03 Sunday Jul 2016
Pioneers of Peace™ is the humanitarian arm of Barbara Scoville, LCSW. Did you know there is a designated blog that chronicles our adventures? To find out more, Read Pioneers of Peace’s latest blog article “When an Empty Basket is a Good Thing” and consider becoming a regular follower.
30 Tuesday Jun 2015
Posted in Emotion School, Inspiration, Life Mastery Skills, Motivation, Quotes, Resilience, The Power to Do, Wellness
Miss Sophiella at the Utah Art’s Festival
We do our best work when we compete against ourselves — not others.
~Richard Lavoie
26 Monday Jan 2015
We are in the thick of making POP Project Love Bundles a reality and I have been moved to share some thoughts and impressions with you.
In case you weren’t aware, homeless youth in Salt Lake City do not have a shelter to stay in at night. Up until recently it was illegal to house adolescents. Fortunately that law has changed and a shelter is being built, but it will not be open until next year.
Volunteers of America has a Homeless Youth Resource Center, where kids can stay during the day and receive meals. Many of the youth are camping throughout the city and the foothills, so HYRC has a mobile unit (a van) in which they deliver much needed resources to the youth as well as connect them to multiple resources.
Last year, HYRC served 647 youth, having a total of 23,768 contacts, They dispersed 102,422 basic need items, made 3,766 referrals and provided 789 care coördination hours meaning they sat down one on one to discuss treatment services etc.
Pioneers of Peace, along with Target and other community angels are teaming up to make a difference in these adolescents lives this Valentine’s Day. We have initiated what we fondly refer to as “POP Project Love Bundles” in which we are providing: a handmade fleece scarf, a set of hand warmers, a new pair of socks, lip balm, a protein or granola bar, and a paper crane complete with a handwritten quote. These items are all rolled up and then tied with raffia; hence a “love bundle.” Our goal this year is to give 200 bundles.
The response has been wonderful! We have enough scarfs, hand warmers, granola and protein bars, but we are still in need of socks.
Pioneers of Peace, has created our own brand of lip balm that we will be selling using the Tom’s Shoes business model, One for One. In other words when you buy a tube of lip balm for yourself, you will be providing a tube for a homeless youth. We hope you will support our cause by stocking up on our fantastic, hip, SPF-15 lip balm that will soon be available.
Now for some thoughts…
One of my earliest memories is that of my dad sitting me down around Valentine’s Day to tell me I mustn’t neglect to give everyone in my class a Valentine. As I was decorating my shoe box/Valentine’s Mailbox, he told me the story of an awkward little girl in his elementary school that didn’t receive any Valentine’s from her classmates. He vividly remembered the pain and tears on her face and every year forward he made sure to give her a Valentine. My dad taught me to not forget the forgotten.
An observation…
Last week I was at Costco where I overheard a common, but unpleasant exchange between a mother and a 10ish year old boy. The mother was obviously at her wits end and her son had done something that she apparently had told him to stop. It was at that point that I entered the scene and heard these screaming words leave her lips…
“Stop it!!! I’ve told you and told you to stop it! What’s the matter with you? Are you stupid?!!!
My heart broke as I heard those words and especially when I looked at the boys face.
A conversation with my son…
Last week I was on the phone talking to my son who lives in Korea. Somewhere in our conversation I told him about “Project Love Bundles.” His response was very positive and supportive. He said, maybe next year you can do it in November because it gets really cold outside. That way they could use the scarves longer. He then went on to tell me about VOA’s HYRC, and said I should call the local public radio stations to get the word out. I reminded him that HYRC is the agency we are working with and then the conversation turned to another topic.
That particular son left home at 18 under not so favorable circumstances. That was 18 years ago and he is now a certified teacher and Dean of Student Affairs at an international school in Korea. After hanging up the phone, I wondered how he knew so much about the Homeless Youth Resource Center and how cold it gets at night when you’re homeless.
How do these thoughts come together? I’m not exactly sure, but I do know this.
I want the homeless youth of Salt Lake City to know they are not forgotten this Valentine’s Day.
P.S. HYRC, if you helped my son at the most difficult time of his life I am forever grateful to you.
28 Tuesday Oct 2014
Greeting Everyone,
I know it has been a long time since I last wrote, but I’ve been involved in a really big project.
On October 3rd, I officially registered the nonprofit corporation I have been dreaming about for years.
Check us out on our website: http://www.pioneersofpeace.org
Currently we are in the middle of our annual fundraiser for the World Food Program USA’s, School Meals Program. Heres a little info graph to explain what we’re trying to do…
You can learn more about it on our Facebook page, “Pioneers of Peace Thanks “Giving” Cup Campaign” and on our website at http://www.pioneersofpeace.org
… and little bit more about Pioneers of Peace Inc.
