If you read this blog, you know that I am a big believer in the Power of 1. That’s why I am such a big supporter of Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Alex Scott exemplified the Power of 1.
Tuesday evening, I had an opportunity to meet over 300 people who also exemplify the Power of 1. I attended the 30th anniversary celebration of the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award...
In February 1976, the City of Denver Commission on Community Relations, United Bank of Denver and the Rocky Mountain News partnered to begin a program to honor outstanding community volunteers in the Denver metro area. The first award was give March 10, 1976 to Bertha Simon, and 86 year old woman who had knitted more than 1,000 pairs of children’s mittens for the Denver Head Start program. That's 1,000 children who had warm hands during the cold Denver winters because of the efforts of one woman!
In 1977, the Community Volunteer Award Committee renamed the award the “Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award”. At the time, Mr. Yasui was the Executive Director of Denver Commission on Community Relations. He held that position from 1967 to 1983. He was a member of the commission since 1959. He passed away in 1986. His motto was "We are all put on this earth to leave it a better place for our having been here."
The Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award program honors and encourages volunteers in the Denver metropolitan area. Every month, one person is chosen by the award committee. The committee has three main criteria for their decisions: 1) constructive contributions to the community; 2) contributions that are unique and/or outstanding, and 3) contributions that have received little previous recognition. To date, 348 people have received the award.
That’s the Power of 1 times 348!
The 2005 winners were a diverse group. Here is an example of what some of them have accomplished. Beverly Brayden developed and runs a storytelling program for local elementary schools. Ellen Young works with a program that protects the rights of women and works for the eradication of domestic abuse. John Yee is active in promoting the synergy and understanding between Eastern and Western civilizations. Dr. John Carlos works with a group called “Almost Home”, a shelter serving homeless families who has built a 120 unit affordable housing development. The others winners, Selwyn Hewitt, Gloria Patterson, Patricia Sykes, Joan Sjostrom, Dolores Cuthbertson, Tom Ledgerwood and Don Giseburt all have similar records of service.
The common sense point here is we all can make a difference – in our communities, companies, churches and synagogues. We just need to be willing to put in a little time and do a little work.
I was impressed and inspired by the people I met Tuesday evening. I wanted to share their stories here. So, the next time you find yourself saying "somebody should do someting about that"; go ahead, DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT!
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website, www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense life and career advice.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: In case you missed it I am holding a virtual Alex’s Lemonade Stand. I am offering a signed copy of my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations ($14.95 cover price) to anyone who makes a donation of at least $10.00. I will send signed copies of the library of the six business books I’ve written to anyone who donates $50.00 or more.
I would really welcome your support. This is an especially important issue for me, as I am a cancer survivor myself.
Please take a moment to visit my online fundraising page and make a donation. It's really easy - you can donate by credit card and receive a record of your donation. Here’s my page:
http://www.firstgiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy
This is a secure site. Your donations will be sent directly to Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. Please join me in supporting Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and this important cause. Don’t forget that you can double your contribution and impact if your company has a matching gifts program.
As of today, I have raised $1,770. That’s $730 short of my goal of $2,500. We’re making slow, but steady progress towards the goal. Please make a donation if you can.
Also, I owe books to some of you. I am waiting for a shipment of “Fixing Performance Problems” from my publisher. I will get your books in the mail to you as soon as I have a complete set to send. Thanks for your patience.
I also believe that business people have a responsibility to give back to the communities in which they operate.
We donate 10% of every online pixel sale at Pixel Advertising of Rochester & www.TheCityofRochester.com to a local Rochester charity.
Posted by: Gary Palmer Jr | June 27, 2006 at 10:42 AM