What do you think … is four-years-old too young to make a difference for someone living without reliable access to clean water?  If you think so, then we’d have to say … think again!

Silver, who lives in Utah, is making a difference – one ‘facebadge’ at a time.  His Dad, Justin, tells us that Silver “…saw a PSA about kids drinking water from mud puddles. He got really mad …”

When something makes you mad, it’s often a sign that there is something wrong, something that needs to change.  Silver sure understands that principle, because he took his ‘mad’ and turned it into action.  Now, Silver and Justin (also known as Papa Silver) have a Facebook page where they sell Silver’s mini works of art to help others.

What is a ‘face badge’?  We didn’t know either…  So we checked it out (and you should too).  Silver draws happy faces, sad faces, scary faces, angry faces; and with the help of his Dad makes them into laminated pins that you can wear as a badge with the emotion of your choice.  You can order one yourself!  We sure did…

And the next time you feel discouraged that you can’t do anything about the problems we face as a global community, look over at that facebadge you got from Silver and be reminded,  no one is too young (or too old) to make a difference.  And no effort is too small to count.

Here is Silver and Papa Silver’s Facebook page… check it out!

http://www.facebook.com/facebadge

Spring 2011 is just beginning to take hold in many parts of the US, pushing cold and wet away, and bringing flowers and green grass.  With it, spring brings encouragement and hope of things new.  In the last week we’ve heard about two families that are bringing hope and encouragement, like spring, to more than a village in Africa.  They are bringing it to one another as well.

At Rockford High School, Junior Makenzie Connor (‘Kenzie’ to friends and family) doesn’t just do good for others 7000 miles away from Rockford… she does good for people in her own backyard.

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We got a great email a few weeks ago from Stephen Lasky, Vice President of Business Planning and Analysis at Sephora.  Stephen had undertaken a huge goal that would result in better health for himself and provide an inspiration to Sephora employees.  Being the ‘others’ minded person that Stephen is, he wanted to tie that accomplishment to a cause … the cause of bringing clean, safe water to those without.  We could try to tell Stephen’s story, but why not read it directly from Stephen himself …

“In August of 2009 after a lifetime of battling obesity, I had a moment of clarity that the time had come.  At 5’5” and 251 pounds I started a journey to change my life. At that time I was taking medications for high blood pressure, cholesterol, and gout.  In September of 2010, 13 months after I began my journey I had dropped 100 pounds and was free from all medications.  It was in September 2010 that I tried for the first time in my life to run a mile without stopping.  After running for 5 minutes on the treadmill I felt pretty good and was encouraged to keep going…15 minutes later I had run my first mile.  One month later I decided I needed closure to the process I started a year earlier; that closure would be signing up for a ½ marathon.

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For 38 years, the Northwest Girlchoir (http://www.northwestgirlchoir.org/) has championed extraordinary music education and performance opportunities for girls and young women.  This month, in honor of World Water Day 2011, the choral organization championed something else … clean water.  From concerts performed in two locations in the Seattle, Washington area, the choir’s Artistic Director, Sara Boos, decided that the groups would put their artistic talents to work to fund clean water projects, one internationally (in Africa), and one locally (toward Puget Sound’s clean-up).

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