Support

THANK YOU so much to everyone that came out and supported IMAGINE: a benefit show this past Thursday! I am so blessed for all the friends and family that helped with the event as well as everyone that came to it, whether they know me or not. 

A special THANKS goes to Devin and Ian who put together the benefit and worked hard to make it happen. 

I am SO excited to report we raised over $1,000! That puts my current total amount of funds raised at about $1,600! Ah, amazing! If you were unable to make it to the event and would like to support my trip/work please use the DONATE button on the side of this blog. My goal is about $3,000 which means we are more than half way there! For info about my trip and what I will be doing, please check out the first blog post.

There are others ways to support me as well! Here are a few of them... 

          -SHARE! Pass this blog along to your friends and family. Post it on Facebook. Send an Email to your contact list. 

          -PRAY! Specific things you can be praying for: safe travels, the program's development, the girls in West Point, Liberia. 

          -LEARN! Educate yourself on whats going on in the world around you outside of the area you live in. Find out what is happening and don't ignore the problems of our broken world.

Benefit show tonight!

 IMAGINE: a benefit show is happening TONIGHT! I am super excited about it and hope many of you reading this will be able to join us. 

What can you expect? For all of the logistics (time, place, etc.) check out the event's website. Otherwise, know that...

Your ears will be aroused with music from local musicians: 

          Bryan Kim and Devin Colleton, Kim Baston, and Dallas Corbett

Your eyes will be enticed by art of different mediums by local artists: 

          Krystin Arneson, Gwyn Pevonka, and Red Frednie 

You can also win raffle prizes from an array of area businesses: 

          Pandigital 6inch LCD Digital Photo Frame

          $25 gift certificate to Polliwogs restaurant

          $25 gift certificate to Rush’s
          $30 gift certificate to Paul Mitchell: The School

          8 class pass and initial assessment at K.O.R.E. Wellness 

          $50 gift certificate to Baker’s Sports Pub and Grill

          $50 worth of Paul Mitchell hair products
          One hour massage therapy session at K.O.R.E. Wellness

All of this is happening to raise money for my trip and work with More Than Me in Liberia, West Africa that is happening in less than 4 weeks!! 

Travel Preparation

In less than 5 weeks I will be boarding a plane (then another, then another) to go to Liberia, West Africa! Ah! I cannot believe that the time is approaching so quickly. I so clearly remember sitting on my bedroom floor in February talking to the More Than Me founder on the phone for the first time. This trip was dreamed up so naturally through our conversation and now it is almost here. The plans are coming along well but, in true African nature, are not concrete (I may be sleeping on someone's floor for a bit... eh, oh well!).  

I have traveled internationally before so I know a bit of what to do and expect and thought I would share some of that with y'all. For any international trip there are three major things you must think about before you even open the suitcase:

-First off- passport! Sometimes these can take a while to be processed but always a good idea to have. If you don't have a passport, I would recommend getting one (they are good for 10 years) even if you have no travel plans in mind, you never know when you might decide to go somewhere! It is not a good idea to travel with a passport that is within 6 months of expiring, just to be on the safe side. I have a friend who went to get on the plane to go to Kenya a few years ago and at that time realized her passport has expired! 

 -Next, check on the country you are traveling to and see if you need a visa (this will depend on your home country's relationship with the destination country). Some visas can be acquired in the destination country's airport. For Liberia, you cannot even get off the airplane if you don't already have a visa. Let me tell you, FedExing your passport to an embassy in DC is a bit stressful! I know I did everything as I was suppose to but sealing up that envelope and hoping it comes back to me still gave me a small feeling of panic!  

-Third thing is vaccinations! Getting sick at home stinks but getting sick while in another country is awful! Check with the CDC to know what is required for your destination. Most vaccines are good for a few years so I did not have to get any new shots but do have to take anti-malarial medications (watch out, the kind I have can give me some crazy dreams!).
 

Once each of these is taken care of you can think about the little things such as the climate during the time of year you are going. For me, it will be the rainy season (ugh) so rainboots, raincoat, and an umbrella are currently at the top of my packing list! If you taking anything electrical, look up the plugs and see if you need a plug adapter. If you can talk with someone in your destination, ask them if there is anything they recommend you bring. This is especially helpful if you are going to a non-western country and can talk to a person whom is not a native; there are always things you wouldn't think you would need or did not think of that country not having. 

If you have traveled internationally before, what other things would you recommenced in preparation?

Creating Change

Lately, I have had a few people tell me things like "I don't know how you go to Africa. It's great work that you do, but I could never do that" and "I wish I had the guts to do something like what you're doing." Now, I wholeheartedly feel led to go to Africa and will gladly continue to go as long as God provides the opportunities and allows plans to develop and work, but I know that isn't for everyone. Here's the thing, as More Than Me's founder, Katie, said in the video I featured in the post Awesome Video Clip!, not everyone can go to Liberia but you can live for something bigger than yourself, no matter where you are. 

