GOOD THINGS STILL HAPPEN

After yesterday's diatribe on murder, mayhem and mass death, I thought I'd take a respite today and blog about some of the good stuff happening in the world.

KIVA.org is a micro-lending organization that connects individuals willing to lend money with individuals and groups in underdeveloped (and some developed ones) countries who would otherwise have no access to lenders willing to finance efforts to improve their lives. To participate as a lender, a person must be willing to lend $25 or more. Lenders chose from among hundreds of borrowers seeking loans and donate $3.75 per loan to KIVA to cover KIVA's operating costs. For more information on KIVA's micro-lending program, visit www.KIVA.org.
To join my lending group, visit www.KIVA.org/invitedby/steven1170

Heidelberg United Church of Christ is a church in downtown York, Pennsylvania. On the fourth Saturday of every month, volunteers from that church and a number of other churches in the area prepare and serve a free breakfast to anybody who walks in off the street. Many of the attendees are homeless people living on the streets or folks who spend their nights in mission shelters. Others are families in the area who've run out of supplies because it's the end of the month and food is scarce. The people who provide the breakfast, cook the breakfast and serve the breakfast are not divided by political ideology. Some are Republicans. Some are Democrats. All of them are committed to serving those in need. It's a perfect example of what folks can accomplish when they cooperate with one another instead trying to dominate the other.

A group of members of the Heritage Senior Center in Dover, Pennsylvania have taken it upon themselves to prepare Easter greeting cards for those elderly folks who receive meals from the Meal-on-Wheels program. It's heartening to see a group of seniors searching for ways to improve the lives of their brethren. Caring for others is contagious.

International aid organizations like the United Nations, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent have stepped up their efforts to get aid and services to individuals and families trapped in Homs and other Syrian cities that are caught in the cross-hairs of political tumult and civil war. Many aid workers have died in the efforts to bring aid to innocent victims, and the sacrifice of those workers should never be forgotten.

There's still plenty of good in this world. We just have to look for it!