The Affero Blog
Education For Life
By Steven McLaughlin in News
I have to say that when I started picking topics to write I spent a considerable amount of time steering away from writing about education, sometimes a guy just needs a break. My day job sees me working as a Physical Education and Health teacher, aka a gym teacher. If it were up to me I would be teaching English, or History, or even Science. Sometimes though you don’t get to pick a job, it picks you, and when I arrived at our school they were one Phys Ed teacher short, so I jumped in.
Our school is a therapeutic boarding school which is a fancy way of saying that the teachers here live alongside the special needs students we teach. It can be rather time consuming and exhausting but it’s absolutely the best job in the world for me. I end up spending almost every waking moment with students, around students, planning for students and talking about students, hence my resistance to writing about education at first.
Our very first winner at The Affero Project from April was Doulos Discovery School. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you need to check it out. It takes the idea of working and living among students to a whole new level. I’ve had the opportunity to know some of the people who work at Doulos personally throughout the years and I can say they are without a doubt some of the most passionate people I have ever met. Their zeal for life is uncanny, and that’s just what I know of them on a personal level As educators they are incredibly driven and creative people, hearing stories of how much they do with the little they have humbles me as a teacher.
At this point you may be wondering why Doulos Discovery School is our education cause. Well have I mentioned that it’s located in the Dominican Republic? A number of the people I mentioned above that have such a burning passion for education have given up comfy lifestyles in the United States in order to move to a place in the world that many have given up on. They not only live with the students they teach, but many times also get to know and come alongside the families of their students. They have made this move because they believe that everyone should have an equal chance at receiving a great education. Sometimes at work I get stressed out because my wife and I moved to New England from the Midwest and now we are constantly surrounded by kids that need our assistance, it can be slightly overwhelming. To move to a whole different country in order to follow the dream of helping kids, to give up part of their lives so that others can have better lives is astounding to me, but it is definitely something I want to help support.
To find out more about the Doulos Discovery school and the awesome people who live and work there go to http://www.doulosdiscovery.org/ .
Clean Water
By Steven McLaughlin in News
I want to write about clean water, I really do, but I have a problem. I have no idea what life is like without it. My average day starts like this.
I wake up, start a pot of coffee and use the bathroom. I take a shower, I shave and I enjoy my coffee. The day moves on and I have yet to even think about water.
Most days my teaching team gets to teach outside. This season in particular we get to teach baseball. We have the opportunity to teach kids what running the bases looks like. We get to teach them what catching a pop fly looks like, as well as teaching them how to throw to the cut off to get an out at third and hopefully back to second to teach what a triple play is, if we’re lucky.
These kids stay pretty healthy throughout all of this. They have the ability to change into clean clothes if they need and take medicine if they need. I alone get the chance to take a break in an air-conditioned room and have a solid quart of water and get ready to do it all over again for the next class, never thinking about the fact that clean water gets us through all of this.
I have a friend who is a carpenter by trade. For some ignorant reason when I think of carpenters I think of old guys sitting in rocking chairs whittling away at fallen tree limbs, hoping to make picnic benches and rocking chairs in their free time. Unbeknownst to me, carpenters are a lot more than that and I have done them a lot of injustice in my predisposed thoughts of them.
I want to be the first to say that my ideas of clean water are warped, just misplaced and wrong. After looking into it I want to throw my hands up and say I am unable to be changed in my knowledge of clean water because I am so twisted in my non-knowledge of it.
My carpenter friend reminded me though that he LOVES to work with pieces that are warped. That it brings out this creativity in him that he cannot explain where it comes from. Warped wood is this adventure, out of seemingly nowhere, that keeps him going during the most tedious of jobs.
My idea on what clean water is may be intrinsically warped due to my life as a person coming from the Midwest of the States, and it is something I’ve never been without, but my point is this. There is hope in that I don’t think I’m too warped to not be malleable enough to understand, to be bent into a new thing, to get it, really comprehend what it’s like to be without clean water.
We have links on the site, go ahead, check them out, it only takes minutes to understand the problem of clean water. It takes hours and days and weeks to figure out how to help, but it only takes minutes to understand how warped you might be when it comes to clean water. It’s ok though if you’re warped, a lot of us are.
