This weekend I did something I thought I would NEVER do - I flew to Ohio to participate in the Air Force Marathon. No I didn't actually run the marathon. I did the 10K and walked almost all of it at that. How? Why? I'm still processing and trying to figure all that out, but the basic story is that Trouble signed up with a team from her squadron in Colorado. They used it as a way to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project, one of her favorite charities anyway. She signed up months ago to run the half marathon, put together a training program for herself and talked her sister into doing it with her. Not long into the training process, her sister hurt her knee and was told she couldn't participate. I became the fill in, only there was no way I was going to run 13.1 miles. I opted for the 10K deciding that this was something I could do for her, and the training would be good for my health.
Training didn't go exactly as I had planned. I was supposed to do so many miles each week, working up to jogging the whole time but starting with a combination of walking and running. I never got very far with the jogging piece. Between back problems and what I thought was a bruised foot from Buildathon (which I now believe is plantar fasciaitis), I walked everything and didn't do it near as frequently as I should have. I even debated whether I was going to be able to participate in the event at all. I always had the option of down sizing to the 5K event and was contemplating doing just that up to 3 days before the event. I just couldn't do it - I knew that I would regret it and always feel like I had copped out.
Now that we're a couple of days after the event, my body is still sore but the sense of accomplishment is taking up more of my emotional space than the fatigue. I don't know if I ever really saw myself as a person who would volunteer for and complete a 10K - but I did it! Not only did I complete the full distance, I did it in under 2 hours, which means I kept a pace of more than 3 mph. For a person who is way overweight and has never been physically fit, that's pretty darn good! Granted, I need to do more than one race a year and actually lose the weight and get into better physical health. Wouldn't it be amazing if this became an annual event where I improved each time? Maybe next year I can run at least half of it and improve my time. Who knows what could be possible! I always here people talk about the mental preparation and how you can psych yourself up or psych yoruself out and I don't know how much stock I ever really put into that, but I noticed it a lot this weekend. I didn't set out to set a record or anything - but I wasn't going to let myself NOT do this. I just told myself that I was going to do it and while I was walking the course, I just focused on continually putting one foot in front of the other. I had good music to keep my spirits up (and good beats to help keep my pace steady), and found that the way I directed my thoughts had EVERYTHING to do with how I performed. It's the first time I feel like I've really experienced that. Very cool.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, August 07, 2010
The question of philanthropy
These last few weeks I've had the opportunity for a few trainings at work about fundraising - a couple of them looked at a report (Giving USA 2010) on the history of philanthropic giving in 2009 and gave their interpretations of that report. While the two perspectives were very different, there were a few insights that were shared at both classes that I find very interesting.
First, when you look at the total amount of money that is donated to philanthropic causes (which includes religious institutions), about 75% of it comes from individuals - not corporations, federal or private grants or foundations. Just in case any of you were wondering if the money you give really does make a difference - it does! AND, even with the recession, 2009 was the third year in a row that philanthropic giving in the US topped $300 BILLION! I don't know about you, but I find that number a bit mind boggling to wrap my head around.
Second, when you look at the amount of money that individuals contributed, a large percentage of that money was contributed by only a handful of people - VERY wealthy people (Bill Gates, for one). So maybe that $20 I give isn't make that big a difference in comparison, but when I have billions of dollars at my personal disposal, I'd like to think that I'll do something positive with it. Which leads me to another piece of information that I've heard referenced several times in the last few weeks - the billionaire's challenge. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are calling other wealthy people and challenging them to give large portions of their wealth to philanthropic causes - they even have a website, http://givingpledge.org, where you can see what pledges have been made, by whom, and even read their personal letters that explain to whom they give and why. Some of the names are well known, others not as much, but each have their reason for giving and encouraging others to give.
It got me thinking - why do I give to the places I do? How do I determine how much I "can afford" to give? Generally I give to places that seem important to me for one reason or another - I give to my own place of business (since I thoroughly believe in the mission), I give to my church, I give to organization fighting for causes I believe in, such as gay rights in the church and in our country, I give to environmental organizations that are doing work I believe makes sense, etc. If I actually look though my check book and credit card statements to compile a profile of all the places I give money, it's interesting to see how varied it is and how much money over all I end up giving. It's mostly a little bit here and another little bit there. Now I'm wondering if i wouldn't be better giving more money to fewer places, making more of an impact. I don't know.