Pioneers of Peace ™ is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating peace by fostering compassion, altruism, and gratitude. We do our part in relieving local and global suffering by providing humanitarian aid to women and children.
Compassion
As Pioneers of Peace (POP) we are dedicated to the promotion of human development and resilience. Our efforts are founded on principles of gratitude, compassion, and altruism. We choose optimism over cynicism. We recognize that even simple acts of kindness are powerful, whether performed by individuals or groups. Such efforts alleviate suffering and elevate consciousness. Acts of generosity inspire others and foster a spirit of giving; we are thus committed to raising the awareness of individuals and groups who are actively engaged in making a positive difference in the world.
As pioneers of peace we make a personal commitment to our own kindness and growth, understanding that we cannot ask of the world what we are unwilling to do ourselves. We hold that the act of “giving back” is the strongest evidence of resilience; therefore as Pioneers of Peace, We Walk, Not Just Talk.
Pioneers of Peace ™ has a two-fold mission.
1) We cultivate peace by promoting compassion, altruism, and gratitude.
2) We relieve suffering by providing humanitarian aid to women and children
[i] The Zero Hunger Challenge is a global initiative, which aims to build support around the goal of achieving Zero Hunger. It was launched by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and call on everyone-governments, the private sector, non-government organizations (NGOs), and the public- to do their part to achieve this goal. It is based on a shared conviction that hunger can be eliminated in our lifetimes. http://www.wfp.org/zero-hunger
[ii] No child should go to school hungry. Today, an estimated 66 million students across the developing world attend primary school hungry, with 23 million children in Africa alone.
School meals can be life-changing for the world’s poorest children. School meals also help to get students into the classroom, giving them an important key to a better future—an education.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) provides school meals to more than 24 million children each year. Just 25 cents provides a child with a nutritious meal, such as porridge, rice or beans. School meals help to improve children’s nutrition, ability to learn and life chances. School feeding also gives poor families an incentive to send children to school, especially girls. http://wfpusa.org/what-wfp-does/school-meals
Come on over to http://www.pioneersofpeace.org and check us out 🙂
Until next time may you find your cup half full 🙂
Barbara
05 Sunday Oct 2014
Tags
altruism, Charity, Compassion, Gratitude, Humanitarian Programs, Kindness, Pioneers of Peace, The Pioneers of Peace Thanks"Giving" Cup Campaign, World Food Program USA, Zero Hunger Challenge
Pioneers of Peace™ Thanks”Giving” Cup Campaign
Between Sept 1 and Thanksgiving Day, Pioneers of Peace™ teams up with World Food Program USA through our annual Thanks “Giving” Cup Campaign. We collect our spare change for the purpose of providing school meals to the world’s hungriest children. Just 25 cents feeds a hungry child in school for a day.
,
We Don’t
… Ask you for money you don’t have
… Ask you to forgo your holiday gift giving
… Ask you to starve so that you can feel the pain
… Ask you to give up your family vacation
… Ask for an ongoing monthly donation
… Ask you to donate to an organization that doesn’t have a track record
… Ask you to give Pioneers of Peace™ your money
We DO ask
… That you find a cup worthy of holding precious coins that will pay for school
meals
… That over the course of the campaign you fill the cup with your loose change
… That you look under your cushions, empty the bottom of your purses, search through your junk drawers, pick up coins off the street, and send your children on a hunt for lost coins waiting to be transformed into nutritionally complete meals.
…That between Thanksgiving Day and Dec 1st you liberate the buying power of the change you collected by donating it to WFPUSA on the Pioneer of Peace Thanks”Giving”Cup Campaign link
We Hope
…That you take this easy opportunity to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable children
…That your choice to help will have a ripple effect of goodness in the world
…That your children will have the seeds of gratitude and compassion planted in their hearts
…That you know you have
…That children who would otherwise be searching for food or working, can receive an education.
…That through all of our efforts, we will see the end of hunger in our lifetime
31 Sunday Aug 2014
Tags
altruism, Charity, Compassion, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, The Pioneers of Peace Thanks"Giving" Cup Campaign, WFPUSA, World Hunger
Join me and many others in fighting world hunger this Thanksgiving by saving your spare change between September 1st and Thanksgiving Day. The money collected will be donated to The World Food Program USA to provide meals to impoverished school children.
The School Feeding Program feeds over 20 million children each day, which is only a fraction of the vast need. Each nutritionally balanced meal is only 25 cents. That means when you spent $20.00 on sushi you could have fed 80 children. Shocking huh!
