An Extraordinary Ordinary Day

Kristina Buhrman, who rescued 38 children from a bus fire in Dec.

Most of us don't have many days outside of ordinary, routine days. We go through the day, nothing unusual happens. But then there are those days that start out ordinary, but become something else. Those days call upon some special strength inside of us, a call to reach beyond.

That something happened on Dec. 3 to Kristina Buhrman, a middle school math teacher at DISCOVERY ACADEMY in Lake Alfred, Florida. Now, most teachers don't drive school buses, but Kristina is known to substitute in that role when a regular driver is not available. So, driving the bus wasn't that unusual for her. Because one route was unfamiliar, she switched routes with another driver.



Things went along pretty normally until after that last stop. The bus was on the highway, but there was a little more smoke than usual, or was there? Then when one of the students in the back of the bus stood up and said, "Ms. Buhrman, there's smoke coming out of my seat," she sprung into action. Every single kid was evacuated from that bus and into a ravine at the side of the road, then "911" was called. The bus was on fire and quickly became fully engulfed in flames.

The children, with their teacher, were transported to school in another bus. Every single child that got off that bus thanked their wonderful teacher, because every single kid was alive and unharmed. Ms. Buhrman was also intact and, well, minus a few personal possessions that were lost in the fire.

Afterwards, there was the acclaim of others, even to the point of calling Ms. Buhrman a hero. Like Florida highway patrol trooper, Sgt. Mary Godino, who said, "The driver did a fabulous job in getting all those kids off in time, or, as you would have known, if they didn't get off, it would have been a terrible thing."

The evacuated children on the side of the highway.

What does Kristina Buhrman think? Well, she doesn't think she did anything so very extraordinary. As she said, "I didn't expect that anybody would care. I was doing my job. That's how I feel....I don't necessarily feel that I did anything that anybody else wouldn't do. I was just put in a place that I had to protect the kids that I'm there to protect and that's what we do."

I bet I some 38 kids and their families know differently. Those kids are alive and with their families because of one ordinary extraordinary teacher.

The smoking remains of the bus fire.

Thanks to this article from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/03/living/ep-kristinabuhrman/index.html, and this article from ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-bus-driver-rescued-children-burning-bus/story?id=27360177.

The Money Chant, by Rev. Israel M. Esters.
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Telling Men's Stories

Dr. Josie Lehrer, center, surrounded by colleagues, while being honored for public service.

DR. JOSIE LEHRER has some pretty impressive credentials. She's a senior research associate at the UCSF BIXBY CENTER FOR GLOBAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, having completed a doctoral degree at the Harvard School Of Public Health and a postdoctoral research fellowship at the UCSF Center For AIDS Prevention Studies. Besides being a researcher, she also wears the hats of practitioner, lecturer, and social entrepreneur.

In 2008 Dr. Lehrer became the Founder/Director of THE MEN'S STORY PROJECT, which "is a replicable storytelling and community dialogue project that brings exploration of social ideals about masculinity into public forums around the world."



The project derived from noticing the societal norms which projected certain images of masculinity into the social landscape. Much of the time those images of what masculinity involves limits the expression of an individual male, confining him to what is a socially acceptable role. What can change this point of view and enlarge the scope of what society allows to be seen as masculine?

Through using story-telling events, educational films, and other types of media, men could be encouraged to share their lives and spark dialogue and discussion about societal concepts of manhood. Two documentaries were filmed. THE MEN'S STORY PROJECT: BUILDING STRENGTH, CREATING PEACE was filmed in California, with men ages 22-60 sharing their stories through music, dance, and the spoken word. THE MEN'S STORY PROJECT: OUT LOUD! utilized a similar format and was filmed in Spanish with English subtitles in Santiago, Chile. The latter also has a discussion guide available.

Among the ways to become involved is to host a screening of one or both films, to invite the Men's Story Project to your campus to provide workshops and/or training to continue the work of the project, and/or to create your own production, using the methods already vetted by this group. There are currently four venues that are part of the Men's Story Project, three in California and one in Chile. Many of the group's objectives are aiming at the expansion of this ongoing dialogue.

The men from Berkeley, who participated in the Building Strength video.

Thanks to this article from Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/josie-lehrer-mens-story-project-loud/, and the above links.