So now let me pose this question - do you give? Do you know why you give and how you decide to whom to give how much? Please share!
First, when you look at the total amount of money that is donated to philanthropic causes (which includes religious institutions), about 75% of it comes from individuals - not corporations, federal or private grants or foundations. Just in case any of you were wondering if the money you give really does make a difference - it does! AND, even with the recession, 2009 was the third year in a row that philanthropic giving in the US topped $300 BILLION! I don't know about you, but I find that number a bit mind boggling to wrap my head around.
Second, when you look at the amount of money that individuals contributed, a large percentage of that money was contributed by only a handful of people - VERY wealthy people (Bill Gates, for one). So maybe that $20 I give isn't make that big a difference in comparison, but when I have billions of dollars at my personal disposal, I'd like to think that I'll do something positive with it. Which leads me to another piece of information that I've heard referenced several times in the last few weeks - the billionaire's challenge. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are calling other wealthy people and challenging them to give large portions of their wealth to philanthropic causes - they even have a website, http://givingpledge.org, where you can see what pledges have been made, by whom, and even read their personal letters that explain to whom they give and why. Some of the names are well known, others not as much, but each have their reason for giving and encouraging others to give.
It got me thinking - why do I give to the places I do? How do I determine how much I "can afford" to give? Generally I give to places that seem important to me for one reason or another - I give to my own place of business (since I thoroughly believe in the mission), I give to my church, I give to organization fighting for causes I believe in, such as gay rights in the church and in our country, I give to environmental organizations that are doing work I believe makes sense, etc. If I actually look though my check book and credit card statements to compile a profile of all the places I give money, it's interesting to see how varied it is and how much money over all I end up giving. It's mostly a little bit here and another little bit there. Now I'm wondering if i wouldn't be better giving more money to fewer places, making more of an impact. I don't know.
So now let me pose this question - do you give? Do you know why you give and how you decide to whom to give how much? Please share!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Economics 101
I barely remember my undergrad economics class, but I've lived in this country all my life and have learned very well that we are proud of our capitalist system and believe there is no better system on which to build a nation. I guess I'm to the point where the teenager starts questioning whether his parents acutally know what they're talking about, becuase I'm wondering if our system really is the best...
In a recent e-newsletter I received, there was this excerpt from a Wall Street Journam piece:
Gregg Sherrill, WSJ – “Because the financial crisis and resulting recession caused so much pain, a bashing of our entire free enterprise system may have been inevitable. My fear is that by remaining quiet in the face of this onslaught, we have allowed it to intensify. In fact, other than those companies that were a part of the system of easy credit and disguised risk that so spectacularly collapsed, American business as a whole has nothing whatsoever to apologize for. The good news is that despite the political cacophony, and our silence, most Americans still instinctively understand this. According to a recent analysis in The Economist magazine, the overwhelming majority of Americans say they prefer the free enterprise system to any collectivist alternative. In one such poll, as the Economist reports in a feature titled ‘The 70-30 Nation,’ the Pew Research Center asked respondents whether they were better off in a free market rather than a socialist economy ‘even though there may be severe ups and downs from time to time.’ Seventy percent said yes.”
I'm not convinced that the companies that have failed were the only ones that had things to apologize for. I doubt that the other large finance companies and banks weren't making money off of risky loans and easy credit - just maybe not in as high a percentage as some of the others that didn't make it. And while we hear lots of blasting of those companies (and now have a new financial reform bill addressing them), what about those actual people who are down and out in the midst of everything leveling back out? Do they understand why they shouldn't have had those mortgages? Do they know how to make sure that they don't get into that bind again? Do they even have a place to live and/or work right now?
I'm not surprised by the survey results that say Americans believe their system is the better option - we always think we have it better. I can't think of a time when we've admitted that we were wrong as a country. I don't know what would be better - there are days I think I could be a socialist and there are days that I think we just need to tweak our current system - and I certainly don't have any kind of economic expertise, but I do see families struggling every day and I see how surprised they are to learn that they have at least some control over their credit, their savings, and can make things better by just making some different choices. You'd be surprised at how many people don't know what their options are. Perhaps instead of focusing on the economics, we should be looking at how we teach each other about our personal choices in the system...