Famous Photos, Fast Cars & A Friendly Heart
By Beau Miller in News
Affero Member Profile:
I had the pleasure of meeting Georgia Durante on one of my business trips to LA earlier this year. A few us were headed to the west coast to shoot a marketing video and when we were looking for homes to rent we stumbled across a really cool place called The Enchanted Manor. A place which I later learned was owned and operated by Georgia. While we ended up staying in a home closer to where we were shooting, fortunately for me, we still got to meet Georgia. And believe me when I tell you, I had no idea how fascinating our dinner together would be!
To say that Georgia has lived an wildly interesting life would be a total understatement. If I were to tell you that she became “the most photographed woman in the world” in the summer of ’69, as the beautiful “Kodak Girl” in the blue polka dot bikini would you believe me? Well, it’s true. That was her on the thousands of cardboard cut-outs in stores across the globe. And what if I told you that shortly after her very successful modeling career she became Hollywood’s leading female precision stunt driver, a status she held for decades? This is also true. And if this isn’t enough for you, how about the fact that she got her education in driving fast as a getaway driver for the Gambino crime family in New York. This may sound a bit outlandish, so before you call me a liar, let me tell you that you can go ahead and check out her best selling memoir “The Company She Keeps,” where all of this can be substantiated. Surprise, surprise, Georgia is an amazing author too. I don’t know about you, but I think that if this blog post ended right here it would definitely fulfill the criterion of profiling a member of The Affero Project community in an interesting way. But the truth is, this is just the tip of the iceberg with Georgia. I haven’t even got the chance to tell you about how loving, generous and brave she is, and that’s what matters most. Georgia’s heart is really what makes her, well…Georgia.
When I decided that I was going to start blogging about Affero members each week, I checked the member list and wasn’t surprised at all to see that Georgia had joined the movement. I didn’t even have a chance to call and tell her about it, and she had already taken the initiative to read about Affero on Facebook and join the community. No pitch necessary, no clarification needed. When I called her tonight she summed it up really quickly when she said, “Beau, I am always willing to help with a good cause, and this is really something special!” It meant a lot to me to hear her say that, and Georgia, I’d like to say this in return – you are something special. The hospitality and love that I experienced when Georgia invited us into her home for dinner was really beautiful. We felt like family and forged a friendship that will last for many, many years. Beyond that, we got to meet a very special 4-year-old girl named Angela, whom Georgia lovingly adopted as her daughter a few years ago. Knowing Georgia, and what a great mom she is, it came as no shock to learn that her experience with adopting Angela inspired her to take action and give back by serving on the board of Grandparents As Parents, an organization committed to providing programs and services to meet the urgent and ongoing needs of grandparents and other relative caregivers raising at-risk children. This is just who Georgia is. A loving and compassionate person with a real heart for others. As you can imagine, throughout her life Georgia has had multiple brushes with death, and has lived to share her story. And I, for one, am thankful that she did. The way her life has changed, the ways she serves those in need and the stories she’s been able to share have been a blessing to me. There is no question that Georgia has helped to make the world a better place, and I’m proud to call her a friend and a fellow member of The Affero Project.
Peace & Polka Dots,
Beau
P.S. Grandparents As Parents is putting on a cool event at the House of Blues in California this September, so if you are in the area be sure to check out their website for more info.
An Artist, A Writer… A Super Hero Duo
By Beau Miller in News
We all know that The Affero Project is all about community. A community of passionate people with hearts for serving other communities across the globe. So, I figured that it might be good to introduce all of you to some of our amazing Affero community members in my blog each week. The last blog post I wrote profiled our friends Larry and Elizabeth, who set up Affero accounts for their two young kids to teach them about social justice and serving those in need. Super cool, huh? Well, today should be no different, as I’d like to introduce you to two more Affero friends, a husband and wife team named Ashley and Steve…
Ashley and Steve are really fascinating people. They grew up in Ohio and recently journeyed on to Connecticut, where they work/serve at a school for children with social and/or emotional difficulties. Ashley is a very gifted art teacher and photographer who is brimming with patience and compassion, and Steve is currently serving as the world’s greatest, and possibly most surprising physical education teacher. Most surprising? Yes. Steve isn’t exactly what you’d call a “sports guy.” He ‘s an extremely talented creative writer who loves comic books (he insists they’re called graphic novels, but I don’t get it), Zombie movies and social media. But, when he got to Connecticut to finish his degree, he learned that the school needed a physical education teacher and he jumped on board. This is just the kind of people they are. Ready to spring into action and serve others, no matter how crazy the call. I am pleased to tell you that things are going great for them, as they truly feel like they’re fulfilling their purpose in life right now. And Steve, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about the time you asked me to send you schematics on how to actually hold a football. Your secret is safe with me; the students will never know.