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Enough Food For Everyone

The executive team at RLC - Paul Sun (left), Louisa Chen (middle), and  Robert Lee (right).

Robert Lee is still rather young at age 24. He grew up in a family led by two Korean immigrant parents, who sometimes struggled with providing enough food for the family of four. So, Robert was no stranger to hunger. But he also had parents who were resourceful, wasting not a scrap of food that they came upon, something that derived from their Korean heritage.

Robert recalls, "When I was growing up, there were these two Korean myths. One of them is that if you throw out food scraps or whatever leftovers you have, then your family's future generations will starve that same amount. The other is that if you throw out food, then in your afterlife, you have to eat all the food you ever wasted as a form of punishment."



Another value in his family is education, which prompted him to attend NYU'S STERN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, after having experience working for a hedge fund while in high school. While at NYU, he came in contact with TWO BIRDS, ONE STONE, a club which helps to redistribute leftover food from the dining halls to local homeless shelter. He eventually became President of the club, gathering valuable experience for the future.

By the time he graduated, he had started RESCUE LEFTOVER CUISINE, which he was running on a part time basis, while he accepted a full time job with JP Morgan. So, his full time job provided some financial security while he got his nonprofit underway.

Not long ago, Robert was able to resign his job at JP Morgan, in order to devote his full attention to Rescue Leftover Cuisine, where he is co-founder and CEO. His organization uses computer technology to help organize the network of volunteers to pick-up from partner restaurants and food suppliers and to deliver to homeless shelters in need. The organization now has about 1400 volunteers, with 50 who make more than 10 deliveries per week.

So, by taking food from places that have too much to places that don't have enough, RLC is tackling the issue of food waste, continuously cutting back on the amount wasted. A plus is the amount of community involvement that the group engages. And as the amount of food wastage drops, you can bet that Robert and RLC will devise even more ways to reduce excess waste.

Kitchen workers at NYC Rescue Mission.

Thanks to this article from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/30/rescue-leftover-cuisine_n_6563516.html?ir=Good+News&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000023.

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Small Dog Rescue

Header from Holy Shi Tzu's facebook page.

Kim McFarland and Craig DeHart looked around them and noticed a problem in their central Illinois location. Many small dogs are surrendered, especially in May and June when college students depart for summer vacation and after graduation, but they don't fare well in large city animal shelters. Three out of every ten of them end up being euthanized.

So, they started HOLY SHI TZU!: CENTRAL ILLINOIS LAP DOG RESCUE AND ADOPTION GROUP, INC. Their objective was "to provide specialized care and adoption services for small dogs who are at risk of failing to thrive in a typical shelter, and we place them with special people who will benefit from a close bond and an extraordinary animal....Our dogs are not kept in cages. They are treated as family members so that they can socialize and learn good house manners."



Instead of being in a large kennel in a shelter, where it's noisy from dogs barking, Holy Shih Tzu's dogs are placed in foster care with pre-screened families, who know the needs of these small animals. These dogs typically need more hands-on contact with their humans and are not relegated to cages simply because of their size. Since their medical needs can easily be overlooked in a large shelter, this organization makes sure the dogs are seen for veterinary care and receive the care they so need. That is one of the reasons that monetary donations are a continuing requirement.

If you happen to live in central Illinois, you can find available dogs on Petfinder and also the group's FACEBOOK PAGE. There is an online application, so you can apply to adopt one of their animals. The group tries to match up the dogs with applicants so the adoption is successful.

Donors Nicole and Greg Biffle's photo on Holy Shih Tzu's facebook page.

Thanks to information from this article by Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/kim-mcfarland-craig-dehart-holy-shih-tzu/, and this rescue's website and facebook page.

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A Very Special "Prom-Posal"

Autumn and Cope hugging when the prom-posal was made.

These days asking someone out to the prom can involve some more pizzazz than the parents of current high school students would remember. Now, a lot of planning goes into the asking, along with a bit of coordination with friends or even school officials. The surprise of the student asked is part of the enjoyment of the concept.

Autumn Pollard is a junior at CORNING HIGH SCHOOL in Arkansas, making this her first opportunity to go to a prom. She does have some physical challenges, since she was born with NOONAN SYNDROME, giving her a shorter stature, heart abnormalities, and an unusual-looking face. But she is known for her upbeat spirit and bubbly personality and wants to make the most of this life she has.