In a recent e-newsletter I received, there was this excerpt from a Wall Street Journam piece:
Gregg Sherrill, WSJ – “Because the financial crisis and resulting recession caused so much pain, a bashing of our entire free enterprise system may have been inevitable. My fear is that by remaining quiet in the face of this onslaught, we have allowed it to intensify. In fact, other than those companies that were a part of the system of easy credit and disguised risk that so spectacularly collapsed, American business as a whole has nothing whatsoever to apologize for. The good news is that despite the political cacophony, and our silence, most Americans still instinctively understand this. According to a recent analysis in The Economist magazine, the overwhelming majority of Americans say they prefer the free enterprise system to any collectivist alternative. In one such poll, as the Economist reports in a feature titled ‘The 70-30 Nation,’ the Pew Research Center asked respondents whether they were better off in a free market rather than a socialist economy ‘even though there may be severe ups and downs from time to time.’ Seventy percent said yes.”
I'm not convinced that the companies that have failed were the only ones that had things to apologize for. I doubt that the other large finance companies and banks weren't making money off of risky loans and easy credit - just maybe not in as high a percentage as some of the others that didn't make it. And while we hear lots of blasting of those companies (and now have a new financial reform bill addressing them), what about those actual people who are down and out in the midst of everything leveling back out? Do they understand why they shouldn't have had those mortgages? Do they know how to make sure that they don't get into that bind again? Do they even have a place to live and/or work right now?
I'm not surprised by the survey results that say Americans believe their system is the better option - we always think we have it better. I can't think of a time when we've admitted that we were wrong as a country. I don't know what would be better - there are days I think I could be a socialist and there are days that I think we just need to tweak our current system - and I certainly don't have any kind of economic expertise, but I do see families struggling every day and I see how surprised they are to learn that they have at least some control over their credit, their savings, and can make things better by just making some different choices. You'd be surprised at how many people don't know what their options are. Perhaps instead of focusing on the economics, we should be looking at how we teach each other about our personal choices in the system...
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Independence Day flag t
Lots of things are swirling around my head today. I was on the news this week for work, which was a little nerve wracking but turned out fine. This weekend is a holiday and is also the first Sunday withour new pastor at Trinity UMC. In the Methodist church we move pastors around on a fairly regular basis (unless you're someone special like the founding pastor of a very successful mega-church), and a lot of people are bothered by it - pastors and congregation members alike. Of course, this isn't something that we do for no reason. Itinerancy has some benefits and though behind it. For one, congregations get to change out the bad pastors as well as the good ones. It means that we learn what we can from one another in the time that we have and then we get the chance to learn new things and new ways from someone else. It also means that congregations don't (or shouldn't) become too dependend on their pastor - since the pastor changes every 5 years or so, the congregation is the consistent piece, the character of the church.
This holiday is always an interesting one for me - watching people walk around in their $5 flag tee shirts, waving flags and blowing up fireworks even if they are illegal. I love this country and the freedoms that it offers, but I've never felt the need to be obnoxious about it or wear tacky clothes to prove it. It does make for some great people watching though. Tomorrow I'll be heading into Overland Park, KS to watch the crowds and fireworks. It's my first time to do something out there - I've been staying on the Missouri side of the state line typically. Should be a great time to observe people and classic Americana. Have a happy and safe weekend! Sorry this is so scattered.
This holiday is always an interesting one for me - watching people walk around in their $5 flag tee shirts, waving flags and blowing up fireworks even if they are illegal. I love this country and the freedoms that it offers, but I've never felt the need to be obnoxious about it or wear tacky clothes to prove it. It does make for some great people watching though. Tomorrow I'll be heading into Overland Park, KS to watch the crowds and fireworks. It's my first time to do something out there - I've been staying on the Missouri side of the state line typically. Should be a great time to observe people and classic Americana. Have a happy and safe weekend! Sorry this is so scattered.
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