January 20th, 2010
By Mark
The following letter was sent to TKF after a Violence Impact Forum (VIF). The author is Patricia Ladd, the principal at Correia Middle School. She has very eloquently described how our work at TKF changes the lives of so many kids.
=======================================================
Dear Trustees of TKF:
As Principal of Correia Middle School (CMS) a comprehensive middle school for 7th – 8th graders in one of our nation’s largest urban districts, I have an opportunity to interact daily with youngsters between the ages of 11-14 years of age. According to many expert opinions, (more…)
November 30th, 2009
By Mark
For people reading this blog entry that have not read my previous entries on the homeless, I encourage you to read Homeless Project Background. It will give you some background on my project. Briefly, I have made a commitment to give $20 each week to a homeless person and minimally ask their name and where they are from.
I have taken a different approach with Ron in the last few weeks. Since he says he spends most of his cash on booze and tobacco and gets most of his food for free, I have decided (more…)
November 19th, 2009
By Mark
Once upon a time, there was a man name Alan. Alan was a kind hearted man and also a man on a mission. Like Jonny Appleseed, Alan was always planting seeds, but his were not seeds for trees. Rather, his were seeds of philanthropy. Alan wanted to spread philanthropy throughout the kingdom of San Diego.
One day, Alan came upon a very busy man in the kingdom on San Diego named Mark. (more…)
October 31st, 2009
By Mark
For people reading this blog entry that have not read my previous entries on the homeless, I encourage you to read Homeless Project Background. It will give you some background on my project. Briefly, I have made a commitment to give $20 each week to a homeless person and minimally ask their name and where they are from.
I finally have a short video of Ron from Ft. Worth. Ron From Ft. Worth Unfortunately my video recorder ran out of space a few minutes into the interview. Here are some of the comments that I got from Ron
I have asked Ron a few times, where he sleeps. (more…)
September 29th, 2009
By Mark
For people reading this blog entry that have not read my previous entries on the homeless, I encourage you to read Homeless Project Background. It will give you some background on my project. Briefly, I have made a commitment to give $20 each week to a homeless person and minimally ask their name and where they are from.
In the last couple of weeks I have seen more homeless back in my neighborhood in La Jolla. I saw Ron from Ft. Worth twice this week. He looks better than earlier in the year. I did not have time to talk with him, but he is tops on my list to get reacquainted with. (more…)
September 09th, 2009
By Mark
I made an offhand comment to a friend that there were many simple solutions to some of the problems that we Americans face. She challenged me to get specific. She’s right to challenge me. We should challenge our politicians for specifics. Put them on the spot. Make them answer. Be relentless.
Today, I am going to take a stab at Social Security. My parents have passed away, but during their years of retirement, Social Security helped them. (more…)
September 07th, 2009
By Mark
For people reading this blog entry that have not read my previous entries on the homeless, I encourage you to read Homeless Project Background. It will give you some background on my project. Briefly, I have made a commitment to give $20 each week to a homeless person and minimally ask their name and where they are from.
The summer has been very quite for my homeless project. (more…)
June 25th, 2009
By Mark
For people reading this blog entry that have not read my previous entries on the homeless, I encourage you to read Homeless Project Background. It will give you some background on my project. Briefly, I have made a commitment to give $20 each week to a homeless person and minimally ask their name and where they are from.
About a month ago, three events happened that I believe are making my goal of meeting the homeless a bit more difficult. (more…)
May 17th, 2009
By Mark
For people reading this blog entry that have not read my previous entries on the homeless, I encourage you to read Homeless Project Background. It will give you some background on my project. Briefly, I have made a commitment to give $20 each week to a homeless person and minimally ask their name and where they are from.
Since I was so far behind on giving $20 bills away, I set a goal to give a $20 out each day this week.
Monday - I saw Mike outside of the bagel store. Mike was born in Louisiana but grew up in Hyannis Massachusetts. His hands and head shake all the time. (more…)
May 11th, 2009
By Mark
For people reading this blog entry that have not read my previous entries on the homeless, I encourage you to read Homeless Project Background. It will give you some background on my project. Briefly, I have made a commitment to give $20 each week to a homeless person and minimally ask their name and where they are from.
The homeless man that I had been talking with and giving an occasional twenty dollar bill stopped hanging out near the Vons parking lot. (more…)