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Cope Robinson is a junior football player at the same high school, a member of the same church that Autumn attends. He planned a big surprise for Autumn when he asked her to the prom. It started out with a pep rally, during which Autumn was invited to dance with the school mascot, who kept her facing away from the spot where Cope's friends gathered.

Then everyone started yelling her name and she and the mascot turned around to see classmates spelling out the prom invitation, with Cope holding a bouquet of flowers. Autumn was stunned. Of course, she accepted and experienced quite a thrill. She and Cope plan to dance together, too.

Someone recorded the entire prom-posal and the video has gone viral. Cope hopes that the video will inspire others to act kindly as well. "More people see that, and be like that, instead of no, I'm not going to go with that kid," he says. May both keep smiling and have the best prom ever!

Cope and Autumn by the school bleachers.

Thanks to this story from KAIT 8: http://www.kait8.com/story/27953804/special-ar-prom-posal-goes-viral?autostart=true.

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Making Connections Again

Kevin Adler, setting up a homeless newspaper vendor with a GoPro for an autobiographical shoot.

Have you ever lost contact with a family member? How often have you tried to re-connect? Has a family member experienced hard times and you don't know what became of him/her?

At the other end of this question could be a lost person, someone who hit bottom so hard that he/she lost a home and ended up living in the street. Maybe it's too embarrassing to admit that the times have become this hard, the fall has been so steep. Does anyone bother to think that this homeless person is a real person, someone with family members out there?

What would happen if family could be reconnected again, those ties re-established? That is something Kevin Adler, who founded the company NEARSHOT, had pondered as the December holidays neared. So, he set about meeting the homeless people on the streets of San Francisco with some hot tea, warm bread, and a video camera. The camera was included to record messages to loved ones by those he met out on the street.



Why go out of his way to provide some way to reconnect, some way to reach out, for those experiencing this amount of hardship? Kevin says, "Each person and situation is different, so it's impossible to generalize. There is almost always one person who they would like to get back in touch with or say hi to."

What proved to be a great method to reconnect was posting those video messages to social media sites, such as HOMELESSPOV on facebook. And that's where things got interesting. A chain of connection would occur, as people in old hometowns recognized the person making the recording.

For one man, Jeffrey Gottschall, who was known as a homeless man in San Francisco, he was recognized as Jeffrey the classmate, brother, uncle, friend that he really was. His former community came through and raised more than $3000 through crowdfunding to get the help he needed to relocate back where the familiar people in his life are also located. And most of all, with that connection came the recognition that he was a human being with his own background and personality. That was, indeed, worth any video recording.

Jeffrey Gottschall, missing from family and friends for 12 years.

Thanks to this article from Huffington Post for the information: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/san-francisco-homeless-videos_n_6575074.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news, and the above links.

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Gardening And Learning

Terra Rose Ganem, executive director for Sustainable Arizona.

Since she was three years old, TERRA ROSE GANEM can remember being involved with growing plants. That was when her mother gave her two seeds to plant and she watched them grow into sunflowers. She credits that direct experience with fostering her lifelong interest in organic gardening. She also realizes how much you can learn from planting seeds and watching them grow into something much bigger.

Although her life now as an adult is more varied, in the sense that she is an author, holistic nutritionist and runs Body Brilliance programs, she shuns public relations hype and promotes herself as a regular person, flaws and all. She very much enjoys sharing her experiences with others and that led to her developing GROW ORGANIC KIDS.



The program started in four schools in Arizona and utilized common core standards; help from educators, teachers, and gardening experts; and became part of the curriculum. The program incorporates hands-on learning, doing what Terra did when she was a child, watching the plants grow. But there is also the formal education of knowing what the growing is about, utilizing organic methods, free of chemicals, making it safe for the youngest students.

In the third year and third phase of the program, which is where the original four schools are in the process, the surrounding community, including parents and teachers, become invested in the long-term growth, maintenance, and success of this gardening/educational experience. That ensures that the program remains a permanent part of the schools' curriculum.

The program shares a newsletter, so parents and their kids can enjoy some of the participation in the program, including what's happening in the schools, kid-friendly recipes, and information about starting your own organic garden. By the way, the program has now served over 1100 students.

Some of the young participants in Grow Organic Kids.

Thanks to this article by Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/terra-rose-ganem-grow-organic-kids/, and information from the above links.

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