Hunger Facts
1. 870 million people do not have enough food to eat
2. 98% of the worlds undernourished people live in developing countries
3. Asia and the Pacific have the highest number of hungry comprising 578 million people, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with 239 million people, and then Latin America and the Caribbean with 53 million people
4. Malnutrition is the key factor contributing to one-third of all global deaths (2.6 million per year)
5. Every 10 seconds, a child dies from hunger related diseases.
Begin by choosing a meaningful cup and start emptying your jingling pockets and bulging wallets into it. Take a look at some of last year’s participating cups.
Search under your couch cushions for all of the spare change you can find and send your little children on a quest to find every lost coin hiding in your home and car.
Dig out your old purses and rescue the loose change that is waiting patiently at the bottom, to be used for a wise purpose.
Spread the word that we can make a difference this Thanksgiving; a holiday in which we celebrate abundance and gratitude. Last year we collected close to $5000.00 which provided 20,000 meals to school children.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead
Stay tuned for logistical information. For now, choose your cup and start filling it with change. Until next time…
May you find your cup half full 🙂
BarbaraScoville, LCSW
15 Tuesday Apr 2014
“The first thing to remember is to start where we are. How could we start where we are not? And yet, how often we try to start way ahead of ourselves. That leads nowhere. But wherever we are, help is there. Life provides all the help we need. If we trust and look for it, we shall find it.” ~Brother David Steindl-Rast
01 Saturday Feb 2014
Tags
altruism, Charity, Compassion, Costco, Kindness, Red cup, School meals, The Thanks"giving" Cup Campaign, The World Food Program
ATTENTION Thanks “giving” Cup Campaigners!!!!!
Diane Geddes writes…
“Barbara, I’m Dianne Young’s sister and we met in Costco back in November. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get you this information. I wanted to thank you for letting me know about Coins 4 Kids. We did it here at work and raised over $4,000.00. Thanks to you we provided 16,000 lunches. Talk about the power of ONE!! Thank you for making a difference in our lives and so many children’s.”
Way to go Dana Simmons Geddes!!! You are a Pioneer of Peace!!! Thank you so much for letting us know what can be done when we walk, not just talk. 16,000 lunches for school children in the most impoverished regions of the world; that’s just amazing!
Diane is referring to The World Food Program’s School Meal program. If you haven’t heard about this United Nation’s based charity, click on the link and check it out for yourself…or read EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!! The Answer to The Red Cup Post and Why You Should Care and The Thanks “giving” Cup Campaign
To those of you who will be participating in this year’s campaign…let’s start thinking now about how we can maximize our efforts. I would like to start the 2014 campaign on Sept 1… If you have any ideas I would love to hear them 🙂
Every Mom Should be Able to Feed Her Baby
31 Friday Jan 2014
Tags
authentic self, Games, Identity, Michelangelo, self, Self awareness, Self discovery, Self Discovery the Michelangelo
“In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it.”Michelangelo
For most of us the answer to the question, “Who am I?” is work in progress. There are times when we are certain who we are, what we like, and what we want; and other times when it seems we have no idea at all.
It has been said that identity isn’t just about what you have done, but what you would like to experience.
Playing “Self Discovery the Michelangelo Way” is a fun game designed to help you discover who you really are. You will be given a series of choices and asked which option resonates most with you. Some will seem easy . . . black and white, while others will require careful contemplation.
Play the game each week and over time watch how your identity takes form; like Michelangelo chipping away at a block of marble, only to reveal what he already knew was inside.
Included in the game is a polling box in which you can cast your vote and see how your answer compares with others.
Game Rules:
1. Think about each option and decide which one you identify with the most.
2. You may feel like you can identify with both, but choose the one you lean towards.
3. Feel free to think about the options in any way you like: literally, symbolically, metaphorically, preferentially, etc.
4. Claim your identity by voting in the polling box at the bottom of the page, and just for the fun of it see what others are saying.
5. Check in each week to answer the latest question that will reveal your identity.
6. Keep a written record of your responses and watch a description of yourself unfold.
Option: Play this game with your friend or partner. See how well you know each other and build your relationship by sharing aspects of your personality.
Ready to play?
Self Discovery the Michelangelo Way
This week’s question (Round 21)
Are you more “Math” or “English?”
26 Sunday Jan 2014
Tags
altruism, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, Compassion, Kind words, Kindness, Relationships, Stanford University, Tiny Buddha, Tiny Buddha Facebook
Greetings Friends!
The post I wrote for Tiny Buddha posted on their website last Friday (www.tinybuddha.com). I’m not tech savy enough to make it appear in it’s entirity on this blog, so I have given you the link.
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-improve-relationships-and-make-a-kinder-world/
I’m thrilled with the feedback I received. Over 2100 people liked it on the Tiny Buddha Facebook page and The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (Stanford University) re-blogged it. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Until next time…
May you find your cup half full 🙂
Barbara
Barbara Scoville, LCSW 