Each of us has different talents, different levels of comfort, and different places in which we flourish. Sometimes it talks some self-exploration to figure out what those things are. Give stuff a shot, try something new; trial and error is always a good method to see what works for you. Pray and ask God to show you where He is leading you to serve. Life is not just about ourselves, and in some countries, especially America, we can be very "me" centered. Think of how awesome our world would be if everyone gave more than they took, helped more than they asked, and thought of others more than they thought of themselves.

Start small. Make changes in your everyday life. I love a quote I saw recently that said "small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world." Maybe it starts with you and spreads to people you may never come into contact with. Think of the ripple effect. One of my favorite commercials shows exactly what I mean...

When you want to do something bigger, look into the organizations in your community. If you like to build or want to do something hands on, check out Habitat for Humanity. If you enjoy talking with people and building relationships, visit your local nursing home. If you want to mentor a child and help them grow up well, look into Big Brothers/Big Sisters. There are a myriad of places and things you can do, you just have to look for them.

Great change can happen. It starts within each one of us.

IMAGINE: a benefit show

Imagine. Imagine a girl. She is eight and smiles with all the radiance of the world. She is curious. She dreams of being a doctor when she grows up. She is resilient. She is lovable.

Now, imagine a world. Imagine a world where you are orphaned by war and left to live alone in the slums of West Africa. You are hungry, and a single egg costs fifteen cents. A man will pay you fifteen cents to have sex with him.

This is the story of many of the girls that More Than Me works with. We work to get girls – beautiful, resilient, lovable girls – off the street and into school.

This July, I am going to Liberia for six weeks to work with More Than Me. Having just graduated with my Masters, I am ready to put my social work background to use in a place that needs it. Specifically, I am going to Liberia to create a social work program within More Than Me to address what the girls have been through – living in a world of crime, poverty and sexual assault.

To help me get to Liberia – to help these girls – two amazing friends of mine are hosting a benefit show: IMAGINE. This show will feature local musicians and artists. Artists will be selling their art and sharing the proceeds with me. In addition, there will be a raffle of items donated by local businesses.

The cost of admission is $15.

IMAGINE will be hosted at the Carolina BCM (819 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201) from 7:00 to 10:00 PM.

Come out on Thursday, June 21st to support me and More Than Me. 

Sevenly

When I started this blog I wanted to feature issues I found interesting as well as organizations that are doing awesome things; I have failed on the latter. Time to change that!

Sevenly is an organization that works to raise funds and awareness for wonderful charities. Each week they promote a different charity on their website by selling a unique T-shirt design their artists have created (and anyone can apply to design for them!). The shirts are only available for 7 days, $7 from each shirt goes to the organization, and there are 7 types of causes they support.

Not only do they raise funds for the organization of the week but they do so much to promote the organization and therefore the cause: information is featured about the organization on the site, when you receive the shirt you've ordered you also receive an information card about the charity, and then every time you wear the shirt you are a walking billboard!

Some people purchase a shirt because of the color, the design, the style of a shirt, or the organization that it is supporting. No matter what the reason, its a good thing! Check out their site (and often, cause it changes each week!), buy a shirt, and learn about a new organization and the work they are doing.

"I Do My Best To Believe"

More Than Me founder, Katie Meyler, wrote a fantastic piece that is featured on the glass heel website. I took the liberty of reposting it on here because I find it incredible moving and just had to share! Enjoy :)

I believe in Unrestrained Compassion. Unreasonable Love. Unfathomable Joy. I believe in giving your whole heart to whatever you do. To feeling every moment, every word you say, every look you give. I believe in living a life of thanks, a life of giving back not because we can but because we must. I believe in living impractical, improbable, idealistic, unlikely dreams. 

I believe in understanding each other. Looking deeper into people, into history, looking through the surface. 

I believe in names and stories. Who are the 250 million child labors that work for pennies 12-16 hours a day in brutal conditions? Who are their parents, what do they think about, what does their smile look like? 

Why is this man sleeping on a corner, how did he get here, why is my neighbor so bitter, how does she feel everyday, who loves her? 

Who are the people that stole my suitcase of favorite things? Why do they steal, no really, how did this happen? 

How did we get to a place where it’s okay to have extreme excess when 25,000 people die every day of hunger, and my 12 year old friend James lives in a house made of garbage? 

How did it become okay to be a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew and to horde our stuff, to kill, to hate each other? To be an American and not know anything about other countries, and barely our own? 

What is my responsibility? How do I contribute to this mess? 

I believe. I believe. I believe. 

I will do my best to live as I believe. To not only say I care, but live a life that cares. To not only cry for my brothers and sisters being raped, blown into pieces, terrorized in the Congo, Sudan, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Afghanistan but to ask myself how I can help. 

I believe in taking responsibility. I believe I have a voice. That my life counts. I believe in taking life by the horns and aggressively moving towards a better way. Not tomorrow, not when “I grow up” but now. I have my now. I give my all now.

I believe in we. Katie