To bring the message home, I must tell you that when I started working with Affero, Steve and Ashley were two of the first people I called. I was so filled with enthusiasm, as I still am now, that as soon as they answered I started rambling about how cool Affero was, what a revolution it would be, and how many lives could be impacted through the community. Before I even got to the end, or gave them the pitch as to why they should sign up, Steve cut me off and said, “We’re in. Signing up now!” Again, that’s just the kind of people they are. They believe in what Affero is doing, and felt led to pour themselves into the project. Just thinking about that call fills me joy and makes me proud to call them my friends. And that’s not all. Steve and Ashley have also offered to share their tremendous creative gifts with us, and all of you, in the form of blogging and photography for Affero! So, be on the lookout for some sweet blog posts from Steve each week, and some killer photos from Ashley in the future! And there you have it. An artist and a writer, or as I like to call them, a super hero duo for serving others. That’s all for this week. Thanks Asher & Steve-O…Keep living the revolution.
Parents Using Affero Project to Empower Their Children and Teach Compassion
By Beau Miller in News
Hey everyone, here’s a little something that I thought was really cool and wanted to share with all of you. I have a great friend and fellow member of the Mosaic church community named Larry. A couple of weeks before Affero launched, I called Larry to tell him all about it. I must admit, the first reason for my call was that I knew he had some spare change, and secondly, I knew I could strong arm him and threaten him enough to get him to cough it up. After all, I’m bigger than he is and he would do anything to avoid me tickling him or picking him up and putting him in my pocket. Just kidding, the real reason I called Larry is because he is a great man with a true servant heart and a burning desire to help those in need.
So, not surprisingly, right after I told Larry about Affero he was on board 100%, and said he’d sign up. Like the noble, handsome (you’re welcome Larry) and generous man he is, he did sign up – with a total of three separate accounts! Three accounts!?!? Yeah, this is the cool part. Larry decided that it would be one thing for he and his beautiful wife Buffy (in this case I actually mean it) to set up an account and give, but it would be even cooler if they could involve their young kids, Benjamin and Savannah. So, Larry and Buffy (who are in the running for Affero’s Parents of the Year award), sat down with the kids at the computer and told them all about The Affero Project and what they could do to be a part of changing the world. They read over the categories, let the kids see what each org needed, and then, after they set up accounts in Benjamin and Savannah’s names, they got to vote for where they wanted their money to go. They were so excited, and were practically begging Larry to go out in the cool Affero t-shirts I promised them (and have yet to deliver), and tell the world the good news. How cool is this? Seriously, what a beautiful vision for connecting with your kids, and in turn, connecting them to their global neighbors in need! Encouraging a life of giving and compassion from a very young age – sweet!
Often times kids grow up thinking that giving to charity is something for their parents to do. Their parents will worry about the orphans, widows and the poor for now – and then someday in the future, it will be their turn to learn what social justice is all about and start giving. But much applause to Larry and Buffy for using their God-given creativity to give their amazing kids a voice in the fight right now. Just imagine what Benjamin and Savannah will be doing ten years from now. I can tell you this much, I know they’ll be doing something extraordinary. So, parents out there, this is a time that it might be good to tear out a page from Larry and Buffy’s parenting playbook. Affero is all about empowering people, and no matter how young your kids may be, they want to be a part of something bigger. They want to help. So consider setting up Affero accounts for them, and just wait to see the joy in their eyes and on their hearts when they get to decide if their dollar is going to be the dollar that is used to dig a well in Africa or for schooling for Dominican kids. It’s a powerful thing, and we are excited to hear the stories of your little kids, doing big things in our world.
Peace & Love,
Beau