The Gift of a Goat

A few years ago, I was introduced to a true children's book about the chicken man. Basically, the man lived in an economically disadvantaged country, and he was having a rough go of it. Fortunately for him, a group came in and gave him some chickens. Those chickens reproduced, and now he is the largest egg and chicken supplier in his area providing a sustainable income to him and his family.

Fast forward to a concert I attended last November. My friend scored free tickets to see Lady A, so of course we went. While we were there, the groups were encouraging fans to donate to the group Heifer International. If you aren't familar with Heifer International, you can check out their website at http://www.heifer.org/. In a nutshell, H.I. takes donations for animals, and the animals are sent to needy families around the world. Not only do the animals provide food, but they provide a steady source of income. I'm all about this program because when you donate you aren't artificially inflating their economy. This is a way to help folks in need and teach them a skill. To me, it seems like a win/win.

After a season of reading a bunch of books on volunteerism, I decided it was time to send the goat. I set aside some money and was able to send a goat AND a flock of chicks. I hope and pray these animals make a noticeable difference in the quality of lives they come in contact with.

I've also been working on my 30 volunteer opportunities. As a teacher, each of us had to create a club this year. Since I have a passion for volunteering, I decided to start a Service Learning Club. So far we have made Christmas cards for soldiers and baked cookies at the soup kitchen. We also plan to send Valentine's day cards to kids with cancer and oragami flowers for seniors in a local nursing home. My hope is to get the kids out into the community as much as possible this spring, but for now we have a limited budget, so we're doing what we can close to home.

Since we're getting close to Christmas and people tend to be more generous, I'm wondering what your favorite charities/organizations are. I'd love to hear about why you are passionate about them!

30 Things Before 30

A month ago I turned 26. I'm not entirely sure how I got here, but I am on the downhill slide to 30 (remember when 30 was old?!). I pretty much epically failed on my last 101 things list not because I wasn't doing them, but because I wasn't blogging about them. I have decided enough is enough. I am now going to get back to actively blogging. I want to make the most of my my twenties before I get saddled up with more responsibility, so I made a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30. They are on the sidebar of my blog, but for those of you following on your mobile device, I will list them just this once here for you.

1. Finish my MFA in poetry
2. Finish my book
3. Travel to Iceland and see the midnight sun
4. Take a Yoga class on the beach
5. Try SUP (Stand up paddle boarding)
6. Compete in a triathlon
7. Visit and raft the Grand Canyon
8. Finish a 1000 things gratitude list
9. Backpack a week on the AT
10. Volunteer 30 times
11. Take a cross country road trip
12. Save a down payment for a house
13. Live somewhere else for a month in the summer
14. See Opaekaa Falls
15. Do a last minute trip somewhere cool
16. Create a new travel blog
17. Get a new stamp in my passport
18. Read 30 books a year
19. Send the Galax Goat via Heifer International
20. Participate in Relay for Life
21. Go on a mission trip
22. Splurge on myself!
23. See Third Eye Blind in concert
24. Zip line
25. Buy Christmas for an Angel Tree child
26. Learn a new instrument
27. Ride in a hot air balloon
28. Make a quilt
29. Get a tattoo
30. Spend my 30th birthday in Australia

Happily, I will be going to Italy in two days, so I will begin my list/count down with an amazingly good trip in the company of great friends.