Category Archives: Make a Difference

Projects that are making a difference, improving lives, and building communities.

Addressing Social Isolation among Men – by Elwood Watson

Despite his material and enviable career success, Don, like many of his mid-20th-century contemporaries and many men today, more than a half a century later, was hampered by a common theme that is prevalent in the lives of many men — a lack of genuine friendships. The old saying that “the more things change, the more they stay the same” rings true in regards to this particular issue.

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Come Back for Me: Holocaust Novel – by Sharon Hart-Green

Come Back for Me A Novel by Sharon Hart-GreenLoss, trauma, memory, and the impenetrable ties of family are the elements that weave together Sharon Hart-Green’s panoramic debut novel Come Back for Me (New Jewish Press). Set in the aftermath of World War II, it is a gripping story about the redemptive power of love and self-understanding.

Come Back for Me tells the story of two young Jewish characters; one is a Hungarian Holocaust survivor Artur Mandelkorn who is on a desperate quest to find his beloved sister, Manya, after they become separated during the war. Artur’s journey takes him to Israel where he falls in love with Fanny, a young woman who still bears the scars of her own tragic past in Germany.

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Refugees: Are We Eating our Young? – by Deborah Levine

Islands at Risk

Refugee International reported a few years ago that a Kiribatian man tried to convince a New Zealand court to make him the world’s first climate change refugee. Kiribati is an impoverished group of Pacific islands vulnerable to rising sea levels.  He didn’t succeed, but many experts predict a growing number of displaced people seeking asylum because of global warming. The planet has limited drinkable water, fertile land, clean air, and food. The planet’s current supplies are steadily shrinking.

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Missing my little buddy David – by Terry Howard

“The biggest problem with having a disability is that far too often
people see it before they see you!”

I met little David at a local Starbucks a few years ago.

You see, I was hunched over my laptop searching the internet for a new twist for a piece on people with disabilities given that October is National Disability Employment Month. Over a third cup of coffee, I was focused, oblivious to the comings and goings of folks entering and leaving. But in truth, I was in my zone and preferred to keep it that way.

But little David – his Downs Syndrome and all – had other plans for me. And others.

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Our Domestic Terrorism – by Deborah Levine

What happens in Vegas does NOT stay in Vegas because Domestic terrorism is a national issue. I often write about how  the byproduct of economic dislocation is an increase in violent attacks. When people feel they have little to lose, they lose their socialization and their humanity.  The result is a rise in domestic abuse and acts of violence on strangers, whether individually or in crowds. The anger and divisiveness that now permeate our culture take the phenomenon beyond the disenfranchised. Incidences like this attack on a concert in Las Vegas parallel the rise of  traditional terrorism and are symbolic of the desire to deconstruct society.

I cannot accept the explanation of mental illness which implies that this massacre is just a single individual with no takeaway that impacts the country. Nor can I accept that Las Vegas was punishment for criticizing Trump and not standing for the national anthem, as one religious figure is saying.  Neither denial nor incitement should be acceptable if we are to confront domestic terrorism in our midst.

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Under Water and Downed – by Yvor Stoakley

The series of natural disasters that impacted Texas, Mexico, Florida and the Leeward Caribbean islands have raised some interesting questions about how we think and feel about other human beings.

How Should We Think About the Residents of Barbuda, Florida, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Texas? How should we feel about them?

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The Liberator’s Daughter Writes Post-Charlottesville – by Deborah Levine

 After my father’s eightieth birthday, he told me that he was transcribing his World War II letters for me. My father, the son of an immigrant traveling shoe salesman, went to Harvard, and was trained at a secret US military intelligence camp. He wrote to my mother when he was a military intelligence officer deployed to France, Belgium, and Germany. Assigned to interrogate Nazi prisoners of war, he saw more than one death camp in the process. His letters are now more relevant than ever.

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Coping with a Loved One’s Hearing Loss — by Katie Schwartz

Some of  us have extra-sharp hearing, and others begin to lose their hearing at different times. For the first time in history, 20% of those in their late teens and early 20’s are reporting signs of a hearing loss – a problem that will cause major challenges for commerce and industry. (One cause for this is loud music played through earbuds for too long.)  Presbycusis, hearing loss caused by age,  is another challenge, and often starts in the late 50’s or early 60’s. By age 65, one third of Americans experience this problem. There are simple, practical strategies that can help. Here are three taken from the e-book, “What did you say?”

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US Holocaust Museum on Violence against Burma’s Rohingya

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Statement on the Violence against Burma’s Rohingya Population

The U S Holocaust Memorial Museum is horrified by the ongoing attacks on Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State, western Burma, and calls on the Burmese government to immediately cease its military operations in the region. According to reports, this campaign includes the widespread and systematic targeting of Rohingya with killing, rape, torture, and forced displacement. The Museum reiterates its deep concern about these ongoing mass atrocities, including the risk of genocide.

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Supporting Grieving Children

Experience Camps are one-week camps for boys and girls who are grieving over the death of a parent, sibling or primary caregiver.  It’s a place where kids can laugh, cry, play, create, remember the person who died, or forget the grief that weighs them down.  It’s a place where they can feel “normal”, because everyone there has been through something similar and understands what it’s like to lose someone important to them. It’s a home away from home. And just about everyone will tell you…”It’s the best week of the year”.

As our campers settle back into their school year routines, they often tell us that the kids and adults back home just don’t “get it”. We asked our campers what they want their teachers to know. This is what they told us… Please share with anyone who might be working with a grieving child this year!

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