… separate particles connected as one across space and time.

Week 41: Kindness.org: The Surprising Effects of Building Intent Around Kindness

Posted on March 16, 2018 by k8mante Leave a comment

coffee

Because this is New Jersey, and aggressive, caffeine-fueled commuting is standard, I pass 7 Dunkin’ Donuts and 3 Starbucks on my 40 minute, 11 mile drive to work.

Not only do all these coffee shops ensure I can always find a boost of energy, they provided the perfect venues for me to work on this week’s charity – Kindness.org.

Week 40: Free Yezidi Foundation: Hope for Survivors of Genocide

Posted on March 9, 2018 by k8mante Leave a comment

herding

For thousands of years the Yezidis have lived in the Sinjar area of northern Iraq. This is their spiritual heartland, and although Yezidi communities are found in several countries around the globe, their connection to this ancient land is magical. For generations and generations they have lived in Sinjar as herdsmen and farmers, growing crops of figs, wheat and almonds… a peaceful people with a rich and distinct spiritual tradition that can be traced back over 6,700 years, predating Islam and Christianity….

Week 39: Our Hearts of Hope: Small Acts with Huge Impact

Posted on March 3, 2018 by k8mante One comment

Me with Heart

Hello friends! My journey this week brought me to Our Hearts of Hope where a small act became a radical way to connect with and support others….

Mencius (372-289 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who believed every human heart has the capacity for goodness. He taught that kindness and benevolence are rooted and inherent in our nature. By reflecting, focusing and acting on that aspect of our nature, we discover we are capable of performing acts of loving humanity which become a source of joy and happiness.

Week 38: Taking the Polar Bear Plunge: Freezin’ for a Reason and Supporting Special Olympics New Jersey

Posted on February 24, 2018 by k8mante Leave a comment

Be Bold. Get Cold…

Surrounded by a trio of Tyrannosaurus Rex who were dancing to an old Eddie Money tune…

I looked to my right and watched Santa and Mrs. Claus laughing as they untethered their reindeer.

On my left, a clan of cavemen were swinging clubs and being chased by a polar bear riding a dinosaur…….

Week 37: An Intergalactic Journey to Jupiter to fight Parkinson’s Disease

Posted on February 16, 2018 by k8mante 4 comments

Sometimes Mother Nature creatively challenges your plans. A late winter storm dropped 22 inches of snow on our town last week. The storm left behind a magical landscape of thickly drifted blankets of snow, icing-draped trees pulled low across the roads, and…. a State of Emergency. It looked like a fairy tale and it cancelled my charity activity for the week.

Week 36: Lakeland Area Special Olympics: Every Person Has the Capacity to be an Olympian

Posted on February 5, 2018 by k8mante Leave a comment

Human greatness is defined by the spirit, not the body.

Week 35: Protecting Children in Crisis: Paint-&-Sip with Family Intervention Services

Posted on February 2, 2018 by k8mante One comment

CDC sources of abuse

According to the NJ Department of Children and Families, there were 59,151 referrals for child abuse and neglect in 2013. All were referred for investigation. Just about 10,000 of them became active/open cases. Ongoing neglect, physical and/or sexual abuse, domestic/school/community violence… these are the environments of children living in trauma… of families in crisis. It’s a world behind closed doors, a secret space in society. It is into this world that Family Intervention Services (FIS) steps, with the goal of protecting children and rehabilitating families.

Week 34: CMTC Blue Warming Station: Kindness and Empathy for the Homeless

Posted on January 27, 2018 by k8mante Leave a comment

flyer when open When I signed up to be a Shelter Helper on a Friday night for Christ Temple Church Ministry’s CTCM Blue Warming Station (CTCM) in Newark, I did not know what to expect. Open up to 3 days a week, and only on nights when the temperature falls below 32 degrees, the church and staff of CTCM go out of their way to provide a safe, warm, peaceful environment to its guests.

On nights when they are open to house the homeless, they transform the main room into a shelter filled with as many cots as they can, so they can help as many people as possible.

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